by E. L. Todd
When I looked him in the eye, he seemed sincere. But I would never really know the truth.
“You and Wilder are an item?” he asked bluntly.
I had no idea where the question came from so I didn’t know how to respond.
He explained his question on his own. “The way he talks about you…I can tell there’s something there. He’s a strong guy, very smart. We haven’t agreed on everything in the past, but I definitely respect him.”
Since he hit the nail right on the head, I didn’t deny it. I didn’t want to talk about my personal life with my father, not when things were so stressed between us. But lying wasn’t my strong suit either.
“Is that why you want to stay at RB12?”
“No.” Whether Wilder and I were together or not, RB12 was my hone.
He nodded. “Talk to Wilder about everything I said. I hope you accept my offer. Wilder knows interrogating me won’t get him anywhere. I’m one of those rare captives that won’t crack for anything. The one thing he can use against me is no longer at his disposal…”
Chapter Eleven
“What do you think?” Wilder asked.
Ben shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s easy to believe him. It’s also easy to think he’s a liar.”
“This guy is a criminal mastermind. This could just be some crazy tactic to mess with us.” Wilder didn’t drink on the job, but since it was eight in the evening, he drank a beer as he sat at the head table.
I had a glass of wine in front of me, but I didn’t take a sip.
“What do you think, Gray?” Ben asked.
I shrugged. “I think he’s telling the truth. But Wilder is right. I can’t be objective.”
“I disagree,” Ben said. “Gray knows him better than we do. If he’s being sincere, she would know.”
“He’s been a criminal for most of my life and I had no idea.” I grabbed the glass and took a long drink. “I’m not sure how much we can rely on my instincts.”
Ben sat at the opposite end of the table. “Think about it. What else does he get out of this?”
“Access to all of our resources,” Wilder argued. “Obviously.”
“But he could escape if he really wanted to,” Ben said. “Once we transfer him to the authorities, he could easily set something up. There’s no intel we have that’s of any use to him. We’re trying to hunt down the bad guys, and he already knows what all the bad guys are doing. He’s not going to gain anything by staying here. Once he gives up his contacts, he’s untrustworthy to that community. We’ll be all he has.”
I nodded in agreement.
Wilder took another drink of his beer then looked at me. “So, you think he’s telling the truth?”
I shrugged before I answered. “I think so. I don’t see what his other angle could be. We were close before I found all of this stuff out…” I drank my wine again. “We have more to gain from him than he does from us, if you ask me.”
Wilder looked at Ben again, silently asking the same question.
“I think if we keep him on a close watch on him and restrict his access, there’s not much risk. Besides, I don’t think he would ever do anything to hurt Gray or the people she cares about. That’s another sheathe of armor.”
Wilder turned back to me. “You wanna do this then?”
“Are you leaving this up to me?” I asked incredulously. “I thought you were the one in charge?”
“I am,” he said. “But I always listen to my agents.”
It was a big risk either way. If we let him go, he could be more of a problem later. If he really wanted to start a new relationship with me, we could be close again and do some good in this world. We could make up for the terrible things he did by saving the people he used to work against. His actions would never be justified, but at least we could make some amends. “Yeah, I think we should do it.”
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Rogue. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you could leave a short review, it would help me so much! Those reviews are the best kind of support you can give an author. Thank you!
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E. L. Todd
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