“He could have killed two people already!” Gemma snapped, her tone sharp. She crossed her arms. “Whether directly or indirectly, this is all too coincidental to be ignored and swept under some sort of rug. Aaron’s life is in danger. My life could be in danger.”
Agent Montgomery’s eyes went wider. “What do you mean? Has he threatened you?”
I sighed. I’d been hoping to leave that part out as it all circled back around to my involvement with Rick and his smuggling operation. “O’Keefe called me yesterday. He said he needed to reschedule the meeting I told you about. In that conversation, he told me that I should thank him for getting rid of Talia as she would have been jealous about my new relationship.”
Gary’s eyebrows shot up but he remained silent. Agent Montgomery held up a hand. “Wait, he knows about Gemma?”
“It appears so. Gemma hasn’t noticed anyone following her, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have people watching her. It’s the same reason that Talia came to me that night, to get away from the men he had following after her.”
Montgomery nodded, the pieces all forming together in his mind. “All right. We can post agents here, on the premises until we can do some more digging.”
“That’s it?” Gemma asked, her eyes blazing as she stared up at the two men.
“What would you propose we do, Ms. Henderson? We can keep you safe while we look into this further.”
“I have an idea.” I raised two fingers, drawing all eyes back to me. Gemma’s brow crinkled. I hadn’t even shared the idea with her. I knew she wouldn’t like it.
“Okay?” Montgomery prompted.
“When O’Keefe sets the meeting, send me in with a wire. He likes to run his mouth. I’ll make sure I get his confession and you’ll have it on the tape.”
“Aaron!” As expected, Gemma hated the idea. “That’s too dangerous. What if he finds out you’re wired?”
I shrugged. “I’ll have to take the risk. Without his bodyguards, there’s no way he could take me. I’d beat his ass. He’s a lot of talk and money, but not a lot of muscle.”
“You’re still stitched up from the crash,” Gemma argued.
“Hold on, Ms. Henderson,” Agent Montgomery interrupted. He leveled his eyes with mine. “Normally, I would advise against this plan. We don’t usually send civilians into a situation like that. But in this case, it might be our best option to put this guy away for a really long time.”
“There has to be another way,” Gemma said, though her voice was softer, as though she already knew it was the only plan that made sense. “Aaron is still in a cast.”
“All the better to beat his ass with.” I chuckled. Gemma glared at me, but I could see the sparkle behind the stare.
“Gemma, I’ll be all right. The FBI agents will be on site,” I cut a glance to Agent Montgomery to confirm, and he nodded. “Otherwise, what? They take the next month to get warrants to go through his bank records or phone records. Even if they can search his office or home, O’Keefe isn’t the type to have shit just laying around and easy to find. He’s too smart, too rich. It’d be a snap of his fingers to bury things and screw up the investigation with a shit load of bull.”
“When is the meeting?” Gary asked, finally speaking.
“I have to wait for him to call and reschedule. But that’ll at least give us time to set up.”
I gave Gemma one more look, silently pleading with her to understand, and after a long moment, she relented and dropped her arms. “Okay.”
“All right, Mr. Rosen. You got a deal. But this is going to be on our terms. Which means you have to follow our instructions exactly. It won’t be a chance for you to go off half-cocked in some kind of James Bond fantasy. The stakes are real and this will have to go off without a hitch if we’re going to get you out of that meeting unharmed—with the evidence we need to put this guy away.”
I scoffed at the implication I would somehow get into trouble or botch the meeting. Hadn’t this guy seen me? I wasn’t some skinny assed snot-nosed kid. But I nodded my consent without arguing with him.
My anger was better spent elsewhere, channeled into getting O’Keefe to give his finest performance.
On tape.
For all the world to hear.
Come hell or high water, I was going to bury his ass and make him wish he’d never met me.
35
“Do you remember your code word?” Agent Montgomery asked, his face hovered inches from mine, a stern expression etched into the lines around his eyes as they bore down into mine.
I nodded. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know the code. If I need out, I’ll say that I’m ready to sign the papers.”