Page 109 of Ruthless Cross

"No. Don't say anything."

"I'm proud of you, Flynn. You've grown up to be a good man."

"Someone had to balance out your sins."

"Is that why you joined the FBI?"

"I don't know why I'm even talking to you."

"Because we're here—together."

"For now," he said. "But not forever."

"No," his father agreed. "A long time ago, I made a terrible choice that made forever impossible."

"But you don't regret it, do you?"

"I regret hurting you and your mother, but I had to run. I wouldn't have survived in jail. I would have rather died. Maybe you would have had more respect for me if I'd killed myself."

His jaw tightened. "Don't play the martyr. You're a criminal. You knew what you were doing every step of the way. You chose to play with danger, and it was never just about the money."

"You're right. I'm an adrenaline junkie. I like the thrill as much as anything. It makes me feel alive, powerful, and in control. You're not so different from me, Flynn."

He didn't want to believe he was anything like his father, but there was a small part of him that thought he might be.

"Is there anything else you want to ask me, Flynn? Because once we get to the warehouse, things are going to happen fast, and you're going to let me walk away at the end, right?"

"We made a deal," he said tersely. "Unlike you, I keep my promises. Even though it could cost me my job."

"No one knows we're together, do they?"

He almost wished he could say he'd already reported his father to the bureau. But they were past the point of lying. "Callie knows. She's the only one."

"You trusted her enough to tell her about me?"

"Yes."

"She must be important. Did you know her before Arthur was killed?"

"No, I didn't. But now I feel like I've known her forever."

"I felt that way about your mother."

"Until you left her."

"She had a better life without me. She wouldn't have moved back to England. She wouldn't have written her books. She would have been trapped in a life waiting for me to get out, to come back. She wouldn't have left me. It wasn't in her to do that."

"Now, you want to pretend you were selfless?"

"No. I was selfish. I never should have married her or had a baby with her, because I was living in a house of cards, and they all fell down. My only excuse was love. I was blinded by it. I wanted to have the family that I'd always dreamed of."

"But you also wanted to be a thief."

"Yes," he admitted. "I know I've disappointed you, Flynn."

"Disappointment doesn't begin to cover how I feel about you."

"I understand. I can never make it up to you. But I can help you stop a serial killer. I can help you get justice for Arthur, and I can help you save the woman you're falling in love with. That's why I came out of the shadows."

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