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“Talk to me, Roman.”
His brother’s command shook him from his stupor. “Whitman isn’t a snake. He’s a hydra. Cut off one head, and two more grow back.”
“You’re officially off the case now?”
“At least for the next four weeks.”
“Smart move.”
“Feels like cowardice,” Roman spat out. God, he hated the taste of retreat.
“If Whitman thinks you’re off the job, he may leave you alone. That could give us some breathing room and time for Caleb to infiltrate Coldrick. We adapt for now and fight another day.”
Roman released a sigh that seemed to come from his soul. “I don’t know anymore. Whitman’s influence is so much deeper and more far-reaching than I had ever expected.”
He relit his cigar, which had gone out during the call, and inhaled deeply, the rich tobacco bitter on his tongue.
“You’re questioning whether you can win this fight?” Wander asked.
Roman blew out a circle of smoke. “It’s hard not to when he keeps outmaneuvering me at every turn. This call had his fingerprints all over it. If he’s gotten to the state attorney, what chance do I have?”
They sat quietly, smoking their cigars.
“It comes down to our previous question. Do we want to bring Whitman down by legal means, or do we want to destroy him by whatever means available?” Wander asked.
“If I fully embrace the latter, my career as a DA is over.” Roman had no doubts about that. Even if he operated behind the scenes, sooner or later, his true involvement would leak, and he’d be fired. “I can’t advocate for vigilante justice as a DA, not even under these circumstances.”
Wander slowly nodded. “I guess the question is if you believe Whitman can be brought to justice within the confines of the legal system, considering how many people he has in his pocket.”
As usual, Wander penetrated through the BS to the core of the problem. If Whitman had been able to infiltrate the FBI, like they suspected, and had Boston PD cops in his pocket and now the state attorney, what were the realistic odds this case would ever go to trial? Witnesses would keep changing their stories or disappear altogether. The investigation would be stonewalled, obstructed, and frustrated at every turn. Evidence would be tainted by his rumor campaigns, or it would vanish. To build the case would take months at the least, but most likely another year.
And Roman wouldn’t be allowed to. He’d be fired long before then, and his successor would be discouraged from picking up the case. It would fizzle out…and Whitman would get away with it, allowing him to continue building his dirty empire, now untouchable. And if he ran for president, he’d bring all that corruptive power into the White House. Roman shuddered to think of the consequences.
“I don’t think anyone will be able to stop him by legal means,” he said slowly. “Not anymore. He’s bought off too many people.”
“I’m inclined to agree, though you know much more about this than I ever will. But from what I’ve seen, this is impossible.”
“That leaves us with illegal as the only option.”
Wander shook his head. “Not necessarily illegal. I’m not willing to go to jail to bring this bastard down. But we can certainly use methods that would get us the evidence that would cause his fall from grace, even if it’s inadmissible in court. As long as the public knows the truth, he won’t be able to keep getting away with it.”
“You mean go public with what we have. Destroy his reputation.”
“Exactly. I’m confident Caleb will dig up something at Coldrick Law. And if we give Whitman’s wife a heads-up, she may rat him out and give us more ammunition to use against him. We’d be using his own methods, the same he employed to discredit you.”
Roman could appreciate the poetic justice of that. “I can live with that.”
Wander put a hand on his knee. “But can you live with losing your job? Because you’re not wrong there, Ro. If we go this way, it’s the end of your legal career.”
Roman leaned back in his seat. How would he feel if he never returned to the district attorney’s office? He let that thought sink in, but the expected despair and anger never came. Instead, there was…resignation, maybe even acceptance, and a deep sense that it would still be justice in his eyes if it brought Whitman down. The public might not know it, but Roman could look back and know he did the right thing, that he’d sacrificed his career for the greater good.
“I’d be surprisingly okay with that, and it’s certainly a price I’m willing to pay to bring Whitman down.”
“And not to be flippant about it, but it would also change your life in other ways, like being able to come out…and be a Dom.”
Roman sat up straight. His brother was right. Without his job, he’d have no reason not to be openly bi…and to be with Caleb. “But what would I do instead? It’s not like I have the financial means to retire this early.”
Wander shrugged. “Come work for me. I could use your legal brain.”
