I understood where Nyx was coming from, but it still pissed me off to be questioned. And she was the second person to do so today. Therefore she got my wrath. "I don't give a fuck what I have to do. I will talk to Mason. And I will find out where Nova's body is.Nothingwill stop me. And that includes Special Agent Walsh."
Nyx held her hands in the air to try and placate me. "I get Nova was your best friend, but I'm just trying to look out for you. This is personal, and if there's one thing you have pounded into our heads since the conception of this team, it's that we can't let personal shit get in the way of business. I don't want you to do something you'll regret."
I tried to steady my breathing, but it was damn hard. Red-hot fury coursed through my veins and seeped into the very essence of my being. "I get what you're saying, but Ineedto do this. We started this team to avenge Nova, and now's our chance."
All three of my teammates had a silent discussion amongst themselves before Lilith nodded her head. "Okay. Do what you need to do. We'll have your back."
I lifted my chin in response. "Thanks. I'm leaving today. I'll let you know how it goes."
Walking back to my quarters, I thought about what Nyx said. She wasn't wrong. There wasn't room for personal shit in our line of work, and if the situation was reversed, I would've been asking my teammate the same thing, but this was about Nova.The team had been our dream, and only one of us got to see it come true. Guilt ate at me every day that I lived out our legacy on my own. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that one day I would have my revenge. That day was now, and I looked forward to the closure it would bring me.
CHAPTER TWO
BECKETT
I sat in the interview room at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and waited for the guards to bring Mason Dunkin to me. I had called in a favor to get Mason placed in a prison close to my FBI field office. After the shit he pulled seven years ago, I didn't want there to be any screwups that would put him on the run again. Mason was a crucial witness to a high-profile case, and I was pissed when he escaped the marshals office.
Mason didn't look the least bit happy when a guard shuffled him in a few moments later. The scowl on his face was directed at me, and there was no mistaking Mason blamed me for his current circumstances. I looked Mason over and was surprised by what I saw. The man looked pretty damn good for someone who had been on the run for so long. The boyish features Mason once possessed were gone, and a hardened man took his place. If I had to guess, Mason spent a lot of his time over the years working out.
"Long time no see, Mason. Did you miss me?" I flashed him a smile while the guard shackled him to the table.
"Not even a little," Mason grumbled but didn't break eye contact. Seven years on the run had been good for him. He'd matured some. His family would be proud. Mason finally looked like the rest of the men in his family.
"How's solitary confinement treating you? I hear it can be pretty damn lonely."
"Is there a point to this visit, or are you here to annoy the fuck out of me?"
Oh yeah. Mason had grown some balls while he was away.
"I figured we could catch up. Maybe talk about those options I gave you the last time we spoke."
"I told you before that I didn't want to testify."
I sighed. "Yes, but then you agreed. Even got yourself a nice deal from the DA's office. You were all set up with the marshals and then poof." I threw my hands in the air. "You disappeared. Aren't men in your line of work supposed to honor their word?"
Mason scoffed, "You know damn well my family doesn't keep their word. It's why they're constantly at war. They fuck over every person they come in contact with."
That was true. No one liked the Dunkin family. They were a poor excuse for a mob family. Small potatoes but they caused enough problems to put themselves on the FBI's radar. Mason's father was a sadistic son of a bitch, and Mason's older brother was even worse. It was rumored Mason's father killed both of his wives. It was no wonder Mason wanted nothing to do with them.
"And here I thought you were different than the rest of them."
Mason looked like he wanted to strangle me with his bare hands. His fingers kept flexing where they sat on the metal table. "I am different from them."
I leaned forward and placed my forearms on the cold table. "Then tell me why you ran, because from where I'm sitting, it looks like the apple didn't fall far from the tree."
It was obvious I was getting under his skin, and the thought gave me a sick sort of pleasure. I wasn't normally the kind of agent who got off on playing dirty. I believed in law and order. I did my job the correct way. No shortcuts. No glory. I wasn't in the Bureau to make a name for myself, but what Mason did pissed me off.
Taking down the Dunkin family wasn't going to help my career. They weren't a big fish, but they were certainly a pain in the ass. I would take pleasure knowing another mob family was eliminated even though another one would eventually take their place. That was the vicious cycle in my line of work. I hadn’t been able to stop it altogether, but I could certainly get rid of a few.
"That's none of your damn business. My thoughts haven't changed. I'm not going to testify."
Mason was hiding something. I was sure of it. Call it a gut feeling because there was nothing about his facial expressions or body language that backed up my thought process.
"You're hiding something." I narrowed my eyes at him. "And I'm going to find out what it is."
"Good luck with that." Mason turned his head toward the door and hollered, "Guard!" Within seconds, the same guard who brought Mason to me entered the room. "I'd like to go back to my cell now."
The guard didn't give me the opportunity to deny Mason's request before he unhooked Mason from the table and escorted him out of the interview room.
