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“And so you took back,” Nick said, his voice soft. “From him.”
Luke’s jaw was set. “Did I have another choice?”
Nick closed his eyes, shook his head. “No,” he said. “You didn’t.” He moved forward and put his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “I would have done the same thing.”
Luke nodded. “If I didn’t believe that, you wouldn’t be the one in here representing me.”
“This case could get dirty. Everything you’ve done, Luke—it could come back down on you.”
“I know that.” The faces of his victims swam through his memory. Killers themselves, dark creatures that had escaped justice for the murder of their kind and humans. Who had, because of technicalities or corruption or pure cunning, escaped the system that was supposed to lock them up or put them down. They’d slipped free, and even as the filthy rats were congratulating themselves on outrunning the long arm of the law, the Alliance stepped in with soldiers who operated outside the confines of the system, its sticky fingers able to reach where that long arm could not.
The PEC itself answered to the Alliance, and yet in sanctioning its own brand of justice, the Alliance broke the very agreement that had created it. That violation was justified by the need to protect the Shadow society as a whole, to ensure the secrecy of a world that operated on the fringes of and beneath human civilization.
Luke was a player, and expendable. He had always known that. But his ultimate goal was justice. And, yes, he sought penance as well. Redemption for a past that he had managed to escape. A past that crept softly up to him more often than he would like to taunt him, to urge him to sink down under.
He would not.
He had fought long and hard for the control of his soul, and he despised those who willingly succumbed to the darkness, who would not even pitch the battle.
He was kyne for a reason and, acknowledged or not, he would stand true.
“If it comes to that, you know I’ll protect the kyne and Tiberius. But I don’t expect an investigation that deep. They have my DNA, and Ryan Doyle has already filed an affidavit as to his vision. The case is open and shut. There’s no reason to dig.”
“The PEC doesn’t always need a reason,” Nick retorted. “And Ryan Doyle will probably take on your trial as a personal crusade.”
That much, Luke thought, was true. “I need out of here, Nick,” he said, standing. “I have no intention of staying in this goddamn cell.”
Nick didn’t even bother to pretend shock or dismay. “I’m assuming you’re not intending to wait for my brilliant legal tap dancing to acquit you. So what are you planning, and how is my ass going to be compromised?”
“That is something I’ve yet to figure out.”
“Well, let me suggest seduction.”
Luke laughed. “What else would I expect from you?”
“Not me, my friend. You.” Nick stood up, then leaned against the glass, looking far more smug than the situation called for. “I was thinking you could turn on the charm with the prosecutor. To be honest, I think you’ll enjoy it.”
“Oh, and why is that?”
“Remember the woman you pointed out to me about a month ago? Sara Constantine? The one who was prosecuting the Stemmons trial?”
Luke’s words tasted bitter as he said, “I remember. Why?”
“Just that you seemed tempted by her.”
“And if I was?”
“Well, my friend, the world is a wild and wooly place, full of coincidences and unexpected flights of fancy.”
“Dammit, Nick, get to the point. What does my chance at plying the prosecutor for a reduced charge and plea bargain have to do with Sara Constantine?”
“Just everything. She’s the newest hire at Division 6 and the lead prosecutor on the case. Under Leviathan’s watchful supervision, of course.”
Luke sat down hard, the shock of Nick’s words settling through him. Sara as the prosecutor.
Sara, who by now knew he was here, in this cell. And she knew what he’d done.
Her involvement would undoubtedly skew his plan. He had seen her tenacity in the pursuit of Xavier Stemmons. She was a woman who demanded answers, and if she went in search of a motive, she might dig deep enough to drag Tasha into this mess.
