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“Great—tell him that I appreciate the assist.” Hearing Dante say that Joel helped him out in any way, made her sick, but she needed to remember that this was all just part of the game. They needed to pretend that Joel fucked up so that Dante could get out of prison and go on with business as usual. Still, it had to be a hard pill to swallow.
Trista turned off her phone and put it back into her pocket. “You all right?” she asked.
“No, but I will be,” Joel said. “I hate letting that guy think that I fucked up and that’s why he’s getting out of jail. If I had things my way, he’d rot in a cell for the rest of his damn life.”
“I get it,” Trista said, “I really do, but we need his whole organization, and that can only happen if Dante’s out of prison.”
“What happens next?” Joel asked. “I mean, we got Dante out, what next?”
“Next, you and I have to go into hiding while we wait for him to slip up again,” Trista said.
“No,” Joel said, “there’s no way that I’m going to hide away while we wait him out. I have a life to live and a precinct to run. I can’t go into hiding with you.”
“All right, suit yourself,” Trista said. “But don’t come crying to me when the Gemini Brothers land on your doorstep. They’re not going to stop coming for you just because Dante is out, Joel.”
“Well, I’ll take my chances,” he said. “Besides, I can take care of myself. I’ve gotten this far, haven’t I?” he asked.
“Do what you want,” Trista said acting as if she didn’t care, but she did. She wasn’t lying when she told Melody that she liked her. Even though she had to lie to her new friend, she knew that she was doing the right thing. Trista would never want to do anything to hurt someone whom Melody cared about, and she cared about Joel.
* * *
Trista called Melody and when she let the call go to voicemail for the fifth time, she knew that she should just give up. Trista wasn’t usually one to give up so easily, but she needed to get back to her place, pack her bags and head out of town to the safe house that her office secured for her. She was hoping to give Melody a heads up so that she could help keep an eye on Joel, but she couldn’t do that if she didn’t answer the phone and let Trista explain. She’d just have to stop by his place, to make sure that he knew what he was up against, before heading out of town. If Joel still refused to leave with her, she’d know that she did all she could to help him.
She packed her bag and was on her way out when her cell phone rang. “This better be good, Trista,” Melody spat. “The only reason I’m calling you back is that I’ve been trying to reach Joel all night, and he’s not answering his phone. What did you do to him?”
“Nothing,” Trista assured, “I left him at the precinct about an hour ago. I was going to swing by his place on my way out of town, to make sure that he’s all right.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think that he’s okay, Trista,” Melody spat. “You kidnapped him and now, I can’t get in touch with him. What am I supposed to believe?” Melody asked.
“I know that asking you to believe me, is a long shot, but if you could, that would be great. I told Joel that it was a bad idea to go back to his place. Maybe he took my advice and went into hiding. The Gemini Brothers won’t give up trying to find him, but he’s stubborn and won’t listen to reason.”
“Well, you’ve only been on one date, but you seem to have him pegged,” Melody teased.
“I’d hardly call what we did tonight, going on a date. He helped me free Dante Gemini, and then, we went our separate ways. He didn’t even buy me dinner,” Trista said.
“So, I’m assuming that you didn’t get our good night kiss then?” Melody asked. She was taunting Trista, trying to knock her off of her game, but she wouldn’t allow that. Trista needed to keep her head clear if she was going to get out of town tonight as planned.
“Listen, I’m headed out of town, and I’d advise you to get Joel to do the same if you want to keep your friend alive,” Trista said.
“When I find Joel, I’ll tell him your concerns,” Melody assured. “I’m sure that he’ll take them to heart. Listen, we’re not friends, Trista, and we won’t be friends. You lied to me, and I don’t handle liars well. I’d appreciate it if you just didn’t contact me again, please.”
“Whatever you say, Melody,” Trista agreed. She wasn’t about to argue with the woman, she was right, Trista had lied to her about who she was. It didn’t stop the pain that she felt about being blown off though, and Trista had a feeling that nothing would help her get over it.
* * *
It was late, and Trista felt about ready to drop. It felt like weeks since she walked into Savage Hell to meet Joel for their supposed date. It felt like a lifetime had passed since she held him at gunpoint and got him to agree to release Dante Gemini. Now, she was on her way out of town, driving to the safe house, but first, she wanted to stop and check on Joel. Honestly, she wanted to give him one last chance to leave with her, but she had a feeling that she already knew what his answer was going to be. He was as stubborn as they came, and for some odd reason, that turned her completely on. She always liked a man who’d stand his ground and made her work a bit to get him to notice her. It kept her on her toes, and Trista needed that in her life—someone to challenge her.
Not that Joel had signed up for that in any way. As soon as she told him that he was free to go, earlier that evening, he ran out of the precinct like his pants were on fire. Sure, maying holding the guy at gunpoint, instead of asking for his help upfront, wasn’t her finest decision, but she felt as though she had no other choice. Maybe she should have led him on, and asked him back to her place, instead of kidnapping him and demanding that he help her. The problem with that plan was that it wasn’t Trista’s style. She was a push-through kind of woman. If something stood in her way, she found a way through it, not around it. Demanding that Joel go with her to the precinct while holding a gun in his side was more her speed, and unfortunately, it also earned her a lot of enemies.
Trista pulled up to the address she had for Joel. Using the CIA’s resources to track people down, was one of her great pleasures in life. She loved being able to find anyone, anywhere. As soon as she got out of her car, Trista knew that something was off. She had pretty good instincts and usually, trusting them got her out of sticky situations.
Trista pulled her gun from her shoulder holster and rounded the side of the house, deciding to go in through the back door. She just hoped that if someone was in the house with Joel, they wouldn’t have noticed her pulling up to the place. She pushed her way into the already opened back door and cleared the kitchen. There was no sign of foul play, but there was also no sign of Joel either.
She wanted to call out to him but knew that wasn’t a good idea. Alerting anyone that she was there wouldn’t work in giving her the element of surprise. She walked through the dark house and wondered if Joel was even home. If he wasn’t, why was his back door open? Trista cleared the family and dining room and looked up the stairs to where she knew whoever was in the house would be waiting for her. Trista was about to go up the staircase when a hand grabbed her arm. “Don’t,” a man’s voice whispered into her ear. She turned to find Joel holding her back from going up to the second floor.
“What’s going on?” she whispered.
“Someone’s in the house,” he breathed. “The back door was open when I got home.”
