Page 27 of Taking His Diva

Not even my asshole father could do that.

“How exactly did you think you would pin this all on me?” I sit up and quietly toe off my heels, so I will have a strong base for when the gun goes off in my hands. “I’d love to hear this brilliant plan you’ve come up with.”

I get to my feet. Square my shoulders. Plant my feet. Point the gun at Agent Rose’s back. A strange sense of peace shrouds me, protects me from the truth of this moment. I’m going to kill a man. But I don’t have any other choice. If I want to get back to the life I was building with Scott, this is what I need to do.

“You’re going to say some lines on camera for me, all about how you were a front for your daddy’s laundering, how you helped him identify girls who would be easy to take.” He stares at the laptop, typing, and clicking, not giving me one fucking thought. Because I’m just some weak, rich, bitch that he doesn’t have to worry about.

“All the things I did for your dad. Then I’m going to kill you. If you cooperate, I won’t do anything to that boyfriend of yours. Don’t do as I say, and he’s going to be investigated too. I’ll be the hero who brought down the country’s biggest domestic human trafficking ring from the inside.”

Finally, Agent Rose stands and turns to me, his eyes widening and nostrils flaring as he takes in my shooting stance.

“One problem with that plan, Agent Rose. You didn’t do your research.” I grip the back of the slide, pulling it open to see there is indeed a round in the chamber. It takes a fraction of a second, and my eyes are back on Agent Rose. His face paled in fear. “You’re looking at a graduate of Mary Teresa’s School for Young Ladies. Our gym classes consisted of ballroom dancing, golf, yoga, aerobics, and oh yeah, skeet shooting and proper gun handling. Now, I’ve never shot a handgun, but I’m pretty surethe basics are going to be the same. Just aim and squeeze the trigger, right?”

I don’t let him speak. In quick succession, I point to one knee, fire. He screams, and that leg gives out beneath him. Point to the other knee and fire. He falls forward onto his stomach, crying and bleeding all over the concrete floor.

A crash behind me has me whipping around with the gun still firmly in my hands. Scott runs full tilt to me as more law enforcement spills in behind, yelling his name. Just the sight of him has every cell in my body turning to jelly. I flick the safety on the gun and let it fall to the floor. His arms are around me in the next instant. Around us, men and women dressed in riot gear rush toward Agent Rose, their guns pointed at him as he’s cuffed, and a gurney is wheeled in to take him to the hospital.

“I heard the gunshots and thought it was you. I thought you were dead. They tried to stop me, tried to tell me they would get you out, but they were taking too fucking long.” His hands slide over my arms my back. He takes a half step back and searches my face. “When did you learn to shoot a gun?”

“Sixteen. Every young lady should know how to keep up with her husband on the golf course and the skeet shooting range.”

“What the fuck kind of high school did you go to?” Scott laughs and kisses my forehead, pulling me back into his chest.

“Never thought I would say I was happy to be a graduate of Mary Teresa’s, but fuck, that old broad may have just saved my life.” I look up into Scott’s warm hazel eyes, ignoring the activity around us. “By the way, even after ten years of golf lessons, I suck at that damn game. I hope that won’t deter you from someday marrying me.”

“Literally nothing on this planet would keep me from marrying you.” His expression turns serious, and Scott cups my face in his rough hands.

“Seriously, are you okay?”

The paramedics wheel former Agent Rose past us, and he’s still wailing in pain. Maybe I’m a little messed up in the head because the sound makes me smile.

“I’m good. Take me home.”

Chapter Fourteen

Scott

As it turned out, I couldn’t just take Lacy home right that minute. She had to give a statement to the FBI, tell Agent Templeton all about the threats and the earlier so-called interrogation. Turns out it was all bullshit.

“So, you’re telling me you’ve had this asshole pretending to still be an agent for months and you are just now figuring it out?” Lacy sits on my lap, the weight of her slight body pressing on my thighs and hips reassuring me that she really is okay now. Instead of a cold interrogation room, we are sitting in what I keep thinking of as the FBI’s break room. There are stiff-looking couches in one corner, several cafeteria-style tables and chairs, vending machines, and various kitchen appliances. So far, only the three of us have set foot inside, however.

“You have to understand; Agent Rose was trained to go undetected. He was undercover for many years. Longer than he should have been.” Templeton mumbles the last bit under her breathe, frustration obvious in the tension of her jaw.

Returning her gaze to us, she continues explaining how this all was possible. “So, as far as we can tell, Rose met Mr. Falluci, Lacy’s father, during an operation. At that time, Rose was working undercover in a local mob operation. Mr. Falluci discovered his true identity and paid him to help coverthe traffic operations’ tracks. This went on for years. Rose secured a transfer out of undercover. At that time, he became a supervisory agent overseeing his own missions. It gave him access to resources which came in very handy for your father.”

“So, if my dad had an inside guy, how did he end up getting caught?” Lacy shivers a little, and I wrap my arms around her, wanting nothing more than to drag her home right now. After cleaning up her scraped knees, the Bureau was nice enough to give some sweatpants and a T-shirt to change into since her clothes had been pretty well ruined through the course of the night. It’s a testament to how much she’s been through that Lacy has yet to complain about the unattractive ensemble.

“The simple answer is his operation grew too big to ignore. Rose’s efforts to distract from the Ring of Fire, as we’ve come to refer to it, weren’t working anymore.” Templeton sighed and leaned back in her chair. “This thing involved some of the biggest businessmen, politicians, hell, even celebrities, that you can imagine. All either helping with the trafficking of girls or coming on board as clients. Not just in the U.S. either. Worldwide. Mr. Falluci isn’t the ring leader, but he is very close to the top of the organization.”

“Will he be caught?” We don’t have to question who Lacy is referring to.

“Hard to say. Your father is a brilliant, ruthless man. He certainly won’t make it easy for us.” Templeton raps her knuckles on the table separating us, shaking the surface enough that the untouched coffees before us threaten to spill over the brim of the cheap cups. “But the good news is you were never really being investigated, Ms. Falluci.”

Lacy visibly cringes at the use of her last name. I don’t blame her. She’s just spent hours listening to it be used in connection with some of the evilest crimes imaginable.

“Rose had been able to lock down your finances with connections he still had in the bureau and the financial world. But that has all been reversed now. You are free to return to life as you knew it before this whole mess.”

I grip her tighter. She’s not going anywhere if I have any say.

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