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"Thankyou," I tell her.
"Oh, and Alessa? " she calls, as I head for the door. I pause in the doorway. "I think getting those charges against you dropped should be quite easy after this shit-show with Agent Miller."
After a moment, I say, "Great."
I should be thrilled, of course. But I won't be happy again until Natalie is free.
CHAPTER26
NATALIE
The stark walls of the cell press in on me as I sit on the edge of the cot, elbows on my knees. I've been in here for what feels like endless days now, though time blurs together in the unchanging monotony.
Hearing Alessa's voice—knowing that she was still thinking of me, still on my side—it buoyed me, kept me going for another day. But time drags in here. I'm alone with my thoughts in this cramped space.
Almost alone, anyway.
The heavy door clanks open and I look up to see Dr. Kristen Hays at the bars, perfectly composed as always. The guard with her drags up a chair and sets it down for her, then gives her a nod and leaves.
"Good morning, Natalie," Hays says briskly, taking a seat. "I hope you're doing well today."
"As well as can be expected, under the circumstances." My tone is flat. She's not getting anything from me.
Hays smooths her skirt and crosses one leg over the other. "Yes, well, staying positive is key."
"Positive. Right." It's an effort not to lunge across the small space and throttle her elegant neck through the bars.
Hays regards me with a small smile. "Now, I know this is a difficult time for you. That's why I offered to see you, to offer what psychological support I can. I think it would be productive for us to have an open and honest dialogue. To clear the air."
My hands clench so hard they hurt. Honest. This should be interesting.
When I stay silent, she presses on, undaunted. "I know you cared deeply for Alessa de Luca. It's understandable that you would be...conflicted, after her arrest. But we are all still reeling from your actions in continuing a relationship with her. In turning on your own team, and to support organized crime. Can you give me any insight into your decision-making process around that?"
The urge to laugh bitterly rises in my throat. As if my relationship with Alessa was some fleeting crush.
But I swallow it down and keep my tone neutral. "I did my job. And when I discovered that someone had planted evidence against her—"
"That's a very serious accusation, Miller," Hays says at once. "Are you sure you want to go there?" I stare at her, and she tilts her head, studying me. "It's alright, Natalie. This is a safe space between us. I asked specifically for professional privacy. No cameras. No audio. No one else will know what you say here." Her voice drips with false sympathy. "You must have developed some complicated feelings for Alessa. It can be traumatic when cases become personal—"
"You know nothing about my feelings," I cut in coldly. Time to go on the offensive. "But since you're so concerned, let's talk aboutyourfeelings. Specifically your collusion with the Mancini Family to plant evidence, and your continuing efforts to corrupt the FBI from the inside. How doyoufeel about all that?"
Hays stiffens almost imperceptibly. But I see the flash of uncertainty in her eyes. The first crack in her composure.
"Now, Natalie, you've clearly been under tremendous strain—" she begins.
I barrel on like she hasn't spoken. "Iknowyou had Wright plant evidence to frame Alessa. How did you convince him?"
The smile is slow in developing, but she can't suppress it. "Wright," she sighs at last, "was a useful idiot." She leans forward on her chair. "So infatuated with you that he couldn't think straight. He just couldn't bear the thought of you being seduced by Alessa de Luca. It was child's play to convince him that you needed to be saved from the Mafia princess—atanycost."
I'm angry, but I have to maintain control. "Let me get this straight," I say, forcing myself to speak slowly and calmly, as if processing her confession. "You manipulated Wright into framing Alessa de Luca?"
"Wright was desperate to find any evidence of wrongdoing at the Ruby, even when our initial raid came up empty. So, naturally, he was more than willing to plant some of his own. All he needed was that little push." She chuckles, the sound grating on my nerves. "He went a little further than I expected, when he took that potshot at her in Queens. Yes, he told me about that," she adds at my reaction. "Very suggestible, Sam Wright. Not like you, Natalie. You're rather more difficult to handle. Though we got there in the end, didn't we?"
She pauses, waiting for my response. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I say at last.
"Who do you think recommended you for the undercover role? I knew you'd be the perfect bait for Alessa de Luca. A strong, independent, self-contained woman like you? Irresistible. And the two of you share that ridiculous savior complex, the need to save people who won't even lift a finger to save themselves."
The anger at her description of women like Elena and Sienna fades a little as I consider what she's saying to me about myself. About Alessa. I suppose she's right. Alessa and I do share that need to make the world a better place, only I don't think it's a weakness. Not like Hays seems to think.
