Page 135 of The Consequences of Love and Vengeance

He reaches forward, grabbing something off the top of his dashboard. He tosses it at me and I quickly realize it’s his credentials. Opening it, I look down. DEA special agent Eric Alders.

“What’s a DEA agent want with me?”

“Baby, I’m your new best friend.”

“I’m not your baby.”

He just laughs, ticking me off.

“Do you actually have something you want to tell me or is this some game?”

“I’m here to help you.” His demeanor turns serious. “I have another gift for you.”

Another?That’s when the light bulb turns on. The photos.

“It was you.” The realization falls from my lips.

Ms. Lincoln said the man who left them was tall, dark, and hot. The man sitting next to me checks off each one of those cliché descriptions.

“What was me?” he asks, even though it’s clear he knows what I’m talking about. Eric was the guy that left that envelope with those photos inside it with my neighbor.

What’s the DEA doing involved? Did Ramirez keep this from me? Did Houston?

My mind spins, wondering everything at once.

“They were a gift.”

“Explain.”

“You’re demanding for a cop that’s about to walk inside that building over there and most likely get grilled by Internal Affairs. How are you going to explain your personal involvement with Acerbi? I’m curious.”

“Why don’t you explain your involvement in all of this first?”

“I’ve been working the Acerbi case far too long to let LAPD come in and fuck up all of my hard work. Not when I’m close to nailing that son of a bitch.”

“Drago?” My gut clenches at the thought.

“No.” His eyes dance dramatically as his head shakes from side to side. “Vincent Acerbi is the criminal, not his kids.”

“D’s dad isn’t here. Hasn’t been in the States in two years.”

“Fuck,” he draws out. “So, you did get personal with the very man you were tasked with pinning a crime on.”

“Fuck you,” I fire back at him. “Don’t accuse me of setting up Drago for something he didn’t do.”

“You need to learn right now not to put words in my mouth, sweetheart. I don’t like it, and I won’t put up with it.”

“You’re a pompous ass! And don’t call me sweetheart,sweetheart,” I mock, raising one of my eyebrows in challenge.

“Well, I’m your partner, so to speak, so you’re going to have to get used to my pompous ass.”

He tosses a file into my lap.

“What’s this?” I ask, flipping the file open to one sheet of paper.

“A document.” I raise an eyebrow at him, beckoning him to explain further. “It’s pre-dated, obviously, and it basically says you’ve been working with the Department of Drug Enforcement Administration. An official NDA of sorts, saying you weren’t allowed to tell anyone, including your superiors, about your involvement with my investigation of Vincent Acerbi.” His dark eyes cast down to the paper in my hand. “You just need to sign it to make it legal.”

“Why would I do that?”

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