The only way to do that was to make sure all the roads that led to me were dead.
The inside of the police station was fairly quiet, but given that it was almost dark out, I wasn’t really surprised. There were still many uniformed men behind their desks and a receptionist answering the phone. On my way in, I winked at her and she blushed.
Some of the officers looked at me curiously as I made my way past, but no one bothered to stop me from going straight to Mac’s office.
I didn’t know all the guys that worked here. I’d been undercover too long to really form relationships with a lot of them. The ones I did know all had their own partners and routines that I didn’t fit in with. I didn’t mind not fitting in. In fact, it was that quality that made me good at being undercover.
It was always the misfits who seemed to turn to a life in the organization.
After a swift courtesy knock on his door, I opened it and walked in. He was sitting behind his desk, frowning at the computer screen. He grunted when he looked up. “‘Bout damn time you got here. You sure took your sweet-ass time coming in to give your statement and fill out paperwork on today’s latest shootout.”
“I thought I was still on vacation.”
“Christ,” Mac swore. “Everywhere you go, West, there seems to be a shootout.”
“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I’m charming.”
He made a rude sound that I filed away for later (I was going to use that one), and he scowled at the computer. “What ever happened to just doing shit by hand?” he muttered.
I grinned.
“The perp’s asking for me?”
“Yep. I told him he could talk with whoever I sent in the room.” He shook his head. “Damn criminals these days think they can come in here and call the shots.”
“I need five minutes with him.”
Mac gave me a level stare. “It’s not a good idea.”
“Probably not.” I agreed.
“No.”
“I need to know how many people he told about my identity.”
Mac swore. “You know as well as I do he ain’t gonna tell you the truth.”
Most likely, no. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to beat the truth out of him. I kept that little tidbit of information to myself.
“Maybe since he’s been lying low, he hasn’t had time to tell that many people. We already got the guys who tried to kill me today so we know they aren’t talking. We might be able to keep a lid on this.”
“You know your undercover career is over, don’t you?” he said quietly.
“Yes. Which is exactly why I want to see him. I have to make sure I can have a real life where I don’t have to look over my shoulder.”
“We could transfer you,” he suggested. “Get you out of here.”
Any other time I would have taken the transfer and moved on. Yeah, I had family not too far away, but my relationship with them had faded away a long time ago. There wasn’t really anything to keep me here.
Until Taylor.
“I’m not running,” I growled.
“It’s the girl, isn’t it?”
I stared at him in stony silence.
“Taylor Shaw,” he said.
I crossed my arms over my chest.
He whistled between his teeth. “You got it bad, don’t ya? You know her daddy is a powerful, rich man in this town.”
“Edward Shaw does not intimidate me.”
Mac grinned because I pretty much just confirmed what he was implying. When I offered no more information on my personal life, he wiped a hand down his face.
“Five minutes.”
I smiled and turned to leave.
“West.”
I stopped but didn’t turn back.
“Keep your hands to yourself. Don’t force me to suspend you. You’re one of the best on the PD.”
I left the room without response. I wasn’t going to make a promise I couldn’t keep. Out in the hall, Newman was passing by with a folder full of papers. “He’s down the hall.”
“What’s he been saying?”
“He won’t say shit. Says he’ll only talk to you,” Newman spat. “He keeps grinning like he has some big secret. We’ve sent three guys in there already and all of them have come out wanting to punch out someone’s lights.”
Weariness smacked me in the gut. Shit, I was tired. All the games that went into this kind of life were starting to wear on me. The damn media actually did me a favor when they outed me. I was tired of being undercover. I was glad this was the end of that chapter in my life. Moving on sounded like a pretty good idea.
I paused outside the interrogation room and took a breath, reminding myself to keep my cool. The reminder was likely useless. If he pushed me too far, I wouldn’t be keeping my hands to myself.