Page 16 of Dirty Deceit

"I'm so sorry, Gemma." His face shows remorse, but I need to know why he slept with me.

"Does your con include sleeping with the victim? Does that get you off?"

"No, of course not. That…I care about you, Gemma."

"Not enough to not steal from me, apparently. Can I even get my money back?"

"Not right now, no. Look, I made the mistake of telling my colleagues about you, and once the ball was rolling, I couldn't do anything to stop it. And I wanted to. I really did."

"Would you be willing to give testimony against your colleagues?” Jason asks. “Is there anything you can give the authorities for immunity?"

"Not against them, no. But I have information on other groups that might be useful. But…why would you help me?"

"I've asked Jason to help you if he can,” I confess. “He's got contacts in law enforcement. I don't want you to go to jail."

He breaks down and takes my hand. "That's what I deserve for hurting you."

I want to tug my hand out of his, but I can't. I'm in love with this stupid man, and now I have to help him get away with committing a crime.

Chapter 7

Murphy

Ispent the better part of the last month in talks with the FBI. John decided to join me in helping them, but Ned chose to leave the country and not look back. I haven't seen Gemma in all that time, and it's killing me inside. They're finally letting me go today, and I want to send her a note to see if she’ll meet with me. I have a surprise for her that might just help us begin to heal.

Me: They let me go today. Can I see you?

Gemma: I don't know if that's a good idea. I know what you did

Me: It was the right thing to do

Gemma: I'll pay you back

Me: You don't have to do that

Gemma: It'll take some time, but I can pay you back

Me: I need to see you

Gemma: I'll contact you when I have the first payment

Gemma's words carry a finality in them that scares me. I paid off the debt she had at the hospital with some funds that were not frozen when the FBI started dealing with me. Everything else is gone, but it doesn't matter because I can't be with Gemma, and that's the only thing I wish I hadn't damaged with my greed.

Now, I have a gig as a consultant with the FBI to help them with the trickier cons they're investigating. It feels weird to be making money legally, and it's also a bit scary. But this is important because I don't intend to give up on Gemma and our relationship. It hurts when I message her, and she doesn't reply, but I think I have to keep at it. Hopefully, she won't get a restraining order against me.

I walk into John's bar and signal to him that I'm going to our booth. John had the foresight to put his business in his fiancé’s name, so it wasn't taken from him when we were being investigated. He comes over with two coffees and places one in front of me.

"They finally let you go? Why'd they keep you so long?"

"Yeah. I had a ton of information on the groups in Las Vegas and here in New York. I wanted to be thorough."

"You know that puts a target on our backs."

"Making it up to Gemma is all that matters,” I say. “But you have to know that."

"Sure, sure. What's next?"

"I grovel and grovel some more until Gemma takes me back."

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