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Shit.
“Shame, isn’t it?” Hawker steps forward and pats me down, removing the gun from the back of my jeans.
“I brought your file. Now let us go.”
“You want your wreck of a friend back?” He snatches the file from my hand, still holding his gun at me with his other. “You are as stupid as she is if you thought that would happen, Alex.”
“Why involve her? She had no idea what Danny was working on.” Abby’s completely out of it and turning whiter by the second. I can’t see if her chest is moving.
“You would never have given me this file willingly.” He shakes his head at me. “I needed her to draw you to me. You came to this town for her just as much as you did for me. You needed to cling to someone. To save someone to make your sad, empty life seem like it had a meaning.”
“Don’t act like you know me,” I warn. I may be unarmed, but I’ll put up a decent fight if it means getting her out of here alive.
“When I realized Danny had sent you those files, I made you a part of the new plan,” he whispers, “I’m good at turning inconvenience into advantages.” His words chill my bones when I think of Shaniya and what the man in front of me did to her.
“I’ve got a lot of people who want me dead, and I’ve worked too hard to get to where I am to let them bring me down. Do you know how hard it is to become an ATF agent…? Of course, you don’t.” He sniggers to himself. “You're a small-town sheriff who only got to where you are on your daddy’s merit.”
“That's not true.” I shake my head, trying to hold in my tears. What he’s saying only proves how little he knows about me.
“I have years left in my career, good connections, and a great pension plan. I ain't gonna let all that go because your brother wanted to be a fucking hero, Alex.”
“So, what’s the plan? You shoot me in the head, you take that file and go back to being an agent? The Souls will find you eventually. They have evidence that isn’t in that file, they could have used it to turn you in, but there’s a reason why they haven’t. They want you dead, and we both know they’ll make it happen, Hawker.”
“No, Alex, that’s not my plan. Abby here is an addict.”
“Was,” I correct him. “She was an addict.”
“You were her friend, you cared about her. So when you find her like this, you're gonna want justice. That cop instinct in ya is gonna lead you straight for the people that supplied her. Can you guess who those people will be?”
“Your story sucks. Everyone knows that the Dirty Souls don’t do business like that in this town,” I shake my head at him. I don’t have time for this weak-assed little scenario. I need to get to Abby.
“But what if they did, and the new Deputy Sheriff in town wasn’t prepared to let the Dirty Souls reign continue. It wouldn’t matter if you’re fucking one of them. They’d see through you, the same way they see through all their problems.”
“Hawker, you must know that plan won’t work. Roswell knows I wouldn’t do that. He knows the Souls don’t supply. Just let me help her.” I look over to Abby, praying I’ll find some empathy in the man. “Take your evidence and get out of town while you still have the chance.”
“I hate to break it to you, Alex, but Roswell won’t be able to stop an investigation as big as the one I plan on opening,” the bastard sniggers.
He moves over to the table where he picks up another syringe. “Taking down the Souls is gonna be a moment of triumph in my career. People will talk about it for years.”
“You haven’t thought your plan through. Danny wasn’t the only one with evidence on you; the Souls have evidence too. You raped an innocent woman, one who saw what you did to my brother. If you dig into them, all that will come out, and you’ll be locked up with them. Please let me call an ambulance. You can leave here and disappear before they find you.” I try to reason with him. I have to for Abby.
“Go where? Life on the run is no fun, Alex.”
“It’s better than what you deserve. Danny was just doing his job. He didn’t deserve to die.” I lose a little of my control and yell at him.
“Doing his job?” Hawker looks at me with a confused frown.
“He was a good cop, he knew what you were doing, and he was gonna bring you down.”
“You really are a stupid bitch, aren’t you?” He moves toward me and grips my throat, slamming me into one of the metal containers and making my head spin.
“Do you think Danny sent you this file so you could bring me down?” He makes that cruel laugh again.
“He trusted me to bring you down, and that's exactly what I’m gonna do. Even if it kills me. You're in too deep, too many people have seen those files, and I’ve been working with the Souls to make sure justice catches up with you one way or another.” I show him that I’m fearless by staring back at him.
“You think your brother sent you all this because he wanted you to bring me down?” He repeats himself, the smile on his face widening.
“Oh Alex, you poor thing. Your brother wasn’t trying to bring me down. He was trying to protect himself.” He tilts his head and studies me as his words sink onto my expression.
