What?
Meena frowns, her eyes sparkling. I can see her processing Nicholas’s words. Is she really considering this? She turns to me. “Do you consent to this?”
My gaze flickers to Nicholas’s pleading eyes before resting on Meena. “I do.”
Nicholas blows out a relieved breath.
Meena nods. “Alright. I’ll talk to Samuel too. We can really use him. If he doesn’t agree to the arrangement, he’s going in for life,” she warns.
“He will take the offer,” I say confidently.
“We’ll see. And Elliot, don’t for a second think this means freedom. It’s the opposite. The Bureau owns you now. One step out of line and I’ll personally make sure you never see sunlight again.”
I nod. No prison? A life with Nicholas? And still hunting criminals? This is better than anything I could haveeverimagined. Why will I even argue?
Guess Nicholas didn’t get the memo. He drags a chair from the corner of the room and sits beside me. His solid presence is the only evidence this isn’t a dream. Then he opens his mouth.
“I have conditions.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Unexpected Predators and Unforgettable Lessons
Elliot
Nicholas is quiet on the drive back. He hasn't said a word to me since he convinced Meena to release me on the promise that I'd report to the Bureau tomorrow morning. She even agreed to his demand that we become partners.
So, no solo Bureau cases for me. Not that I mind it. Not one bit.
Now, if only there were a way to get into my brand-new partner’s mind. “So, that was a surprise,” I prompt.
Nicholas grunts.
Okay, then. Nice talk. Taking out my phone from my pocket, which some nice people from the Bureau found on the floor of the warehouse, I leave Nicholas to wallow. He’s not going anywhere, and I’m too happy to get into an argument right now. I’m free.I’m fucking free.
Everyone knows who I am and I’m still not locked up in a remote prison. I’m in a car with Nicholas. I would have jumped him in that sad interrogation room if that hadn’t annoyed Meena into locking me up again.
But there’s still one thing I need to ensure before I can truly feel relieved. I dial Sam.
When he picks up just after two rings, my heart fills withjoy. “Hey, where are you?” he asks. From the noise in the background, he might still be in the Bureau office, or whatever that place was.
“Nick is driving me back home. Meena said you’ll be a little late. Should we drive back for you?”
“No, no,” Sam says quickly. “She wants me to secure the Bureau servers, so ‘random punks’ can’t hack into them again. Her words. I don’t even know what she’s talking about.”
I huff out a laugh. “But they’re letting you go?”
“Yes.Fuck, El. We’re free. We’rereallyfree.”
I nod. “Wereallyare. But you could have escaped. Why didn’t you? After you helped them, you could have driven away,” I ask.
Sam sighs. “I had to make sure you were safe. And—”
“That’s so stupid—”
“I had an escape plan ready. Will you let me finish? I had it all ready. We’d have escaped one way or the other. But I needed to make sure you were alive to do that.”
My eyes sting. Of course, he did. This stupid genius. “We should take a trip to Indonesia soon.”
