Page 40 of So Wicked

“Mr. Santana, this is Special Agent Michael Prince with the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office.”

“Yes, Michael! Hello. What can I do for you?”

“I’m going to call in that favor.”

A few years ago, Michael had helped Santana escape a jam. Santana’s friends had looped him into a Ponzi scheme and planned to blame everything on him. With Michael’s help, they were able to prove that Santana was an unwitting accomplice. He kept his career, and the perpetrators were now in year three of a seven-year sentence for racketeering. After his acquittal, Santana had told Michael to call him anytime he needed anything.

The brief pause that followed Michael’s statement told him that Santana never expected Michael to collect.Too bad, buddy.

“Sure,” Santana said finally. “Yes! Of course. What can I do for you?”

“I need to talk to Franklin West.”

The pause that followed that announcement was far longer. After well over a minute, Michael said, “Jorge? You there?”

“Yeah, I’m here, it’s just… geez, Michael.”

“I know. It’s a big one.”

"It's a little more than a big one, dude. This is… I mean, he's on trial right now. His lawyers are watching every single move we make like a hawk. If it gets out that we're letting FBI agents talk to him, then we could destroy the prosecution's case."

“No one needs to know. The questions I need to ask him have nothing to do with his case, anyway.”

“Yes, butyouhave to do with his case. You’re married to his ex-wife, and your partner is the agent who exposed him.”

“I know it’s a big ask, Jorge,” Michael said, “but I really need to talk to him. I’m not kidding when I say people’s lives depend on it.”

Santana sighed. “Jesus. What… Hmm…” He paused again, then said. “Okay. I can probably get you thirty minutes with him on Saturday. He’s allowed an hour of rec time. It just so happens that there’s going to be a temporary shutdown of the security cameras for system maintenance that day too. I can shut off the cameras for those thirty minutes at the start of his hour. That’s incredibly dangerous, so I’m going to have to have guards close enough to kill him if he tries to move. Ifthathappens, then it’s a lot of bad for both of us. I’m going to do this for you, but we aredefinitelyeven.”

“Definitely. One hundred percent. I really appreciate it, Jorge.”

“Don’t mention it. Seriously. Not to me or to anyone. Ever.”

“Mention what?”

“Yeah, exactly.” He sighed again. “One-forty-five on Saturday. Don’t be late.”

“I won’t be. Thank you.”

“Stop thanking me.”

He hung up, and Michael released a sigh he didn’t realize he’d been holding. He walked inside, tossed his phone onto the desk and collapsed onto the bed. Part of him was excited to be breaking the rules. Another part of him was certain that this was going to ruin him.

But he had to try. The people he loved were in danger, and the Bureau was mishandling things very badly. He needed to do something to get ahead of the Messenger before he came home to find Ellie’s head split open with a new message written for Faith.

The door to the bedroom opened, and Michael heard Ellie sigh. A moment later, she climbed into bed with him and help him close. “I’m sorry, honey. I’m upset that we don’t have as much time to spend together as I wanted, and I let that make me mad, but that’s not fair to you. I know you’re trying hard, and I really appreciate it. Thank you.”

Michael hated lying to Ellie, but he had no choice right now. The alternative was much worse. “It’s all right. When things settle down, we’ll take a vacation together, okay? We’ll do that Alaska cruise you wanted.”

“Sounds wonderful,” she said. She draped her leg over his thighs and nuzzled his ear. “Right now, though, all I want is you.”

He managed to appear enthusiastic, but his mind was nowhere near his wife, and when they finished making love, he found that their intimacy had only increased his guilt.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Faith watched the Indianapolis police cruiser speed away from the Carmel Police headquarters and sighed. “There goes the best lead we’ve had so far.”

Turk pressed against her leg, but even his beautiful brown eyes weren’t enough to cheer her up right now. She sighed and walked back to the break room where Slade waited. He handed her a coffee when he entered. “Made some already. Figured you’d need it. Hell,Ineed it.”

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