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Or Magnus is lying, Liam didn’t say.
Cora flicked a warning glance at him, as if she knew what he was thinking.
Boyd gave an abrupt nod. “Put the pressure on the kid. In my experience, it’s the unassuming ones who hide the biggest secrets. The Booze Dogs are notorious for a variety of things, but being smart isn’t one of them. Somebody there is bound to crack; we just have to administer the right incentive.”
“Incentive,” Liam repeated. There was a gleam of menace in Boyd’s eyes he’d seen before a time or two. Usually, it involved roughing someone up, stealing something important, or blackmail.
“Yes,” Boyd said flatly. “Do whatever it takes to get them to talk.”
Cora shifted in her chair. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“I believe he’s saying we should consider using brute force,” Liam said, not breaking eye contact with Boyd. “Blackmail. Whatever it takes. Isn’t that right,Captain?”
Cora’s gaze whipped to Boyd with a worried frown. “Surely, that’s not what—”
“I never said that.” Boyd glared at Liam. “It wouldn’t be right for me to advise you to do anything unethical. I’m just pointing out that sometimes it helps to get...creative. Think outside the box. The Booze Dogs have always taken justice into their own hands, and they’re not above fighting dirty. If you’re prepared to beat them at their own game, then you need to be prepared to play by their rules.” He glanced at Cora. “Within reason, of course.”
Cora had stiffened beside him, and even without looking at her, Liam could tell she was bothered, but she remained silent. The irony in Boyd’s suggestion was that they were already disregarding the rules. They’d broken into Magnus’s home and used illegal surveillance equipment to gain access to his private information. Liam suspected Boyd would secretly be glad to know they’d employed such underhanded measures, except that their focus was on the wrong target.
They left Boyd’s office to find his wife, Alice, standing impatiently outside the door, tapping her foot. Her glossy red lips were pursed into a moue of distaste.
“Alice, good to see you,” Liam said, nodding. Her hair was smoothed into a loose updo, and she was dressed impeccably, as usual, in a tight blue shift dress, blue heels, and matching jewelry. Crystals dangled from her ears, and she wore an elaborate sapphire necklace with diamond filigree. Flashy and sparkly and crowd-pleasing. That was Alice Thompson.
When she caught sight of Liam, her angry expression bloomed into a flirty smile. “Liam O’Connor, we meet again.” She said it like it was their destiny, but Liam knew better. Alice flirted with everyone, and the minute he walked away, she’d turn that coy smile on the next unsuspecting man who wasn’t her husband. It didn’t escape his notice that Alice completely disregarded Cora, barely glancing in her direction as Cora marched off to her desk. “I’m still waiting for you to fulfill your promise,” Alice simpered.
At Liam’s look of confusion, she let out a tinkling laugh, smacking him playfully. Her hand slid down his arm like she was cataloging every muscle. “We were all supposed to go have drinks, remember? You were going to regale me with tales of you and Boyd growing up in Ireland.”
“Oh, aye,” Liam said, forcing a smile. “We’ll have to all do that soon.” And by soon, he meant never in this lifetime, or the next.
“I’m going to hold you to it.” Alice glanced at him from beneath heavily painted lashes, fiddling with the sparkly sapphire necklace that hung between her impressive cleavage. It was a practiced movement, the purpose no doubt to draw his attention to her charms.
“Alice,” Boyd barked from his desk. Her blooming smile withered on the vine, lips pressed flat and brittle as fallen leaves. Boyd didn’t look happy to see her, either. “What are you doing here?”
She fluttered her fingers at Liam, entered the office, and shut the door behind her. Relieved, Liam hurried to find Cora, but she wasn’t at her desk. He found her in the kitchen pouring coffee.
Before he could say anything, she spun around and gave the same breezy, careless smile she’d been throwing at him all weekend. The fake one that made him grind his teeth because he knew he’d put it there.
“How’s Alice?” Cora asked, blowing on her steaming cup of coffee.
“Disturbing,” Liam said moodily. “Every time I meet her, something about her rubs me the wrong way.”
Cora lifted a delicate brow. “I think there are a lot of men who’d disagree.”
“Boyd deserves more from his wife,” he grumbled, remembering the way Alice had squeezed his arm like a farmer’s wife assessing a piece of prime livestock. He rubbed his biceps as if he could erase the memory. “They’re married.”
“Not everyone honors the vows of holy matrimony,” Cora said, glancing sideways at him. It was a casual comment, but she was making a point. Unfortunately, it was sharp and spiky and hit him right in the gut.
“Ouch.” Liam jerked in mock pain. “I suppose I deserve that.” He did have an affair with Margaret, John Brady’s wife, though their actual affair happened almost two centuries ago. But thanks to the angels’ infuriating setup, everyone in this life—including Margaret herself—believed the affair was a recent event. As a result, Liam almost became a suspect in John Brady’s murder because he’d lied about his relationship with Margaret while he was working on the case. But Cora had helped clear his name. Her kindness and forgiveness had been humbling. Even now, shame prickled over Liam’s shoulders when he thought of all she’d done for him. He was nothing but trouble for her. Always had been. Considering everything that had transpired between them, both past and present, it would take a lifetime to even begin making it up to her. Too bad he didn’t have one to spare.
“Hey, forget about it. Bygones, right?” Cora headed for the door, giving him a warm smile, because that was who she was. She didn’t hold grudges, and at her core, she was compassion itself. It humbled him all over again.
They made their way back to the pen. The place was alive with its usual activity. Rob Hopper was in a heated discussion on his phone. Otto was at his desk, using a sleeve to scrape pastry crumbs onto the floor. Happy was, well, anythingbut. He was scowling at Boyd’s closed office door. Clearly, the captain must be spreading his surliness all over the station today.
“What do you make of Captain Thompson’s advice just now?” Cora asked when they got to her desk.
Liam considered the veiled suggestions Boyd had been making back in his office. Cora may not have understood him, but Liam got the message loud and clear. “I think Boyd’s almost at his breaking point. He’s got a lot of people pressuring him to wrap these cases up, and he’s willing to look the other way if we decide to—What was it he said? Ah, yes. ‘Think outside the box.’”
Cora sank into her chair with a frown. “It’s not like him at all. He’s always been strictly by the book, so I’m still not convinced he meant for us to play dirty in order to get someone from the Booze Dogs to confess.”
