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“Oh, you know I’m angry?” I growled through my teeth.
“Yes,” he answered, getting to his feet and glaring back at me. “But I need you to keep your fucking voice down. There are a dozen armed guards out there that won’t hesitate to put a bullet in your head if they think you’re arguing with me.”
I forced myself to exhale slowly and sank back onto the sofa, resting my face in my hands as I counted to ten. Then twenty. Then thirty.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” I said again, my voice steadier and quieter.
“Look, you’re not the only one that’s spent years lying and hiding here,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you where I was. Because you would have tried to seek me out. We’re both doing the same thing, and this needed to go through proper channels. The Prince can’t just reach out to a grunt. Or a Knight. Your Duke had to bring you for introductions.”
“This is insane,” I said, shaking my head. “And what about Kenny? Did you do what I asked already? Is that why no one can find him?”
“No,” Griffin answered, his mouth turning to a frown. “No, that kid’s in the wind. I have to be careful, like I said, I can’t be contacting grunts. But Eddie told me he couldn’t find Kenny when I spoke to him earlier, so I was able to show a modicum of interest.”
“How long?” I asked him.
“How long…has your friend been missing?” he clarified.
“No, how long have you been here?”
“Nine years with GSD. Three as Prince of Detroit.” Griffin reached over and touched my arm. “I couldn’t tell you.”
“Says you.” I said, sliding my palm over his fingers. “How are you pulling this off? You’ve obviously kept ties with…” I looked around the room and sighed. It was probably a bad idea to talk about the FBI or the cops by name in this place. “I’ve been on a fucking island except for you for years. But you’re still reporting?”
“I am,” he answered. “And we’re not the only ones. There are others across the country doing what we’re doing. The higher up we can get, the closer we can get to the King. And that’s the goal.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But…don’t you have access to him now?”
“Not really,” he said. “Look, we can’t get into this here. I swept the room today, but it’s never completely safe. There are too many eyes and ears.”
“Well, we need to talk about this,” I insisted. “Now that we’ve been formally introduced…can we…see each other?”
“I’ll try to make that work,” he promised. “Though, you may not like how I’ll have to play it.”
“I don’t care,” I said. “God. I can’t believe you’re really here.”
I was equal parts still pissed yet beyond relieved to finally have someone tangible on my side. Knowing that he was this close. Knowing he was watching over me all this time was both infuriating and comforting. I felt the tiniest bit safer now that I knew he was Eddie’s boss.
“Do you think Kenny’s okay?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I don’t know, Matt.” Griffin shook his head. “I know he’s your friend. But he’s a drug addict and a player in the GSD. I don’t know if we can save him from himself.”
“Well, I have to try.” I realized I was still holding onto Griffin’s hand, and I squeezed it firmly. “You always tell me I need to know who my family is. And yeah, the blue is my family. But so is Kenny. You can’t expect me to spend years with these people and not find friends.”
“No,” Griffin said, threading his fingers through mine. “No, I’ve got friends here, too. But I also know that one day I might have to arrest them. Or put a bullet in their head. And if you can’t do that…then you’re a liability.”
“I’ll put a bullet in anyone’s head but Kenny’s,” I said firmly. “He’s just a kid.”
“He’s a nineteen-year-old gang banger,” Griffin snapped. “I’m not saying I won’t help you. I’m just saying…be careful.”
“I’m always careful,” I assured him. “Just him. I just need to save him.”
“Okay,” Griffin said, rubbing his thumb over mine. “We’ll find a way to save Kenny.”
I nodded and exhaled, blowing out a soft chuckle with it. “I really want to punch your stupid face right now.”
“I know you do,” he said, also laughing. “And one of these days I might even let you. But for now, we should probably talk about what you’ll be doing for GSD when Eddie leaves.”
“You’re letting him go?” I asked.
