This is my ass on the line, too.”
I trust you. Bowen didn’t want to hear those words. Didn’t like the way they made him feel. He shouldn’t be trusted.
Not after the things he’d been compelled to do. Not after he’d let his own father get put behind bars. Let his sister nearly get murdered. “Sorry to let you down, but I’ll take my chances with a bull’s-eye on my back.”
“We don’t have any other options here, man. You’re a part of that world, and if the alternative is Newsom dropping a dime on Ruby—and finding a reason to put you in a cell—you have to do it.” Troy shook his head. “You know I’ll protect your sister. Even if it means we have to leave the city and never come back. Leave behind everything she’s worked for. But I don’t think that’s what you want.” With a curse, Troy threw the photograph down onto the table. Resolutely, Bowen kept his eyes up, refusing to look. Troy pointed down at the picture. “This is your chance to make up for the shit you’ve done. A chance to do something good. Ruby sees the good in you. Are you going to prove her wrong?”
“Fuck you,” Bowen said through his teeth, hating Troy with every cell in his body for using his weakness against him.
He didn’t care about many things in this world, but he cared about his sister.
Which is why he’d completely cut her out of his life. “And while we’re on the subject, keep her the hell away from me.
I don’t want to see her in the neighborhood.”
“Still protecting her?” Troy asked quietly. “We both know that’s my job now.”
“Then do it. Keep her out of Brooklyn.”
Troy
nodded
thoughtfully,
still
watching him closely. Wanting to escape that observation, Bowen glanced away, his gaze accidentally landing on the photograph.
Everything inside him went still. He’d scooped up the picture to get a closer look before his brain registered the action. “Who is this?”
“That’s the officer we’ve lost contact with. Going on a week now.” Troy lowered his voice, putting his back toward the two-way glass. “She’s investigating Trevor Hogan.”
Bowen couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“This girl? This girl with the freckles and the rosary beads around her neck?
She’s undercover with Hogan’s crew?”
When Troy simply nodded, Bowen cursed under his breath. He didn’t understand the reaction he was having to the photograph, but he couldn’t deny the unwelcome surge of protectiveness. A pretty brunette smiled up at him, squinting into the sunshine, hand closed around the cross at her chest. She didn’t belong anywhere near the ruthless Hogan, the man who had recently taken over North Brooklyn. If he suspected her for one second, she would be killed without hesitation.
Bowen knew something Troy didn’t, though. He and Hogan had an upcoming deal, set to take place on May ninth.
Little over a week away. A shipment of stolen computer hardware would land in neutral territory, thanks to a Brooklyn defector who had taken his theft operation overseas. At their contact’s request, he and Hogan were going to split the hardware down the middle as a gesture of goodwill between North and South Brooklyn, since warring over the goods would up his chances of being caught. If Bowen wanted to cooperate with the police, he had a perfect opening to do it.
If he cooperated? Jesus, was he actually considering this? Absently, his finger smoothed over the picture.
“What’s her name?”
“Seraphina.” Troy cleared his throat.
“Hogan killed her brother and walked.
Seems to me you can relate to wanting what’s best for a sibling. Only she didn’t get that chance.”
A wave of sympathy moved through him. Could he do this? Turn…informant?
By going in and protecting this girl— Seraphina—he kept himself out of prison and let his sister keep her shiny new life.
And dammit, someone needed to bring this impulsive rookie cop home, right?
This might be an old photo, but if she’d retained an ounce of that innocence, Hogan would have her for breakfast.
Who the hell was he kidding? There was no choice.
“How long do I have to get her out?”
“The sooner the better. No more than one week.”
Perfect timing. “You have to tell me what she’s looking for. I’m not going into this blind.”
Troy lowered his voice. “Financial records. A ledger.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Men have gone undercover with Hogan before. They…
didn’t
last
long,
but
were
in
communication long enough to confirm he keeps track of business by hand.”
Bowen decided it wouldn’t be wise to mention he’d seen the damn thing himself. He reached into his jeans again for his packet of cigarettes. “Let’s get this over with. I hate paperwork.”
CHAPTER THREE
Sera hated the man on sight.