Page 12 of Knot Going Down
“Glenn’s gone.” Not a lie.
The man cuffs me, then spins me to face him, slamming my back into the wall. Damn, he’s hot. In that dominant, older man kind of way that makes me want to get on my knees and call him‘sir.’If he wasn’t arresting me, that is. I’ll blame Meggie’s scent still being in my nostrils as the reason why I’m picturing getting on my knees while I’m beingfucking arrested.Damn omega pheromones messing with my head.
“Where’d he go?” the DEA agent asks.
“What’s your name?” I counter.
“Tell me where Glenn went!” He doesn’t use his alpha bark, but it’s clear he wants to. Badly. I almost want to commend theguy for adhering to constitutional rights when every muscle in his body is vibrating like he wants to rip me to pieces.
I grit my teeth and don’t answer.
He slams me against the wall a second time, hard enough to make me see stars.
“This’ll go easier for you if you cooperate," he growls.
“Look, I don’t keep tabs on the guy. For all I know he’s somewhere over the Atlantic.” Glenn should actually be landing in North Carolina right about now, but Mr. DEA doesn’t need to know that.
“Why wouldn’t he stay for the closing ceremonies?” A deep crease forms between the man’s eyebrows.
“He doesn’t exactly explain himself to me.” I smirk and add, “Sir.”
He narrows his eyes. For a solid two minutes, we engage in a staring contest of epic proportions. Alpha to alpha.
“So, what’s the offer?” I ask, caving first.
“You help me catch Glenn, and I might get a few years off your sentence.”
A police car has pulled up to the curb now, and Mr. DEA—it’d really be nice to know his name—manhandles me into the back.
I wait for him as he circles to the other side of the car, holds the door open for the dog, then slides in himself and buckles his belt. He doesn’t bother helping me with mine even though I’m still handcuffed and it wouldn’t be that hard to reach around the dog and seatbelt me. Mr. DEA clearly doesn't care about my personal safety. What if we got into a car accident? I’m valuable goods!
“No.” I turn to the window and watch as we pull out into the busy street.
“No?” He sounds utterly and completely shocked, and I fight to hide my smile. “What the hell do you mean, no?”
“Full immunity. That’s what I want if I help you catch Glenn.”
He laughs. “Right. And what exactly doeshelpmean? You’re not getting full immunity for a bit of information.”
“Fair enough.” I lean toward him but can’t stop my flinch when the stupid dog snaps at me. “If I’m gonna help take down Glenn, I need to be sure it works, which means I’m fully involved. Part of the team. Not just passing information.”
“You want to be a mole?”
Hell, no. But I’m not seeing a way out of this yet, and until I do, I’m gonna try to bargain for the best chance I can get. The dog—Gunner, I’m guessing by the giant letters on the side of his vest—softens its mouth, and I’m glad he seems less likely to eat my face off. “I’ll be your mole, and help you get the evidence you need, because I’m guessing you don’t want to take him down on a drug count. Am I right?”
Mr. DEA doesn’t answer, but his silence says enough.
“There’re requirements, though,” I continue. “Stipulations. I need to be sure Glenn doesn’t suspect anything, so I need to be back in the States—where I’m supposed to be—by his daughter’s wedding. And I need to not have a DEA agent riding my ass when I show back up.”
He considers this for a minute. “When’s the wedding?”
“About two weeks from now.” I hold my breath, wondering if he’s gonna agree to this. Still not sure I am. I mean, I’ll tell him I’ll do it, but two weeks buys me some time, and if there’s another way out of this that doesn’t end with me in jail or dead, I’m taking it.
“Here’s how this is gonna go down,” Mr. DEA agent says. “You’re staying in my custody until we get back to the States. Until then, you’ll only have contact with Glenn that I’ve approved and am present for. You don’t leave my side. Once we get back to the States, you’ll have until the wedding to gather evidence for his arrest. If we take him down, then you’ll get yourimmunity. If the plan fails…” He lets his dark tone finish the sentence for him. “Deal?”
The car is full of his damn scent. The cool of the forest I used to sneak away to when I wanted to be alone. My happy place. Fuck him for stealing it.
“Tell me your name, and you have a deal.”
