Blood in the Water(79)
She forced the images from her mind—lingering on them would drive her insane.
“We have to call the FBI.” This was far beyond her capabilities.
“Fuck that—you read the note. We gotta handle this in-house, Jane. Brady’s valuable to him.”
“What do you mean?” She couldn’t think straight. Her head was buzzing, she felt like throwing up.
“You want her safe and sound, so she’s valuable to him. She’s the bait for the trap.”
“How do you know all of this?”
Byron tapped his forehead. “I have insight into the criminal mind, and I know a trap when I see one. He ain’t gonna hurt her.”
For now. Byron hadn’t said it, but Jane knew it was true.
“She’s going to grow up without a parent, like us, and it’s all my fault. Only she didn’t even have a father to begin with. Brady’s all alone in this world.”
“No, she ain’t alone. She’s got you, and for right now, Brady has me.” He ran a hand down his face. “We’ve tried to do this on the straight and narrow, darlin’, but it didn’t work. It’s time to do it my way.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Well, I ain’t talkin’ about puttin’ him in no cell where’s he’s got three squares and a pot to piss in.” Byron rubbed the back of his neck. “I understand if you can’t or won’t be part of this. I’ll take care of it on my own, and your conscience can be clear.”
Here’s where she should argue, be a champion for the law—an officer of the court. But Jane didn’t have it in her anymore.
They were out of time and legal options.
Maybe he didn’t deserve the protections the law provided anyway. There were some crimes a person couldn’t atone for. He had murdered bright young women with their whole lives ahead of them. They never got the chance to achieve their dreams. They’d never fall in love or become mothers. He’d robbed them of their whole lives.
Valentine had stolen things from Jane as well—her faith in the system and in herself. He’d violently murdered her best friend and may have taken Brady’s life as well.
“Jane?”
She glanced up into those heavenly blue eyes and knew what she had to do.
“I’ll help you.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Hell no. I ain’t pullin’ you down into the muck with me.”
“I’m already there.” Jane had compromised her ethics, her morals, and she might very well become a murderer tonight. “This is all my fault—if I’d listened to Georgia, paid attention to her concerns. Or even if I’d listened to you at first, we wouldn’t be here right now.” She swallowed down the rest of her guilt. There’d be time for self-flagellation later. “The point is, I’m not taking the easy way out. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a coward.”
“I never said you were, but you’re a lady and I’m far from a gentleman. This is the sort of thing I do. You don’t want to get mixed up in this.”
“I’ve made up my mind. You won’t talk me out of it.”
Byron cursed. “Damnation, you’re bull-headed.”
“I know, so there’s no point in arguing. You won’t talk me out of this—it’s done.” Making the decision to commit murder should be more difficult, but somehow it wasn’t. Jane didn’t know what to make of that.
Byron’s breathing was harsh, like he’d run a great distance. The tendons stood out in his neck as he struggled to find words, but all he could do was nod.
“We need a plan.” Jane pushed her glasses back up her nose and ran a hand through her hair. Decision made, she turned her attention to the details. Slipping into the role of rational professional woman helped her cope with the enormity of the situation.
Byron leaned against the wall. “If Valentine mysteriously goes missin’, the FBI are gonna be suspicious and sniff around. They could turn both of our lives into a living hell.”
“Yet, you offered to take care of it earlier.”
They locked eyes. There was so much he wasn’t saying. Jane sensed it anyway. Maybe because she felt the same way.
He broke the stare-off, and then the moment was gone.
They needed to sort out what was going on between the two of them after this was over—assuming they both made it out alive.
“Just so you know, you’re worth the risk.” He smirked. “And I’m pretty damn good at my job—there’s a chance they’d never find that fuckin’ body.”
“No body…no crime.”