Page 25 of Lethal Justice

He was right, it was an insinuation, and Frida couldn’t come up with a better idea, although it wasn’t that far of a stretch. Especially after all that had happened. Why not push it a little further? “I’m guessing I’ll find some interesting information in those boxes. It’s too bad you didn’t get your hands on them.”

For a moment, she thought he was about to have a seizure, but he only took a single menacing step in her direction. “If you value your life, you’ll leave my office this instant.”

After all her years in LA, such a simple threat wouldn’t make her back off. “Is DA Pool in on this, or did you come up with it all by yourself?”

It was clear that she was pulling the right strings, especially since she could almost see steam coming out of Kasten’s ears.

Immediately, Malco sounded in her ear. “Easy, Frida. Don’t push too hard. He could become dangerous.”

What could happen? In the middle of the station, surrounded by cops, Kasten wouldn’t dare. And if she didn’t grab this opportunity, she wouldn’t get another chance.

“Or maybe you prefer to keep it in the family. Little sister is already part of the Union, after all, it’s not such a big step from taking care of cops to money laundering.”

“You fucking bitch.”

“Frida, get out of there. Now.”

How could she leave when she had confirmed so many things?

“I don’t believe your sudden wish to retire. Especially without your pension.”

“That’s confidential information.”

Despite the fear steadily rising in her chest, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing it. Instead, she took a firm step toward him, almost putting herself nose to nose with him. “Don’t worry, Kasten, I intent to dig through every single piece of information I can until you’re rotting in a cell for the rest of your life.”

And on that statement, Frida made her exit.

Her heart pounding so hard, she almost stumbled out—the reality of what she’d just done hit her full force.

Skirting the desks, she wanted to leave fast but needed to steady herself first and made a quick detour to the bathroom down the hall.

When she found it occupied, she decided to exit through the back door. Fresh air would be helpful as well as a walk around the building to reach Malco at the front.

When she stepped outside, she found herself surrounded by police cars and stopped for a second to get her bearings. Without warning, she was jerked backward and thrown against the brick wall. She didn’t have time to scream before a hand closed around her throat, cutting off her air. The next second, Kasten’s furious face filled her vision.

“Don’t worry about someone seeing our little chat. There aren’t cameras here, and there’s nobody around after a shift change.”

Frida grabbed his wrist and kicked him as hard as she could to get him to release her, but with his body plastered against hers, she didn’t have any momentum.

“I wanted to make something clear. If I were you, I wouldn’t make assumptions. You’re playing a dangerous game with people who won’t care about harming your pretty face like I do.”

Her vision blurred by the lack of oxygen, her body started to go numb and her arms heavy.

“Here’s a bit of friendly advice. Drop this foolish pursuit, Montalvo, before you lose everything.”

As darkness tried to overtake her, he finally released her, and she dropped hard to the pavement. Coughing, Frida fought hard to force air through her closed throat. Tears flowed from her eyes until she finally filled her lungs. It immediately cleared her vision and dimmed the buzzing in her head, and she heard someone running in her direction.

“Frida!”

A sob came out of her burning throat when she recognized Malco’s voice and Frida found herself in his arms, hugging him as tightly as he was hugging her.

Before she could enjoy his strength, he pulled away and framed her face. “Frida. Are you all right? I heard everything. Why didn’t you use the front door?”

His hands on her steadied her nerves, and her heart stopped when she saw the deep worry etched on his handsome face. She’d never seen him so frantic. The former soldier was always so calm and collected; it was surprising to see him so undone.

Before she could process it, he kissed her hard and fast, making her head spin, but this time it wasn’t due to the lack of air. Her world spun again when Malco lifted her into his arms and held her close. She should have acted strong and pushed forward like she always did, started planning the next stage of the investigation, but instead, she buried her face in his neck, his scent filling her world, and let him carry her away.