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He frowned. “Stop. Don’t get your hopes up for something that’s never going to happen.”
Pressing my lips together, I swallowed my arguments. I didn’t want to get his hopes up until I knew I could pull this off.
“See you next week,” I murmured, placing the phone back in its holder.
He nodded before standing up and leaving. I watched him walk away before I stood up and left the visiting area. The prison was about two hours from Braidwood, and I still had one more thing to do before I made the drive back.
Slipping into the Range Rover I’d borrowed from my mom’s garage, I drove a few miles before pulling into a hotel parking lot. I scanned the area around me for a third time before getting out of the car. All day I’d been careful to make sure I wasn’t followed.
Hurrying into the hotel lobby, I pulled out my phone and looked at the room number again. Pressing the elevator button, I tapped my foot impatiently until the doors slid open on the fifth floor. My eyes darted to each door, reading the room numbers as I rushed past them until I halted in front of the one I was looking for. I tapped my knuckles gently on the door and only had to wait a few moments before it swung open.
“You’re late,” James told me as I stepped inside.
“I told you I was seeing Noah first.” I dropped my purse on the bed. “That’s why we chose this hotel. Because it’s close to the prison.”
“Have you found anything out since you’ve been home?” he asked, taking a seat on the bed.
I frowned. “I’ve been back for a week. I’m still trying to adjust.”
“Katalina, I know this wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said gently. “But I think this can work to our benefit. You can get what you need much easier now.”
“Easy for you to say,” I grumbled, glaring at him. “I’m surrounded by vultures while you sit all cozy behind a desk.”
James ran a hand over his head, making a mess of his perfectly styled golden hair. His fresh-shaven jaw ticked at my words. His entire demeanor and look portrayed him as a clean cut, right side of the law, type of guy. Which described exactly who he was. He was a state detective who was using me as much as I was him.
“I’m going behind my boss’s back to do this,” he snapped. “No one in the department knows I’m doing this.”
“But if you succeed, you’ll tell everyone. And the promotion and recognition you’ll get will change your life.” I slumped onto the bed next to him. “While I’ll be hiding for the rest of mine.”
“You came to me for this,” he reminded me. “You wanted to make this deal.”
I scowled. This was not the deal I had made. Though there was no going back now. I’d signed my name on the dotted line, promising I’d go through with this. James had been worried I would back out.
The original plan had been for me to get information from Everly. Once I found out she went to my college, I knew it was only a matter of time before West’s family brought her into the fold. I’d left when I was so young that I never got to find out the ins and outs of what all the families did. But ever since I watched that man get murdered in William’s office, I knew our parents weren’t just rich from legal business.
According to James, there’d been certain superiors within the state police that had been trying to get evidence on all the founding families for years. They could never get enough to bring charges forward. That’s where I came in. I sought James out six months ago, after stalking him long enough to know he wasn’t getting his pockets lined by anyone in Braidwood.
In return for the evidence I found, Noah would be released with all his charges dropped. Evidence against the heads of the families. Particularly William and Richard. But not only them. James wanted all the adults involved in illegal activities. That included Eli, and West. And now River since he was back home.
“If I get caught poking around the houses, I’ll be in deep shit,” I muttered. “If we let this play out, then next year I won’t need to sneak around. The secrets will be handed to me—”
“No,” he cut me off, his eyes flashing with annoyance. “It’s been six months. I’m not waiting another year. Remember what happens if you back out of this, Katalina.”
I shot up from the bed, glaring at him. “I’ve dealt with enough fucking threats this week. I don’t need them from you too.”
His chest rose as he took a deep breath. The anger in his eyes mellowed as he tried to calm down. My guard rose when he grabbed my hand. I didn’t know how to classify our relationship. We sure as hell weren’t friends. In the beginning, he had been nicer. But as the months went by, his patience thinned. I’d come to the realization last month that no matter what I did, I wasn’t getting out of this unscathed.
“I’m sorry I lost my temper,” he murmured, not letting go of my hand. “It’s getting to me that it’s been months, and we’ve gotten nowhere.”
“I told you it would take a while.” I tugged my hand from his grip and took a wide step back. “And this makes it harder. I’m going to have eyes on me pretty much all the time.”
“Are those guys giving you trouble?”
I let out a humorless chuckle. “And if they were? It’s not like you can do anything about it.”
“You shouldn’t have acted out against them when Noah got arrested,” he mumbled, shaking his head.
“They deserved it. They’re the reason he’s stuck in there.”
