Page 4 of Dirty Quinn
“I—”
“Please don’t interrupt me again, Agent Roberts.”
Who the fuck does he think he is?
How the fuck does he think this will work?
I nod. “Are you through?”
“No. But I can see you have the patience of a child, so proceed with your question.” He sighs.
“It’s not so much a question as it is an objection. This is my job. My career. How I make money and pay rent. I can’t just stop all that to work for you.”
“Your salary and benefits will continue uninterrupted.”
“How the fuck do you—”
“Leave that to me. You just worry about what you need to get done.”
“And what is it I need to get done?” I ask.
“You will spy for me.”
“Spy on who?”
“Whoever I wish.” He steeples his fingers in front of his face and regards me.
I keep waiting to either wake up from this dream or have whatever is happening start to make sense. So far, neither is happening.
“First, let me tell you a story. About a young girl named Daria . . .”
* * *
I can’t wrap my head around what Viktor told me before dropping me back at my car. Daria is a killer. Sometimes for money, others for vengeance. Trained from childhood to take down guys in any number of situations. She’s lethal. Like a weapon.
Does this mean Mack knows? Viktor seems to be certain he does. And if Mack knows, how could he keep this from me? What kind of partners does that make us? I guess as of tonight we aren’t any kind of partners since apparently I’ve left the FBI.
And what the hell does Ronan Sinclair have to do with anything?
Daria uses the bar as a cover for herself and her girls. Anytime they need an alibi, it’s built right in. Daria has a girl who can falsify security footage at the drop of a hat, and all the girls start the night at the bar, so customers see them. It’s perfect, really. What I don’t understand yet is how long this has been going on.
Quinn must know.
Which means two important people in my life have been keeping the largest secret from me. One that endangers all our lives. How dare they keep it from me? They have no right to do so. Mack especially. We have each other’s back, that’s the whole point of a partnership. Does that mean Daria is more important than I am?
Probably. But I don’t want to dwell too much on that thought.
How is it that Viktor Limonov can control the FBI like this? Who does he have influence over? Is it my boss? My boss’s boss? The director?
I log into the FBI database from home and start pulling up files on some guys who are rumored to have disappeared after we weren’t able to prosecute. And am not surprised, after my conversation with Viktor, to learn that eighty percent of them are missing and or deceased. She’s good at what she does.
Which shouldn’t surprise me.
She doesn’t get caught. She’s got a federal agent in her pocket. Unlimited financial reserves. The perfect alibi. Does the entire fucking world know about this?
I want to hit something. Preferably Mack. I can’t reconcile how angry I am at him right now. There’s no telling how long he’s been keeping this from me. Which just makes me wonder what else he’s kept from me too.
Mother fucker.
