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He raises his brow at my snark and for the first time since I stepped into his office, a small smile tugs at his mouth. “All of the major players have moles in the force on their payroll. We’ve been wanting to start an operation to find all the moles and draw them out, make an example of them. Intel has said that Annika Wolfe is looking for security, so we have an in.”
“She’s hiring externally?” That doesn’t seem right. Personal security for the head of The Talons would surely be an internal promotion.
Gary shrugs a shoulder. “I don’t know much more than that. Stuart Worth has been making enquiries and a few people have even met with her but so far, no one has stuck. If you’re able to get in, we can start to build a case.”
I roll my tongue over my teeth as I think it through. “And if I do this and get the information, I come back to my job as normal?”
He looks at me seriously. “This is need to know Harv, very few people are aware of this. So as far as everyone is concerned, you’re fired. You receive no paycheque, you’re not on the books, you’re disgraced, and anyone here who might be interrogated would confirm that fact without lying.”
I huff out a breath, my knee jumping once again as I consider the alternatives.
“Annika Wolfe is an enigma; we haven’t ever been able to bring her in for questioning on anything. She’s careful, so she’ll conduct all sorts of checks before she’d be willing to bring you onto her team. That’s why everything has to go through officially. The Chief of Police is aware of the operation and if you deliver, we can talk about reinstating your badge.”
“All this just for a discussion?” I seethe, standing quickly and pacing in the small office. “I want a guarantee, Gary.”
“I can’t give that to you, Harv. I’ve fought to get you this. You can’t go beating unarmed perps to the point of hospitalisation without ramifications, son.”
John Tanner. Fucking bane of my life right now. “One slip of my fist and I’m punished for eternity.” I sigh over dramatically.
“One?” Gary smirks. “More like the last in a line of misdemeanours that can no longer be swept under the rug.”
Okay. I have a temper. Nobody’s perfect.
“You’ve lost your job today either way. Taking this on is your only way of possibly winning it back.” Gary leans back in his chair and looks at me with an apologetic downturn of his lips.
“Okay, what do I have to do?”
I’ve been stripped of my honours within the force, they took my badge, my gun, and my fucking dignity. They’d even taken my personal phone to wipe it of any and all traces of police information and interactions. I’m given a week. The captain has an informant who was able to secure me a meeting with Stuart Worth, Annika Wolfe’s head of security. I’ve given up my flat as I don’t have an income anymore and have to be out in less than a week. If I don’t get this Talons gig, I will be penniless within a couple of months with the rent there. I’ve spent the last few days visiting with my grandmother, to hopefully make up for the foreseeable future when I won’t be able to see her. Captain Marks has assured me that she’ll be safe while I’m gone.
Tonight is for me. One last night to myself before I join the fucking Talons. Gary gave me a file on the syndicate and its enigma leader before I’d left his office and he was right, they have very little on Annika Wolfe besides speculation. There were surveillance photos and I’ve noticed two things. She is beautiful, and she never fucking smiles. I guess money earnt through debauchery doesn’t buy happiness. I already hate her. I’ve been policing the city streets for long enough to know that the four groups running their illicit business across the capital are responsible for most of the bad that goes on. Greed and power get men in high places, and they resort to murder and torture to stay there. Dealers and runners recruit kids into their world, ruining lives before they’ve properly begun. And tomorrow I meet with the Ice Queen herself.
I head to one of my regular watering holes, Brasilia. The club is busy for a Thursday with loud music thumping against myear drums and distracting me from my rising frustration and anxiety. Blue strobe lighting flashes and swoops over the dance floor where writhing bodies bump and grind against each other.
At the bar, I order my Caipirinha, only place in the city that makes a good one, and I lean back against the wooden counter to survey the crowd. I like the beat of the music and the way everyone here seems free of inhibitions. I people watch, enjoying it because I’m good at it, it’s what makes me a good cop.Mademe a good cop. Fuck, I need a distraction.
Luckily, I don’t have to wait to long for one to come along. A short and curvaceous brunette sidles up next to me at the bar, her hair falling to her bottom, her dress barely covering anything. With the way her tits sit under the thin fabric, I’d say they are fake, and her lips are unnaturally plump. Dark brown eyes are lined in thick black liner, and her heels are like needle points.
“Hey,” she purrs, leaning on the bar facing the opposite direction to me.
I spare her a sideways glance. “Hi.”
“Buy me a drink?” Her pouty mouth stretches into a flirty smile, revealing brilliant white teeth.
I sip my own cocktail, keeping my gaze on the crowd on the dance floor, their hips swaying and hands roaming, it’s an intoxicating sight. “And why would I do that?”
“For company,” she says with a chirpy bounce, completely undeterred by my surliness.
I finally turn to face her; she’s pretty and as interested as I am. “What makes you think I want company?”
“You look lonely,” she says with an exaggerated pout, batting false eyelashes at me.
I bark a laugh at that and down my drink.
“What’s your name?” she asks.
“Javier,” I answer, playing up my accent. Most people would listen to me and assume I was born and bred in the city. As it is, I was brought here when I was a toddler, and an attentive ear would probably note the lilt to my accent courtesy of my grandmother who raised me. I find women like the intonation, so I try to use it to my advantage.
She rolls her bottom lip between her teeth, but it doesn’t hide her smile or the way her eyes land on my lips. “Aren’t you going to ask me my name?”
