Page 41 of Olivia

Anna looked into his eyes and saw nothing but the truth—but that was the thing about the truth: you can believe it one moment and bury it the next.

“Six months,” Anna said with a nod.

It wasn’t a promise she would have to keep; if she played her cards right, Diaz would be dead by then.

JACKSON

Jackson climbed into the back of the van and the door slid shut behind him. Ryley lay on a stretcher, his wounds bandaged. He needed full medical treatment, but Jackson needed a few minutes alone with him first.

“Why did she do it?” Jackson asked.

Ryley stared straight ahead at the van doors. His jaw was set, his eyes hard but not narrowed.

“She saved your life and now you have a chance to save hers. I’m going to take Diaz and everyone around him down. She’s going down with him too, unless I can find a way to use her and give her a much better deal than he’s going to get. Whatever you all think you’ve built, it’s burning to the ground. You have a chance to work with me, or you can burn with him. If you owe her anything, it’s a chance. Because I’m the only chance she has right now.”

He continued looking straight ahead.

“We identified the third body in the barrel from the warehouse today, but it’s the fourth body—the one we found stored in the basement—that I’m most interested in,” Jackson said, and he saw the flicker in Ryley’s eyes. It was so quick Jackson might’ve missed it if he’d blinked.

He continued, dropping the bomb that he knew would change this case. “Olivia King.”

Ryley’s jaw set and tension siphoned the air from his chest like a visible leech.

“What I don’t know,” Jackson said, “is why this woman is so important. Why she was hidden and not stored with the others. I think you know, and you’re going to tell me.”

Jackson was going on a hunch here, but there was something different about Ryley than the rest of Diaz’s crew. He didn’t associate with them—only Diaz.

“You can lie to me, but you know that name. You stopped breathing for a second and that affirms that Olivia King is important to Diaz’s downfall. So, work with me... or I’ll destroy you, Anna, and every person who has any connection to Diaz.”

Ryley finally looked at him, his eyes fierce. “You’re a fresh agent, full of enthusiasm and the need to prove yourself. That’s going to be your downfall. A guy like Diaz knows how to survive, and he will burnyouto the ground.Jackson.”

Jackson held his cold stare, but Ryley’s words didn’t hit him the way he’d intended. “You’re right. I’m new to the FBI, I’m full of enthusiasm, and I do need to prove myself, but those are not disadvantages.” Jackson leaned in and lowered his voice. “They’re motivation. And while I may be new to the FBI, I’m not new to this game. I’ve been playing it my entire adult life, and taking criminals off the streets gives me the kind of joy that can’t be put into words. Diaz should wish I had nothing to prove, but I do. And I’m going to light his entire operation up. You can burn with it, or you can tell me why she saved you.”

Ryley held his gaze, but Jackson couldn’t read his face.

“I don’t know why she saved me,” Ryley said. “But that’s the thing about Anna—she never does what you expect her to do. She’s an enigma, and that’s why Diaz loves her. She’s like a mystical creature he can’t fully capture, an ancient code he’s trying to unravel. What she did makes no sense at all, but I’m sure Anna will reveal her motives soon. She wants something, though I don’t know what it is.”

“Why would she think you could help her?” Jackson asked.

Ryley looked at him. “I don’t know.”

Jackson gave a sly smile. “He who breathes out lies will not escape.”

A bang on the door indicated his time was up and the paramedics wanted their patient back.

“We’ll talk soon. You clearly need some time to think,” Jackson said as he moved toward the back doors and jumped out.

He stood, watching the van drive away.

“Thoughts?” Will asked.

“He’s loyal to her, if not to Diaz. He says he doesn’t know.”

“He might not. I replayed the footage; she looked at you, eyes widened, and she gave the subtlest shake of her head. Not enough to get any attention, but you knew because you told us all to stay back. I think she realized what she’d done, and she knew that if Diaz looked back at the footage, he’d see it. So she made sure he didn’t realize agents were there. I don’t think this is about Ryley at all—I think this is about you. She reacted on instinct, which she seems to rarely do. I know you have your doubts about whether she can be turned, and I shared them. After today, though? I’m less doubtful. If she is who we think she is, she’s going to be very interested to know about the fourth body we found.”

Destroyed to know, more likely.

“I don’t know,” Jackson said, shaking his head. “I don’t know.”

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