Bad didn’t begin to cover it.
“It could be someone else,” I said lamely, but what were the odds that some other accomplice of Carlos was living in the same hotel? None at all. Besides, they would search him and find the phone. Further investigation might crack open the truth, that he was Carlos instead of just a man helping him.
Why was I so terrified? This solved my dilemma. Now Hennessey could go to jail, or worse, and I wouldn’t have a hand in it. Not really.
Except that I had led Lance to him. Despite his dislike of the man, Lance never would have looked up where Hennessey was staying if I hadn’t asked him to. When he’d seen the area pull up in the cell records—Montrose, not an area normally known for organized crime—he’d made the connection. Fuck. I’d already committed my betrayal last night, and I hadn’t even known the truth at the time. My pulse beat heavily, marking an uneven pattern. I didn’t want them to nail Hennessey. But it was out of my hands now.
The world rippled around me, underwater and surreal. Ignoring Lance’s questions, I walked to Brody’s office for my meeting. It didn’t feel real. I wished it weren’t. The beige hallway and the tightly woven carpet. The cluttered desk, as if this were just another day in the life of Special Agent Brody. As if he wasn’t about to make the arrest of his career. He was the one who’d get a commendation now. A promotion, a raise. He greeted me with grave eyes that hinted at concern.
“Samantha,” he said, more warmly than I’d ever heard him. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
As if you care, I wanted to yell. He was throwing me into the middle of a gunfight just so he could make his arrest, but he was concerned for me. What bullshit. “I’ll be okay,” I said.
He smiled. “Good. Just a little bit longer. Then it will all be over.”
Asshole.
I sat down in the corner, my body still while my mind raced. What the hell was I going to do? Like staring at a train speeding toward me with only enough time to save myself. And leave the person I loved standing in the tracks. Could I do it? I had to.
If things did go badly, it would get violent. I wasn’t carrying. My weapon hadn’t been returned to me since my kidnapping. That was part of what would happen at the meeting today. But I realized now that would never have happened. Even without this impending arrest, he’d been planning to dismiss me. Honorably, of course. No doubt the staff psychologist would find a way to spin it for him. PTSD or some other bullshit. As if anyone could see the things we saw, could do the things we were paid to do and not get fucked up.
Anyway, I couldn’t imagine Hennessey going quietly. He might protest the accusations, but if the evidence were compelling enough…if he knew he might get caught, his true identity exposed…he’d fight to get out.
Of course he would.
It would be self-defense.
I could rationalize anything, even a shoot up of my workplace. Unconditional love. But at least I wasn’t lying anymore. Silently, hopelessly, I told myself the truth. I loved both sides of him, the fierce man and the broken monster.
Hennessey knew something was wrong the second he entered the room. He hadn’t been expecting me in this meeting with Brody. He’d thought we’d be meeting separately, I could tell by the surprise he masked quickly, but that wasn’t the real problem. Instead, he felt the tension in the air, scented it like an animal. I could see the options running through his brain as he took in Brody’s expression and mine. Could see him lean toward the door and calculate his odds of making it out of an FBI office alive. Not likely. If he ran, they’d know he was guilty. That wasn’t an FBI directive; it was just animal instinct. Run and the predators would come after you, mindless in their violence.
He sat down, greeting us both. “Brody. Holmes.”
I nodded, my throat too dry to speak. Run, I wanted to shout, but that would be the worst betrayal of all. I looked at the closed door and tried to imagine how many guards Brody would have stationed there. With orders to stop anyone fleeing.
We were dead. So dead. Except…when had I started including myself in this ill-fated escape plan? Was I seriously going to run with him, to align myself with a criminal? I remembered telling him about the scorpion and the frog. He was right when he said I wasn’t the scorpion. He was. As long as I stayed near him, he might hurt me. If the water didn’t drown us first.
Brody cleared his throat and picked up a file, pretending to read it. “I’m glad you’re both here. I’ve received some disturbing information, and I’d like to get it cleared up as soon as possible.” He looked up at Hennessey. “I’d like to clear your name.”