Page 105 of The Law of Deceit

Am I imagining this?

Nope.

They put him into the back of a squad car and shut the door. Tanaka and the other officers are talking, but the EMT asking me questions and probing the back of my head distracts me.

“Ma’am, tell us where you’re hurt.”

“I, uh, got hit in the back of the head. Then punched in the face.” I grimace. “And punched in the back where I was recently shot.”

A wave of nausea has me gagging.

“Were you sexually assaulted?” the woman asks, gesturing at my unbuttoned pants that aren’t doing anything to hide what my panties would have if I still had them.

“N-No, well, y-yes. I, uh, he didn’t get to penetrate me, b-but that was the plan.”

She nods, a sad look on her face as she covers my lower half with a blanket. The next few moments are a blur as they check my vitals inside the back of the ambulance. Before we leave, someone enters the ambulance and sits down beside me.

“Thurman.” Tanaka stares down at me, an unreadable expression on his birdlike features. “I’m sorry.”

“For?” I rasp out. “Is Trevor okay?”

“He’ll be fine. I popped in to check on him before coming to see you. They’re already on the way to the hospital with him. One of the officers is calling your sister.”

I relax, thankful that he’s alive and family will be told.

“I feel stupid,” Tanaka admits with a scowl. “I seriously thought you were the rat.”

“Same to you, buddy.” I grimace when another wave of pain explodes inside my head. “I mean, what police chief can afford to drive a Porsche?”

“One who married into wealth,” he says, shaking his head. “We fucked up.”

That we did.

“I came here from Seattle because of the corruption of the previous chief. From experience, I’ve learned there’s not just one snake, but usually a couple. I’ve been watching everyone but then got distracted by your…pursuits.”

“And I,” I say with a sigh, “found out a little too late that Bishop was the real source of infection in our department.”

Tanaka gently touches my arm, and surprisingly, I do find comfort in it. “We were both fooled. It won’t happen again.”

“There’s someone else too,” I tell him, cautiously side-eyeing the female EMT.

“I know.” His eyes flicker knowingly. “Montgomery actually cracked things wide open. He’s been watching Bishop’s interactions for months now and even followed him to a couple of meetings. The other person in this equation is being apprehended now.”

Relief floods through me, knowing the mayor’s not getting away with his part.

“What about that sick piece of shit biker president?”

“On his way to jail with all his buddies.” He squeezes my arm. “We could have avoided all this had you stayed at your desk like you were instructed to. Imagine my surprise when I came out and you were both gone.”

Great timing, Sloane.

“How did you know where to find me?”

“Officer Patel said she got a bad vibe when she saw you leaving with Bishop. She was ready to rescue you, guns blazing. We weren’t sure where the two of you went. Both of your phones were turned off. But when he turned around to come back, he switched his phone back on. Then, to our surprise, he came in with an outlandish story about how your nephew had taken you hostage.”

“You had to go along as though you had no idea,” I grumble. “I bet that sucked.”

“Indeed. I had to send Patel home because she was seconds from blowing the lid off the entire operation.”

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