Lifeline

“Careful, my dog bites,” Joseph growls, clearly antagonized by Berisha, which tells me there’s no love lost between the two men.

Berisha chuckles, his eyes lazily turning back to me. “Do you have a name, dog?”

“Laze,” I mutter, my tone almost sounding bored by his show of dominance.

Sadiki leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “You vouch for him?” he asks Joseph.

“Yes.” There’s no hesitation in Joseph’s voice, and I feel a burst of unexpected camaraderie with him. This is the dangerous part. I’m starting to see Joseph as a human being, someone I could actually like, but I can’t forget he’s a criminal, and I’m here to bring him in.

“Will he pass the tests?” Idrizi asks, his gaze curiously on me now that I’ve been vouched for.

An arrogant grin spreads over Joseph’s face as he looks from me to the other men. “With flying colors.”

Berisha slowly nods, then pushes a folder across the table. It skids in my direction, and I stop it by slamming my palm down on top of it. “The first test is simple. One of our regular clients hasn’t settled his account. Get what he owes.”

“That’s it?” I ask, my gaze touching on each of the men.

Berisha grins at me. “For now.”

He gestures to the door then Joseph says, “Wait outside for me.”

Fuck, I was hoping to sit in on the meeting. Suppressing the disappointment, I get up and leave the room, only to be met with the fucked up sounds of grunts and disorientated groans. It grinds at my soul as I walk down the hallway. I keep telling myself there are more lives at stake than just the girls held here.

The stench of forced sex starts to suffocate me, and my skin crawls as if each groan claws at me, begging for help. Clenching my jaw, I keep walking until I reach the car, bile churning in my stomach.

This is only the beginning. Things will get a hell of a lot worse before the bust goes down.

Lighting a cigarette, I take a deep drag, then closing my eyes, I bring up JJ’s face. It doesn’t do much to calm the guilt I feel for not helping the girls, because my imagination pales in comparison to having her right in front of me.

I need my lifeline.

Chapter 12

JJ

Opening my door, I only have to take one look at O’Brien to know something’s wrong. After letting him in and locking the door, I give him a worried look. “What happened?”

Shaking his head, he goes to stand in front of the cracked window and blankly stares at the fire escape stairs and the building behind ours.

His cover can’t be blown, because then he wouldn’t be alive right now.

The thought is crushing, and knowing not to push him, I decide to warm up his food so he can at least eat. Setting the plate of chicken and mashed potatoes down on the coffee table with a beer, my eyes lock on his back. “Come eat.”

Again he shakes his head, and it makes my worry double.

Crap, it must’ve been something really bad.

I close the distance between us, and placing my hand on his bicep, I lean forward to see his face. “Talk to me.”

Suddenly, O’Brien turns and I’m yanked into a hug. His body shudders, and it echoes through me like an earthquake. I wrap my arms tightly around him, and placing my hand at the nape of his neck, I turn my face into his. “I’ve got you.”

His grip on me borders on painful, but I don’t care. I’d give him anything he needs.

Long minutes pass before he whispers, “I couldn’t risk helping them.”

I suck in a deep breath then ask, “Who?”

“Girls.”

Shit.

Knowing he needs to hear it, I remind him, “We need to get the Bregu brothers. They’re our end game. Stopping them will save countless lives.”

O’Brien nods, and for a moment, his arms tighten around me before he pulls back. Wiping a tired hand over his face, he shakes his head again. “I wasn’t prepared. I should’ve been, but it still caught me off guard.”

Taking hold of his hand, I pull him to the couch and nudge him to take a seat. I move the plate of food to the side and sit down on the coffee table, so I’m opposite him. “Tell me how you feel.”

O’Brien’s eyes lift to mine, and I see the relentless guilt already eating at him. When he doesn’t say anything, I nod, and leaning forward, I place my hand on his knee. “Don’t let the guilt eat you up. You couldn’t risk blowing your cover.”

“I know.” The guilt edged deep onto his face doesn’t lessen. He lets out a tired breath, then says, “Let’s get the report done.”

Nodding, I get up and walk to the bedroom, where I keep the laptop and phone in a vault that’s been built into the base of my bed. I key in the combination and retrieve the laptop, then head back to the living room. Once I’m seated across from O’Brien, and I have the program open, I give him an encouraging smile.