Page 14 of Corrupted Memories
“He’s here now. We have to think about what he may do going forward, and what you want to do about it. You ran for years… Are you going to keep running, or do you want your life back?”
My eyebrows furrow, not expecting this direction from him. “What do you mean?”
“What if we got rid of him?”
I gasp, trying to remove my hand from his but he holds it tightly.
“I didn’t mean like that, G. I meant like… put away,” Matt says, frustration bleeding into his tone. He doesn’t have to say he’s displeased by my reaction. I shouldn’t care if Sebastian lives or dies, but I do. I very much do.
“You want to send him to prison? How? For what?” I ask.
Matt’s lips tighten in a thin, bitter line, then he tilts his head to stare at me. “You remember how I told you his father is a dangerous man?”
When Matt picked me up from college in the middle of my panic attack and I explained what I witnessed, he didn’t seem surprised. In fact, when I finally calmed down he told me about what Sebastian’s father is involved in. He didn’t have any proof that Sebastian was too, but one could only assume if he wasn’t yet, he would be soon. How could he avoid it when he’s the only son of the Outfit’s most notorious enforcer?
“Yeah. I remember.”
My brother nods. “If we tie him to his father, the FBI will handle the rest.”
My mouth drops open, a strange chill skittering over my skin and worming into my heart. “The FBI? What the hell, Matt.”
He pulls away, standing and walking back to the stove. “I know it’s not ideal, but it is an opportunity I couldn’t refuse.”
My stomach coils in reproach at working with the FBI and fear of the possibility of putting Sebastian in prison. “Why are you telling me this?”
Matt doesn’t respond, finishing up the food and setting it before me. When he sits on the stool next to me again, he faces me with a tight jaw. “Because I think the only way to achieve what we need is by getting close to him.”
Dread squeezes my heart. It becomes clear what he’s asking now. “You want me to get close to him?”
He nods. “My team and I went back and forth for a while. It’s the best option, and if we control the narrative and the way in which you return to his life, I think it will be safer to extract you.”
I blow out a breath. “Okay.”
Never thought my brother would willingly send me into Sebastian’s arms. I figure agreeing with his plan, whether I plan to do it or not, is the easiest solution. I’d been prepared to fight him over possibly letting me say one last goodbye to Sebastian in person, but if he wants to send me with ulterior motives, it’s a weight off my chest.
Matt pauses before turning back to me. “That’s it? You’re okay with getting close to him?”
Frowning, I push the plate away from me since my appetite has disappeared. Perhaps I’d been too quickto assume my brother would just send me in. “Is this a test? It was your idea.”
“I know, but I didn’t expect you to agree so fast.” Matt’s eyebrows dip further. “Maybe I’m rushing this. Let me think about it, okay?”
I stare at him in frustrated confusion and he sighs, reaching over to squeeze my hand.
“Whatever happens, everything is to protect you. Now eat.”
Chapter 5
Gianna
Jeremy hadn’t been tookeen on seeing me after the party, no matter how much he told me he understood. After the third call, he told me he was working on a large case and he’d see me in a few days. Guilt eats at me, and any other time I would have shrugged off his avoidance, but now it makes my skin crawl. Like somehow he knows.
There are three days of stomach-twisting silence before Sebastian makes his first move. I thought I would have more time to decide how to respond to him being in my proximity again, but I should have known better. In college, Sebastian had never been patient to get what he wanted. That had been a courtesy only extended to me, and it clearly no longer applies.
I’ve just started cooking dinner when Jeremy stops by unannounced, slamming the front door and making me jump. Jeremy has never been one to react with a show of force.
“What is this, Gianna?” he demands as I stare at him in stunned bewilderment. He throws a stack of papers onto the kitchen counter while Brittany hovers by the front door.
I grab the papers, trying to make sense of them, but they are legal documents full of a bunch of nonsense. I swear they word things to make the average person confused.
