She finally looked up, her own eyes rimmed red, her nose red, as if she were holding back tears. She faked a professional smile. “I did a profile on you Lukallawei Ambrose. Conformed to your ideal woman. Quiet, sheltered, in need of protection, broken, adoring, naive, unsure. I became all of those things and put myself in your path. You took the bait like I knew you would. I was supposed to be in longer, but it is what it is. We got what we went in for and that’s what mattered.”
“It was all a lie,” he said angrily, shaking his head. “All of it. How did you fucking fake being a virgin?”
“Oh, I didn’t fake that.”
“You let your job make you…”
“I made a personal choice. I could have stopped you any time I wanted. As you saw. So you know, I didn’t… fake everything. Anyway. Not the point. You are aware of all the charges laid out, yes?”
“Yeah. You’re what, here to over me a deal? I flip on my crew and you lessen my time?”
“No. No, not that. We have all of you dead to rights, we don’t need a deal. While it was Lee and Alan who we were ultimately after, you and yours are still into a lot of illegal things. Including kidnapping, though I made a personal choice not to press charges. You are all looking at 15 to 30 years. A guilty plea will go a long way for most of them. I am going to personally vouch for Jay Santiago. Lessen his sentence.”
“Not me?” he asked derisively.
“Not you,” she said softly, her hands going to the folder in front of her.
“How much was a lie?” he demanded hoarsely. “Obviously you’re not deaf. That whole sob story?”
“They were wires. My parents are alive and well in Memphis. It was a story concocted to appeal to your need to protect and to relate to you.”
“The trailer?”
“A staged setting.”
“Fucking bitch,” he said angrily, looking away as more tears welled up. “How old are you?”
“Twenty six. I am just small. My backstory was all a lie, I was undercover. But Luka… anything not a backstory? None of it was a lie. None of it. And I was serious about most the things I said to you. Not the point. Luka,” she said, sitting up and flipping open the folder and arraying the things inside.
He looked down at the license and passport and other papers in confusion.
“Lukallawei Ambrose is getting into a transport vehicle as we speak. There will be an accident on the way to the facility where he is being processed. His body will be found among the wreckage and he will be laid to rest alongside his brothers from the club. Luke Hannover will be free to walk out of this building to start a new life. Away from here. Away from this city. Is there anything you do not understand about this? That you do not agree with?”
“What about my boys?”
“They will serve their time and get out, regardless of where you are and what you are doing. As far as they will know, you will have died. Luka… stop climbing. Start building. Say yes to this. It’s your way out and you deserve a chance to try for happiness instead of… just fighting for the next rung.”
“Did you mean what you said?” he asked, looking at her challengingly.
She looked him in the eye. “Every single word.” His lip curled slightly and she stood, feeling sad. “Have a good life, Luke Hannover. Find happiness. Build.”
She left, feeling both relief and regret. It was her sixth time in a sting like this, she was good at her job. Never once had she become invested or pulled a single favor to do what she had just done until now.
She stopped at the front desk and gave the officer a nod. He picked up the bag of clothes, including Luka’s chestpiece, and took it back to the room.
She left and went to the airport to fly back to headquarters. The debriefing took a while, especially since they hadn’t gotten nearly as much as they had hoped. They had put in with the wrong crew, thinking they were running things, but it wasn’t them. It was just Lee allowing it. Someone else was behind the human trafficking and gun running.
That was for them to figure out, her part was done and she wanted a break. She asked for time off to go home.
Not that it was really a home. She had been in her apartment a little over a week, hadn’t even unpacked completely when she was pulled for the assignment. She had rarely been at home at all in the years she had been going undercover.
She flew back to Memphis feeling tired and heartbroken. This had never been an issue before. They were usually scumbags and she was happy to put them behind bars.
He was different. His idealism, his joy. She had played her part too well. She had even convinced herself. She tried to tell herself that as she went to see her parents first, staying for a few days to be spoiled by her parents. Her mom made her favorite dinners and she sat and watched horrible fake reality TV about survivalists with her father. It was a nice, relaxing weekend. She sat in her old room, looking around at her memories and wondered.
Was she climbing or was she building?
She thought of her apartment, a hollow shell, stacked boxes. She was never there.
When the long weekend was over, she headed into the city to her apartment and went in, ready to tackle boxes. She was pleasantly surprised as she looked around and realized she had unpacked more than she remembered, The living room wasn’t bad at all. Her bedroom and office were wrecks though and she knew she had her work cut out for her as she tossed her keys in the bowl and looked through the huge stack of mail.
She finally wandered back to her bedroom, considering a shower before she started, then froze as she looked around.
There were no boxes and everything was unpacked. Put away. Everything. She turned and went out to her office and it was set up as well. Not a box in sight. She spun and started for her phone to call the super and Luka was standing there.
She stood, frozen and staring as he stood off the wall and walked all the way to her until she was craning her neck.
A million things went through her mind.
If he tried to hurt her, she would go for a crotch shot first.
He looked beautiful.
She wanted to kiss him.
Why was he here?
Was he going to try and kill her for betraying him?
Why was her heart hammering so hard?
Could she hurt him if he tried something?
“Building,” he shrugged, looking around. “Though… this seems pretty generic to me. Not really you at all.”
“You don’t really know me.”
“I think I know you enough to know that this,” he said motioning around her, “isn’t you. This is a version of Agent Winfield that you adopted like one of your personas. Abigail. Never did think Amelia suited you.”
“It was your grandmother’s name. A name you probably heard as a kid and associated with family. Love. She died before you were born.”
He nodded. “I think I remember that, now that you say it. You all thought of everything, didn’t you? Abigail doesn’t suit you either. Abby. No. Cherry. Cherry suits you,” he said, reaching out and toying with a curl.
“Why are you here, Luka? Luke?”
“Why do you think? I have an interview tomorrow. Fixing fucking bikes,” he laughed. “Me. I could build a bike from the ground up but I have to interview and test. It’s all good though, isn’t it? Building. I can do that.”
“You know my work… it takes me away for months at a time?”
“Not anymore, too dangerous. You’re going to take a desk job or something and fucking build. With your husband. I told you, Cherry. You are mine. I meant it. Now come here and kiss me,” he smirked, taking a knee and pulling her close. He tilted her face up and looked into her eyes a moment before kissing her softly. “And I am about to teach you how to suck my cock.”