Page 55 of Ruthless Sinner

“You’re not a moot point, Lancaster, trust me,” Johnson replied. “You’re the linchpin. Stay on the case and keep trying to get info out of Marco. I’ll check in with you in a few days.”

He hung up.

I looked over at Marco. So, I noticed, did Toby. He must’ve sensed it too—that Marco knew something we didn’t. That he’d put a piece of the puzzle together.

Marco placed his hand on my shoulder, his thumb stroking back and forth. “Bastard,” he said quietly.

“Marco?” Toby asked.

Marco sighed and squeezed my shoulder. “You and I both know, Toby, that my father isn’t exactly the cuddliest of men. But have you ever known him to keep someone in a hostile situation like this?”

“No,” Toby replied. “Not unless the men knew they were…” He paused, and I saw understanding light up in his eyes.

My stomach sank, even though I couldn’t quite say why. “What is it?”

Toby just stared at Marco, obviously letting him take the lead on this one.

“We would pull our men out,” Marco said, “Unless they understood that it was a suicide mission.”

Instinctively, I shook my head. “No. The bureau wouldn’t do it like that. They’d pull me out if they felt that I was in real danger.”

“Send photos of yourself, then,” Marco challenged me. “See how seriously he takes your safety.”

My fingers shaking a little, I took some selfies of my bruised face and sent them to Johnson. A few minutes later I got a response:

Thank you for the info. Keep at it.

I swallowed hard.

“What’s the big thing the DA thinks they have on us?” Marco asked. “Because unless there’s something up their sleeve that they’re being mighty quiet about, they don’t have anything new.”

“Mr. Russo’s plan to upset the Petrovs and the Chinese dynamics is working,” Toby said, “But only he, myself, and Marco here know about it. And none of us squealed.”

“And I know that I wasn’t tailed by anyone on my package runs,” Marco added.

I could certainly believe that. Marco was the bestsoldatothe Russo family had, trained by his father and with the Russo ruthlessness running in his veins.

“That means,” Marco went on, “that they don’t know about our little destabilization efforts. The Petrovs might suspect, which is why they kidnapped you, but we took out Misha and his team, so only the higher-ups know anything and they wouldn’t be talking to the DA. So what is this big thing the DA would have planned to take us down?”

The understanding was right there, right at the edge of my brain, but I didn’t want to look at it. I didn’t want to see the truth.

“Baby.” Marco’s voice was soft as he sat down and took my hand. “Haven’t you wondered why a rookie like yourself with no undercover experience was put on this job?”

My throat was bone dry. I swallowed a few times, my gaze unable to leave Marco’s. “Theywantyou to find me out,” I whispered. “That’s why Johnson came to the club. He knew it was sloppy but he was hoping that it would help you to find me out. He wants you to kill me.”

“Nothing the public or the law hates more than when the mafia kills an upstanding cop,” Toby murmured.

“You’d be a martyr.” Marco’s fingers traced over the curve of my cheek, my neck, my shoulder. “Beautiful, young, parents died young, top marks at the academy… the sort of woman that people cry over when she dies. You’re perfect for them. They’d use you to get me, and my brother, up on murder charges.”

I exhaled shakily and grabbed his hand. “I didn’t know. I’d never…”

“Of course you didn’t.” Toby’s voice was bitter. “At least we’re honest about the fuckin’ blood we spill. You were supposed to be kept in the dark.”

He stood up and gathered his equipment. “I’ll tell the boss about this.”

“Sure thing, Toby.” Marco’s eyes were black. “And tell him I’ve already got an idea of how to take care of this business.”

Toby paused. “You sure about that? You’ve never run an operation before.”

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