Page 148 of Bleed with Me

Three minutes later, I turned on the ignition in my car and dialed Lucas’s number.

“Did you hear all of that?” I asked when he picked up after the first ring.

“I have the address.”

-59-

Nina

The black file sat on the passenger seat like it weighed a hundred pounds. Adrenaline pumped through my veins while Lucas kept talking, explaining the plan through the car speakers, but I barely listened.

My best friend warned me not to look inside. Who knew what kind of secrets it contained? But eventually, my curiosity won, and I stopped the car in the parking lot before the shopping center. People rushed in and out, no one really paying attention to me as I leafed through the pages.

“Oh my God,” I gasped. “This is evidence.”

“Evidence?” Lucas’s voice echoed through the car’s Bluetooth. “You opened the file, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” I confirmed mindlessly, checking the photos. “Malin gathered evidence about the people behind the abduction. It’s all there.” A frown contorted my face. “Fuck,” I mumbled. “This is a prosecution.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have picked up the phone,” Lucas groaned, the typing of his fingers resonating in the background. “Does it say where the boy is?”

“No.” I studied the last few pages, but the location wasn’t there. “Just names put into a hierarchy.”

“Okay, give me a second,” he said. I raised my eyes from the disturbing photos.

One of the boys couldn’t be older than Dorian’s favorite patient. It disgusted me to the bones, so I moved on to the list of names. Some of them were powerful enough to make my stomach tighten. Not just men, but women, too.

“I sent you the link.” My phone screen lit up with a notification. “Scan the documents. We’ll check them later.”

“Okay.”

I unlocked my phone, gracefully ignoring Dorian’s texts. I was mentally prepared for the argument later, but right now, I couldn’t be distracted by his worrying.

The scanning took only a few minutes.

“I officially hate this file,” Lucas muttered once it was complete and he had clearly opened it.

“That makes two of us,” I mumbled under my breath, starting the car again.

One Police Plaza was only a couple of blocks away when I parked in the back alley. Daylight made everything harder. If something went wrong, I had to be prepared. So even when I wasn’t a huge fan of wigs, I pulled the blonde one out of my duffel bag.

“I’d only go to the receptionist desk,” Lucas uttered while I adjusted my hair. “Give them the envelope with Mallory’s name and disappear.”

“What if it gets lost?” I countered, hating the idea. We had to ensure she received it.

“Nina,” Lucas exhaled exasperatedly. “Do you have any idea how dangerous it could be for you to get caught with such a file?” I grimaced, knowing exactly where he was heading. “They’ll lock you in a hole so deep that not even Dorian Zhumagulov, his brothers, and the New York Bratva would be able to drag you out of.”

“We have to try,” I objected, already accepting the risks. “Find me a way inside, Lucas.”

“It’s not about finding a way inside, Nina!” He was definitely throwing his arms in the air. “It’s about getting you out! The police station is a logistical nightmare!”

“I know, but we’re the best team.” I inhaled a steady breath and opened the car door. “We can do this.”

The edge of the blonde wig scratched my forehead as I walked across the road. Lucas cursed and groaned through the earpiece, complaining about me being suicidal, but I was so used to his whining I barely registered it.

“You can still walk away,” he said before I entered the lobby and glanced around.

“And look into Matilda’s eyes like I didn’t flush her cousin’s only chance of returning home down the drain?”