Page 4 of Free to Judge
The only way to discover the truth is to get past their stronghold undetected.
Still, it means there’s information about me in federal databases that’s about to disappear. My new boss assured me the hacker he has on staff is wiping away the electronic evidence even as we speak. In a matter of hours, I’ll be able to operate from inside the Byrnes’ operation in a do or die attempt to bring the entire empire down, desperately hunting for a redemption that may be forever out of reach.
“Burning their organization down from the inside out is the only option,” I growl. “The Byrnes will believe I’ve truly flipped sideswhen they see I abandoned my post at a moment when it suited them.”
A cold, grim silence hangs between us until he lands the final blow. “Dec, you can lose everything representing them. Hell, you could be arrested yourself.”
“If they commit a crime against the legal advice I provide, essentially ignoring my counsel, then I can be excused under the crime-fraud exemption,” I remind him.
“True. But by then, they’ll have you so ensnared in their business dealings you’ll have to go down with them first. You could end up disbarred. Worse yet, the testimony could be thrown out.”
I jerk my chin. “That’s why you’re going to call that number.”
Ace picks up the card again. Turning it over and over in his fingers, he flicks it back on his desk. “I don’t have to. They reached out earlier, and their lawyer sent over the paperwork.”
A shiver of cold travels up my spine. “Are you going to sign it?”
He closes the file. “I already did.”
My breath releases in a rush. Just as I’m about to express my gratitude, he reminds me of what to expect. “Once you leave my office, you’ll become one of them—a traitor. You know defense attorneys for criminal groups of this ilk are often as guilty as their clients.”
His declaration hits me like the vicious blows I took to the gut when I first turned down the Byrnes enforcers—pain so sharp, I’d never felt anything like it before. Only this time, the pain isn’t a physical ache making me want to vomit all over myself, it’s a realization of loss.
“Burning every bridge is the only option,” I growl.
Ace drums his fingers on the desk, absorbing every biting word I’ve spat out over the last hour. Finally, he relents. “When I can, I’ll keep an eye on you and pull a few strings.”
“Don’t get yourself entangled in this,” I snap, warning him. The last thing I need is for him or anyone else I remotely care about to become collateral damage when one of the very reasons I’m plunging into the Byrnes’ shadowy hierarchy is already gone.
He presses on, oblivious to my protest. “But if they ask you to do something too… messy. If you cross lines that aren’t meant to be crossed, Dec? There’s no way for me to protect you.”
My lips curve, but my smile never reaches my hardened eyes. “I’ve never needed help in that department before.”
“Bullshit. We’ve always had your back. You know that.”
He’s right, of course. My team, the department, even the man in front of me—they’ve covered my ass countless times. Still, I’ve felt the burning stares and heard the abrupt shifting of conversations as the lies deliberately planted began to spread.
If the suspicious glares during Office of Professional Responsibility meetings are any indication, the storm that will rage if all the fabricated evidence is revealed will be devastating. If I don’t capitulate under my own terms, the “proof” the Byrnes have manufactured is tainted enough to set us back years and will have OPR scrambling for that long to uphold any arrests I’ve made as an agent.
Still, I have to prove myself. Right now, I’m being tested. Aside from their business holdings, the Byrnes’ top priority for me will be to negotiate a marker with their compatriots, the Tiberis—afaction of the larger northeastern Italian mob located in Darien, Connecticut.
Most of the higher ranking officers are hanging on by a thread in the federal penitentiary because of charges ranging from B&E to stalking, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted murder. One is charged with multiple counts of murder.
At first, I couldn’t figure out why the Byrnes wanted me involved until I realized their interest is money driven. Money that has dried up with the key Tiberis in jail. They need me as a go-between. What they don’t realize is by appointing me as their liaison, they’re giving me unfettered access to the ins and outs of their operations under the guise of legal necessity.
I’ll be a federal prosecutor’s wet dream. Eventually.
“This case…,” his deep voice rumbles. “The weight of media frenzy is practically tangible over anything having to do with Irish mob revelations.”
“I know.”
“No, you think you know. The people you work for now? They’re hungry for retribution. In a dark alley, I’m not certain who I’d fear facing—them or the Byrnes. They’re no one to fuck with.”
“I understand.” Do I ever. The moment I was approached with the offer, I knew what stakes were on the line. I was about to dive so deep into a pit of mud, I’m certain I’ll never be clean again.
He leans in, voice lowering dangerously, “If you take this path, you’re not just abandoning your badge—you’re forsaking every ounce of protection it once provided.”
Unable to contain my fury, I slam my fist onto his desk. “Unless I do, we don’t gain anything! Have you considered that?”
