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Whitely pointed down at the door handle. There was a key inside the lock on my side. I turned it with a trembling hand. Cold air hit my face when I pushed it open.
“Miss Burke. Are you okay?” Whitely asked.
“I-I don’t know what you mean,” I started slowly.
Detective Vane tutted and clapped a hand on my wrist, tugging me out into the drizzle. “We don’t have time for you to gape like a goldfish. We can help you, but you need to listen, now.”
“Help me?” I repeated. Part of me was screaming to tell them every single thing and fall into their protective arms. Maybe they could save us. Maybe they could send Renato and all his men to prison so Lucy and I could go back home.
Maybe…Maybe not.
More likely, the dark malicious king of Casa Nera would rip me from their hands and punish me even more for breaking my promises again.
“Yes, help you. Well, you help us first, and then we’ll help you.”
“I don’t get it. What’s going on?” I tried to make my brain catch up with everything that was happening.
“We know that De Sanctis got to you. We know what he’s forcing you to do.”
“Are you offering to take me and Lucy away from him?”
Detective Vane scoffed. “I’m flattered that you think we could. No, in fact, this whole situation is an opportunity, and one we can’t afford to let pass us by.”
Whitely jumped in. “You’re going to be up close and personal with the boss. In his home, around his most trusted men. You can be our eyes and ears. You can bring him down.”
“What? Are you asking me to spy on him?”
“Exactly. Be our inside person, the one with access to the big boss, and in return, when he goes down, we’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you or your sister.” Whitely looked earnest as he spoke.
“How will you make sure of that?”
“Don't worry about that. Just know that we'll keep you and Lucy safe.” Whitely sounded like he believed it, but when it came down to the might of the De Sanctis family, or the cops, I knew whoIbelieved in.
“I don’t trust you,” I told them after a moment. “I don’t want anything to do with this.”
Detective Vane gave me a chilling smiled. “You don’t really have a choice, Charlie. If you want your sister to stay out of jail, you’ll do this.”
“Excuse me?” I demanded.
“Did you know her little boyfriend, Miguel, showed up? Well, his body anyway. He was executed, and the last person he was seen with was your sister.”
“You think my nineteen-year-old sister executed someone?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. It matters what a jury thinks. We’ve got the body, we’ve got a witness putting them together, and I heard that his family is searching for him, or at least, for whoever hurt him…It doesn’t matter who gets to her, cops or Castillos. She’s in big trouble.”
“You’re unbelievable! You’re not here to help me at all, are you? You’re just vampires looking to suck the blood out an unfortunate victim.”
“We hold the line between good and evil in this city, Miss Burke. Or maybe your allegiance has already shifted. Fell in love with the bad guy, did you? How predictable,” Detective Vane sneered.
“Dolores, please!” Whitely snapped at his partner. He turned back to me. “We’re telling you this about your sister not as a threat, but a warning. Things are in motion that you don’t know about. You need to do this while you can. Get the evidence, get us our own eyes and ears inside Casa Nera, and then we’ll guarantee your safety.”
I shook my head wildly. “No. I’m not doing it. I’m not endangering me and my sister more for your case. If you could easily take down a man like Renato, you would have already done it.”
“Wewilldo it, with your help. We’re not asking, Charlie. Unless you want your sister arrested within the next few hours…you’ll do this.” Detective Vane pressed an envelope into my hand. “Plant this in Renato’s office before lunchtime tomorrow, or we’ll take it to mean that you’re not going to help, and that means you’re our enemy.”
“Tomorrow?” I protested, trying to shove the envelope back to her.
She refused to take it. “Tomorrow, and just remember that we drop by Casa Nera anytime to arrest Lucy and tell Renato you’re cooperating with us. Let’s see who he believes.”
