Page 14 of Black Jack (Advantage Play 5)

“No clue,” I answer honestly.

“The phone had been dead for weeks, yet less than twenty-four hours after you turned yourself in, it was pinged with another message. Does that sound like a coincidence to you?”

“I assume my arrest made the news. Maybe it was enough to convince Dominic to contact Reed again.”

“Hmm,” he hums again. The sound grates on my nerves, but I try to hide my annoyance from the bastard who’s interrogating me. No need to add fuel to the fire.

“Why didn’t you tell Reed about the tournament?” Embry demands.

“Because I started to catch on to the pattern and the fact that Burlone kept slipping away. He was always two steps ahead of us.” The lie rolls off my tongue with ease while a pit of guilt sits like a stone in my gut. I should’ve caught on to the pattern. I should’ve recognized the signs that Reed was a snake. But I didn’t. It was sheer luck that he was caught, but I’m not about to tell Embry that.

“Why didn’t you come to me and make a formal complaint against him?”

“You would’ve believed me?” I challenge. “I didn’t have any evidence, just a gut feeling.”

“A gut feeling that has backed you into a corner. If you would’ve come to me, this situation would’ve gone very differently.”

My knuckles are white as I dig my fingers into the wood arms of the chair. “And now, I have to live with the consequences.”

“Yes. You do,” he agrees. The silence that follows is stifling, but he doesn’t break it. He just stares at me from across the small office in an attempt to make me crack. He doesn’t know me, though. I won’t crack. I’m stronger than that.

“I want to believe you, Jack. I’ve always thought you were a good guy and a good agent. Until this is cleared up, you’ll be taking a leave of absence,” he decides. “You’ll keep your head down. You won’t talk to the press. You won’t leave the state. We clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Your fiancée is waiting outside.”

My eyes widen. How the hell does he know about Bianca?

“You’re free to go.” He waves his hand toward the door.

Shaking off my shock, I stand up and head toward the exit when his cold, indifferent voice stops me. “One more thing.”

I glance over my shoulder. “Yes, sir?”

“How long have you been dating Dominic Castello’s little sister?”

Shit.

5

Jack

The blood drains from my face before I lie straight through my teeth. “I met her when I was undercover.”

“And?” Embry presses.

“And we fell in love. She didn’t know I was an agent until I showed up on her doorstep a few weeks ago. I broke down and came clean about my past and––”

“How’d she take it? The fact you worked for the FBI?”

Worked.

I don’t miss the way he says it in past tense, but I don’t really blame him, either. The evidence that I’m innocent isn’t exactly in my favor, and my engagement to the key witness that proves my innocence is just the cherry on top of my messed up situation.

Clearing my throat, I answer, “Not great.”

“I can imagine. Aren’t you the enemy to them?”

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