Page 118 of I Stop Somewhere Waiting For You

“You heard me, get out. I’ll let you know when I’m ready for you again.”

“Mav—”

“OUT, MURRAY!” I shout.

Murray eyes me for a moment before he lets out an incredulous scoff, making a show of scooping up the papers and shoving them back into his overly expensive leather briefcase before storming from the room. He slams the door in his wake as Kellerman approaches, shoving Nicky down into the seat beside me before positioning himself across the table.

“So that’s why you clocked him.” It all suddenly makes sense now.

“It didn’t have to be him. I just needed to get picked up by the cops.” He eyes Kellerman up and down before swinging his head my way. “However, I really wanted to hit that motherfucker, and I figured two birds one stone, ya know? Well,” he returns his attention to Kellerman, “you got me here. What did you want to talk about?”

“You two are a full-time job, you know that?” Kellerman leans forward, pressing his knuckles into the tabletop, encroaching on our space.

“What the fuck, Alec?!” Nicky snaps. “If we’re not doing things up to your standards then maybe you should do it yourself.”

“I would if I could, shithead.” Kellerman stands upright before taking a seat in the chair behind him. “If you think this arrangement is fun for me, then you are sorely mistaken.”

“It’s not really a picnic for us either,” I force out through gritted teeth. My eyes shoot daggers at him, my bullshit tolerance officially running on empty. “When you roped us into this shit I didn’t realize I’d still be knee deep in it four fucking years later. It would help if you could, oh, I don’t know, TELL THE OTHER AGENTS WE’RE ON YOUR FUCKING SIDE?!”

Kellerman stares at us, his own exhaustion wearing heavy on his face. “You knew when you signed on for this what you were agreeing to. You two are my informants. I can’t trust the other departments don’t have leaks. I’m all you got, boys. Succeed and you get a fresh start. Get caught and this agreement never existed.”

That is what we agreed to. When Nicky got roped into working with the Russians, he was approached by Alec Kellerman shortly after. Kellerman’s been after Yuri for years but has never been able to build a case that sticks. Even in all his dealings with Nicky, Yuri never directly handles or references the drugs, nor is he present for any of the drops. All commands are overseen by his right-hand man, Andrei.

When I was forced to start laundering money for Yuri, Nicky approached me and shared he’d agreed to be Kellerman’s informant. Everything we are, everything we stood for should have had me emptying my clip in his chest the second I found out he was a rat, but I couldn’t. Because deep down I knew Yuri wasn’t a boss that deserved respect. He was a fucking plague. One that would kill us all in the end.

What’s that saying? Something about evil only wins if good men don’t do shit to stop it? Well, I’m not a good man, but even I know Yuri is an evil that needs to be stopped. So I said yes. And while I thought being a rat would disgust me, it actually has made it a bit easier to look myself in the mirror each day.

Nick and I negotiated immunity for ourselves and all our men. Kellerman agreed on the condition we dismantle the gangs once Yuri’s done. That was a massive selling point for me. I could finally be out. I still have my contract with my distributor, but I know Enzo would absorb that shit in a heartbeat. I could be free and clear, making my way back to her.

Jones was always endgame for me. Always.

Over the years, I’ve collected countless pieces of evidence against Yuri’s organization. The problem is money laundering is a white-collar crime that carries a maximum sentence of only twenty years unless you can connect it to other charges. Nicky’s been trying to collect hard evidence linking Yuri to the drugs for years, but so far has yielded nothing Kellerman feels confident taking him down with. Then, just to make matters more complicated, about two years ago I started getting influxes of cash to wash for him. Nicky confirmed it wasn’t from the drug business, so he did some light poking and based off what he found, we’re pretty confident he’s moved into trafficking people.

That caught Kellerman’s attention real fast, and the goal quickly shifted to collecting evidence that could nail him on those charges instead. If we’re successful, Yuri will go away for life. Andrei and the rest of the men will go down for the drug evidence Nick’s collected against them over the years. Yuri’s entire organization will crumble.

The catch to all this shit is we have to operate without any protection. Kellerman can’t trust Yuri doesn’t have dirty cops in his pockets, so he brokered this deal with us alone. No one else is aware. Which means the other agencies that have us on their radar are still coming, and if we slip up Kellerman will not vouch for us. He’s run some interference for us at times, but ultimately, he’s coming out of this clean as a whistle regardless of the collateral damage he leaves in his wake.

“Why do they think I killed her?” I ask, my eyes lifting from the tabletop to his face. “What do they have on me, Alec?”

Kellerman lets out a long sigh. “Divers conveniently located the murder weapon after she washed up. Your prints came back on the gun.”

“Fuck,” I utter, dropping my head in my hands. “You know that shit is planted, right?”

“Yes, but I can’t get involved.” He leans forward, commanding my attention once more. “Unless you wanna give me something else worth my while. Say, Enzo Stingone?”

“Not happening,” I snap. Over the years Alec’s tried to get me to roll on Enzo a few times. However, I refuse. I made that clear when we secured this deal. Enzo’s off limits.

“So, then,” Kellerman replies, “you’re going to have to beat this on your own, Bishop.”

“And just how do you expect me to do that?”

“No offense, but not my problem to solve.” His attention then switches to Nicky. “You’re going home today. I need you to produce Daphne.” Nicky’s head tilts, his eyes questioning the directive. “I need this wedding to still happen, Nick.”

“No!” He spits, shaking his head with determination. “No. Not fucking happening.”

“Nicky…” Kellerman warns.

“I said no!” Nicky shouts, thrusting his finger into the table in front of him while his eyes pierce Kellerman’s with a maddening gaze. “You’re smoking some crazy shit if you think I’m gonna allow my girl to marry that motherfucker. Fuck, you’re nuts if you think he’s still gonna be breathing by tomorrow.”

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