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“Miss Finch, can you please take a seat so we can talk?”
“No. I certainly will not.”
“Addy, sit down,” Logan barks, and I hate myself for listening to him.
“What’s going on? I don’t understand.” My eyes dart back and forth in desperate need of answers.
Logan steps forward. “Addy, my name…my real name is Logan Broderick. I work for the Drug Enforcement Administration under Chicago PD’s Crime Unit.” I blink rapidly, unable to process what Logan is telling me. I shake my head in denial. “I’ve been undercover for the past two years, working under Vincent Leoni and building a case against him to take him down.”
A tightness forms in my chest. “What? No…”
“I made a vital mistake when I approached you at the gala that night. I never planned for this shit to get so messed up. This is on me for getting you —”
“Stop! I don’t want to hear this.” I shake my head and close my eyes. I cover my ears.
“Miss Finch—”
“Jake, give us a minute.” I hear footsteps, then the opening and closing of the door. “Addy, look at me.”
“No.” I squeeze my eyes tighter.
He’s suddenly too close. His warm hand covers mine, and I scream, “Don’t touch me!”
“Jesus, you’re bleeding through your bandage. Let me look at that.” I tear my eyes open and narrow them at Logan.
“You’re a cop?” I question in disbelief.
Guilt fills his eyes. “DEA.”
I scoff cynically. “How fitting. You grew up to be exactly what you wanted.”
“Addy, it’s not like—”
“Like what? That you’ve been lying to me this whole time? Unbelievable.”
“I didn’t have a choice.” He shoves his hands through his hair, and his jacket hikes up, exposing his full badge. “You think this shit has been easy for me?”
“Which part? Stealing my chance at a real story? Feeding me lies and sleeping with me so I would back down? Yeah, that must have been real hard. But I guess you have to do what you have to do to stay undercover—”
“That has nothing to do with—”
I take the cup of water and throw it at him. “Stop playing me for a fool. Gig’s up. You could have walked away from me. You didn’t have to go all savior on me and bring me into this ugly world.”
He places his hands on the table and dips his head. “You’re right. I should have never taken advantage of you. I fucked up.”
His confession hurts even worse. “Take advantage? Please. Who’s doing the undermining now?”
“I’m not. I’m admitting I went too far. My job was to infiltrate Vincent’s life, not yours. I was selfish when it came to you. I should have never touched you.”
A sob travels up my throat. “That’s right! You shouldn’t have!” I scream. “You should’ve never led me on to believe you cared for me.” I bite the inside of my cheek to fight back my tears.
Logan tries to reach for me, but I quickly stand and move away from him. “Addy, I do care about you.”
“Oh, please. You don’t have to pretend anymore—”
“Jesus, I’m not pretending!”
“I hate you.” The first tear falls. “I backed off for you.”
He comes at me, stopping to shut off the camera above my head. “I didn’t plan for this shit to happen. I didn’t plan on you walking in instead of my target. I didn’t plan on wanting you the way I do.” I cover my ears, refusing to be tricked by his words. “Addy, look at me.” I shake my head. “Please.”
“No. You’re a liar.”
“I was doing my job—”
“Feeding drugs to minors is your job? Aiding a human trafficking ring is your job? Killing innocent girls is part of your job? How many other people have you murdered to do your job?”
“Her name is Jessica Parks. And she’s alive and well.”
“What?”
“I didn’t kill anyone. I told you to trust me.”
“But I saw you shoot her and throw her overboard.”
“You heard a gunshot go off. I tossed her overboard, but minutes before, I texted my unit to have a boat on the side to catch her. The gunshot was a decoy, so if anyone was listening, they would believe I followed through with my orders.”
“But I saw—”
“Addy, you had your eyes shut. Then I shot you with a tranquilizer. You were out within seconds. I got us off the boat and took you home. I stayed with you to make sure you didn’t have any adverse reactions to the drug, then left.”
No…I don’t believe… The memory of the pinch I felt just before everything went black surfaces. “Fine, then why did you come for me at work? You could have let me go.”
“I wanted to, but it was too late. I’d raised too many questions, and my team and I thought it was best to keep the ruse going. We were so close, we didn’t want anything to tip Vincent off.”
