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Kristen Hays, puppeteer of hearts and minds. Or so she likes to think.
I almost laugh at the irony. So Alessa and I were match-made by this traitor?
It has a poetry to it.
And what I feel for Alessa is real. Well beyond the capability of Hays to taint it.
"The question is, what's your endgame?" I rise and come forward to the bars. "Did you want her out of the picture so your mafia pals could move in on her territory? Take over the Ruby? Or are you just hell-bent on destroying people for the fun of it?"
Hays' smile remains, but it's frozen in place. Good. I'm getting under her skin.
I snort derisively. "I get it. You're a snake who wormed your way into the Bureau to feed intel to your real bosses. What did they offer? Money? Or are you just power hungry?" My lip curls in disgust.
Hays shoots to her feet. "That's enough. I'll be reporting your statements from today's session. Clearly you are unstable."
Shit. I still need a little more. "So, what happens now? Is this your grand victory?"
"Victory?" Hays laughs, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Oh, Miller, you still don't get it, do you? This isn't about winning or losing." She comes to the bars and lowers her voice to a hiss. "This is about showing that girlfriend of yours just howeasilyshe can be controlled. She thinks she's so strong, so untouchable…but in the end, both of you are mere pawns in Vince Ricci's game."
Ah. So there it is at last.
Vince Ricci, the Mancini Capo who runs the brothels. He's the one behind all this. The one trying to shore up his power, to remove Alessa from the Ruby and take it over himself. I shudder as I think about what his vision for the place would be.
And in the end, I bet I know who Ricci's ultimate target will be: the Don himself. I bet Vince fancies himself as a Godfather.
A thrill of victory flashes through me, but I keep my expression stony. "I guess he'll have to keep playing that game without your help, Hays. You're finished. Everyone knows what you are now."
Her lips peel back from her teeth in a snarl. For a moment I think she might actually attack me.
But then the side door swings open and Stephen Bell strides in, accompanied by two armed agents—and Evelyn Chang, whose eyes meet mine burning with triumph as she gives a firm nod.
We fuckinggotit.
"Dr. Hays, stand away from Agent Miller," he orders tersely.
The color drains from Hays' face. "Steve—what is this?" she stammers.
"It's over, Hays," he says quietly. The fury in his eyes speaks of a deeply personal betrayal. "We heard every word. This cell has been recording your entire conversation."
"What?" Her head whips around, eyes bulging. "That's—you can't—"
"Actually we can, with the signed consent of the inmate," Bell says. He pulls a document from his jacket and holds it up. My signature scrawls across the bottom.
It was my idea. And it took a hell of a lot of convincing to make it happen. Evelyn Chang actually put her badge on the line with Bell, threatening to walk herself if he didn't at least let us try.
"No..." Kris Hays looks a little deranged now, her sleek hair coming loose around her shoulders. "She's lying, Steve, trying to save herself—"
"Enough." Bell's voice cracks through the cell like a gunshot. "Dr. Kristen Hays, you are under arrest for obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and collusion with organized crime." He nods to the two agents, who step forward and take hold of a sputtering, wild-eyed Hays.
As they drag her out, one of them reciting the Miranda warning, her burning gaze locks with mine. "You'll pay for this, you backstabbing bitch," she snarls. "You don't know who you're dealing with."
"I think I've got a pretty good handle on who you are, actually," I reply evenly.
And then she's gone. The cell seems twice as large without her toxic presence suffocating the air.
I let out a slow breath and sink down onto the cot. The confrontation has drained me, but there's also sweet relief. We did it.
Chang hangs around, trying to speak to me, until Bell orders her away. And then he lingers there outside the bars. I meet his gaze, seeing my own exhaustion reflected there. Exposing corruption within the Bureau has devastated him deeply.
