TOO LATE : CHAPTER 41 – 50
Chapter 43
I can still hear Asa in another room, yelling back at whoever is questioning him. He’s demanding a lawyer now. I don’t think that’s going to help him at this point.
Agent Thompson doesn’t ask me more questions once we’re alone. I take the opportunity to bring up Sloan.
“There’s a girl in a bedroom upstairs. Can you make sure she’s okay when your partner returns?”
Agent Thompson nods. “Yeah, we can do that. Anyone else in the house we should be aware of?”
I shake my head. I already regret outing myself; the last thing I’m going to do is out Ryan.
He can do that on his own time when he sees fit. He’ll probably wait until they have Asa in custody.
I hate that it wasn’t our investigation that ended things for Asa, but I’m relieved it’s finally coming to an end. For Sloan’s sake. Ryan, however, is probably fuming right now.
TOO LATE : CHAPTER 41 – 50
A moment later, the bedroom door opens. I glance up to see if agent Bowers found the envelope that contains my badge.
I see the open envelope first, but as soon as I see who’s holding it, my relief turns into one big clusterfk of confusion and dread.
What the fk is happening?
Asa’s eyes meet mine.
What the fk?
He looks down at the envelope in his hands and slaps it against his palm twice. He glances at agent Thompson and says, “I’d like some privacy with my friend, please.”
Agent Thompson nods and walks out of the room. Before he’s out the door, Asa points at agent Thompson’s blue FBI jacket with the three big yellow letters emblazoned across the back of it. “It looks so real, doesn’t it?” he says.
He glances back at me. “I bought them at the costume store downtown.” He laughs and then closes the door. “The shady actors were a little more expensive than the jackets.”
No.
Fk.
No.
I fell right into that one.
I can taste the bile in the back of my throat. I can feel the bI.ood trickling out of my wrists as I struggle with everything in me to somehow get out of these handcuffs.
Asa tosses the envelope containing my badge onto the mattress, then he reaches behind his back and pulls his gvn out of his pants. He takes a seat on the edge of the bed, his mouth drawn tight in anger.
“How’d you like my surprise? Luke.”
I’m looking straight at him…suddenly aware that I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my career. The biggest mistake of my life.
And all I can think about is Sloan.
I squeeze my eyes shut and all I see is Sloan.
TOO LATE : CHAPTER 41 – 50
ASA-POV
“Have you ever seen the movie Point Break?” I ask him.
Luke is eyeing me hard-his chest is heaving-nostrils flaring. I love it.
He doesn’t answer me. It’s funny that he’s so quick to open his mouth to brag that he’s a motherfking cop, but when it comes to me, he barely makes an effort to converse.
“I’m not referring to the new piece of sht remake, Luke. I’m talking about the original film with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Oh, and what’s his face from the Red Hot Chili Peppers? The singer?”
I look to Luke to help me out with the guy’s name, but he doesn’t. He’s just staring me down.
I don’t know why I keep waiting for him to respond. I lean back on the bed and I keep talking. “There’s a part in the movie where Keanu Reeves and his team bust a drug house.
But what they don’t realize is that one of the guys who lives there is an undercover cop.
And due to their impatience and lack of planning, they ruin the entire investigation for the poor guy. Months and months of hard work. You remember that part?”
Naturally, he doesn’t reply. He just keeps fidgeting with the cuffs behind his back, trying to free himself.
“I was probably only ten when I saw that movie for the first time, but I couldn’t stop thinking about that part.
I obsessed over it. I always wondered what would have happened had Keanu’s team only been pretending to be the FBI.
I wondered how that scene would have played out had that undercover fker come clean, only to find out Keanu wasn’t with the FBI at all.
He was just pretending to be in order to weed him out. Talk about a double plot twist.”
Carter’s eyes glance to the door like someone is going to walk in and rescue him. I hate to break it to him, but it’s not gonna happen.
“Anyway,” I say, standing up. “I thought it’d be worth a shot.
See if any of you were really stupid enough to try and betray me, and if you were, maybe you were stupid enough to fall for the double plot twist.” I tilt my head and smile at him. “You must be feeling really stupid right now.”
TOO LATE : CHAPTER 41 – 50
*****
His jaw twitches. So does mine, because I have no idea how to refer to him now and it’s pissing me off. Carter? Luke? Dead?
Yes. I’ll refer to him as dead.
“I mean really fucking stupid,” I say, laughing. “Why would you be so quick to reveal yourself? I’m no cop, but I’d assume breaking cover is not something you people take lightly.”
I pace the room several times, trying to work it over in my own mind. Why anyone would be in such a hurry to get out of a situation.
It’s like it was life or d.eath for him. If he didn’t hurry up and get to someone, it’d be too late.
I slowly sit back down on the bed. “Unless…” I glance over at him. “Unless you broke cover because you’re the kind of guy who lets your emotions rule your actions.
What do they call those kinds of guys? I’m pretty sure you and I had a conversation about this over lunch recently.” I glance up at the ceiling in mock-thought. “Oh yeah,” I say. “Pssies.”
He doesn’t laugh at my joke.
That’s probably good, because it might have pissed me off had he laughed.
I glance over at the door and can’t remember if I locked it or not.
I stand up and go check it, then turn around and face Luke again. “But the real question is, why would you be so emotional at a time like that?
When you should be at the top of your undercover game? What could have been at the forefront of your mind when training and common sense should have won out?”
I take five steps toward him, until there aren’t anymore steps to take. He maintains eye contact the entire time, lifting his chin to hold his stare. “Oh. That’s right.
You were too worried about my fiancé to do your gddmn job right!” I slam my gvn against the side of his face. His head swings to the side.
I’m pretty sure that blow was hard enough to knock a tooth or two loose, but he acts like it doesn’t faze him.
He makes eye contact with me again, looking a little calmer than before I even h!t him.
I hate that I still like this side of him. The quiet, introspective side of him that doesn’t crack from fear. It’s impressive.
TOO LATE : CHAPTER 41 – 50
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