Page 64 of Marked By the Devil

Elena never would have let me hold her son if she was convinced I was only a dedicated federal agent.

Adrik wouldn’t have allowed me to be in an office with his wife every day if he assumed I’d hurt her.

With this trust to talk to Brayden, I wanted to show them that they weren’t wrong to judge me as someone they could count on, either.

I waited in the lobby, dressed like I was going to work out. Stretching and idling near the entrance to the men’s locker room, I stalled and looked out for the young man. As soon as I spotted him, I slipped into the men’s area, crept up behind him, and caught him in a secure hold, keeping my hand over his mouth. Turning him into a sauna, I aimed my gun at him and raised my brows.

He swallowed hard and held his hands up. “That’s… that’s not necessary.”

“Convince me it isn’t.” The steam of the room had me sweating already.

“I’ve been hoping you’d show up.” He darted his gaze past me as if he feared someone would see in through the small window on the door. “Smithson’s been saying you ran to the Bratva. He’s got a warrant out for your arrest. And that told me that you’d be my only hope.”

“How?”

He cringed, wiping sweat from his brow. “You aren’t in with him.”

“I’m not even a part of the force anymore.”

“Well, yeah. They had to technically fire you and all. But since you’ve disappeared and they think you’re with the Bratva, you’re clearly not in with him. You’re the only one I can know who isn’t.”

I lowered my gun. “Why would that matter to you?”

“Because I don’t know how to stop him.” He shook his head, frantic. “I don’t know how to stop any of them.”

“Stop them from what?” I asked, refusing to offer up any information in what I asked.

“Everything! They’re taking hit orders from the Cartel. They’re lying about court documents. They’re covering up these human trafficking rings.” He shook his head again, clearly distraught. “I can’t say anything. I can’t even take this to the top because I think the Special Agents above him are in on this too!”

“Can you back this up?” I asked. Fuck, it was hot in here.

“Yes.” He licked his lips and looked nervous but also eager for a solution. “I’ve been copying and saving all that I can. I’ve been recording what I can. But I don’t know who to take it to. And I have no way to reach you. All I know is that it’s wrong. I didn’t want to sign up for this. I wanted to make a difference and do something good for the world.” He scowled. “Now I see how naïve I was. Money makes the world go round and there’s no stopping on that ride.”

“Where have you been saving all this information?” I was already in on the inter-office programs, but his name and account weren’t there. I figured it was because he was so junior in the hierarchy that he wouldn’t have access to the messaging program yet.

“On my personal devices.”

I smiled. Perfect. “I think I can find an audience for all that you’ve uncovered.”

23

VIKTOR

It almost seemed too good to be true.

Brayden wasn’t only fully cooperative but also almost eager to have run into Wren. Like he’d been anticipating her to be his only source of hope.

It bothered me a bit. That maybe it was yet another setup. Wren was inclined to believe that the young man was only trying to do the right thing. When she asked him about the stakeout where she’d almost been killed, he told her that he had been propositioned too.

“He wanted me to go on that stakeout to spy on Rico Johnson,” he told her before she left him at the gym. Even through the earpiece, I could detect the anger and frustration in his tone. “He tried to get me to do that stakeout in his place.”

“Who arranged the stakeout?” she asked.

“Someone from another department. I don’t know, but it wasn’t Smithson’s idea. He was just expected to do it. But he didn’t want to.”

“Because he was going to be shot instead?” Wren asked bitterly.

“Shot?” Brayden asked. “Wait, it was a setup? Fuck. That means someone was trying to take him out. And he knew it and wanted me to go in his place!”