AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t strike me as the type to give a shit what your mother thinks.”
I threw a dark look at him, then turned back to the road. “Former rule follower here.”
We rode in silence for a few minutes before he said, “You’re still holding out on me.”
“Excuse me?” I shot back.
“There’s something about this investigation that has you panicked.”
My thoughts went immediately to the photo at his feet, but I ignored the compulsion to look down there. “Couldn’t it be my concern for a missing girl?”
“It could,” he conceded, “but it’s more than that.” He paused, then said quietly, “Your sister was kidnapped. You were there.”
Bitterness bled into my words. “Someone’s been doing his homework.”
“I have to know who I’m working with.”
“Well, forgive me if I haven’t had time to research you all that extensively, seeing how I’m trying to find a missing child. So while I’m flattered you’ve decided to trust me, I’m still on the fence about you.”
He released a dark chuckle. “What do you want to know?”
My mouth dropped open, and I looked over to see if he was being an asshole, but he seemed amused.
“Go ahead,” he said. “I might not answer all your questions, but I might answer some.”
“I’m too tired for fucking guessing games.”
“Fine,” he said, stretching out his legs and leaning back. “Yes, I’ve worked in organized crime—local, statewide and internationally.” He grinned and swung his head to face me. “And when I say local, I don’t mean here. My previous residences.”
“Why would you just admit that to me?” I asked in disbelief. “I used to be a cop.”
“Used to be is key there, and I never admitted to anything specific. Plus, I can deny it later, claim I was bullshitting you.”
“But you’re not.”
His mouth twisted into a dark smile.
Hell, why not try to appease my curiosity. “Why did you move here?”
“Needed a change of scenery.”
“Too many bad influences where you were before?” I asked in a snide tone.
He was quiet for a moment, then said, “Something like that.”
“Care to expand on that?”
“No.”
“I know about your arrest, obviously. Why did you screw up your deal with the feds?”
He grinned. “Who says I did?”
“The press.”
He snorted. “They don’t always get things right. You of all people should know that.”
“But you did help bring down an international drug cartel,” I continued. “Why? Especially when you knew it would blow up your life?”
