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I smile. “As far as anyone knows I am. But I need your help.”
He holds up his hand and shakes his head. “No. Let’s go back to the dead part first. You can’t die, then suddenly reappear and not expect me to ask questions.”
I do my best to explain my plan as quickly as possible, telling him why I decided to fake my own death and anything else he may want to question.
“So, you did it to trick the leader of the cartel out of hiding?” He raises a brow and snorts. “How’d that work for you?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Honestly? Pretty well. I actually have a lead to follow now. Something I wasn’t able to obtain with even your help before.”
The small smile falls from his mouth. “And they knew this whole time?” He points to Lucas.
“They, as in the twins, yes. Charlie, no.”
He closes his eyes as he leans his head to one side, then the other like he’s stretching. “You know, before Charlie’s dad died, I made him a promise to watch over her. That meant physically and mentally. If anyone tried to hurt her, I’d hurt them. And you know what you did?” He doesn’t let me answer. “You hurt her, Theodore. That girl was broken.”
“You don’t think I know that?” I step closer to him.
“No. I don’t think you do. If you actually gave two fucks about her, you wouldn’t have put her through all of that.”
“It was for her own good. I needed this to be believable. If she knew, I wouldn’t have been able to stay away.”
A sad snicker escapes his mouth. “You know how I know you don’t care about her? Because if you did, it wouldn’t matter if she knew or not. If you cared, you wouldn’t have been able to stay away. Period. You’re more in love with the idea of her than you are actually in love with her.”
His words stop me in my tracks and vibrate through my mind. Maybe the old man is right. I brought her here on my own agenda first. Used her for any information she had on the cartel. We wanted the same result, so it was okay. But the more I think about it, the more Sloan’s words settle into me.
Everything I love about Charlie had some sort of benefit for me. Her body? I’d fuck her for a release. Her personality? Fuck. She’s nothing but bratty, but at the same time, she can definitely hold her own in a battle of wills. If you’re going to fuck with the mafia, you need that. You need to be smart. Her being able to handle herself physically was a bonus too. I wouldn’t have to watch every move she made or worry she’d end up dead because I know she wouldn’t let it happen.
“Here’s the stupid map. I don’t see why you can’t just take us there.”
I look behind me and see Charlie descending the stairs as Julius follows. I don’t even have time to reply to Sloan before she’s next to me, shoving a piece of paper into my chest.
“We will all be going, but for now this is going with him.” I take the paper from Charlie and fold it up before handing it to Sloan. “Take this and leave it on your desk or somewhere visible. I want Snyder to see it.”
He levels his eyes with mine before snatching it from my hold. “We aren’t done with our conversation,” he says as he opens the door.
I give him a crooked smile. “We never are, Chief.”
Another huff comes before he steps out and vanishes.
“What conversation?” Charlie questions behind me as I watch Sloan’s taillights grow smaller and smaller.
“Don’t worry about it.”
I can hear the attitude and frustration in her voice. “Care to tell me why you wanted him to have that, then?”
I close the door and look back to her. “If Snyder finds it, I’m sure he’ll tell the ATF agent which will result in more snooping around trying to pin down the location of what you wrote down. When that happens, I guarantee he’ll come knocking on our door wanting more info. When he does, we will give him exactly what he wants.”
She crosses her arms and pops out her hip. “Yeah? And what’s that?”
“Someone to pin shit on. We’re going to give him Emil.”
