Betrayed (Dark Desires 2)

“Actually, I went to the FBI first to see if I could make a deal for him,” he said, frowning at the memory. “And I did so without his knowledge. I told them I was there not only as my dad’s lawyer, but as an officer of the court who wanted to help them shut down illegal activities in the port. Not just my dad’s operation, but others, as well, especially those who dealt in things like drugs and human trafficking.” He smiled wistfully for a second.

“I guess I was young and wanted to do my part in cleaning up the city. Anyway, I worked a deal with them. I would take over my dad’s operation and phase out all illegal activities. I would encourage my dad to retire and move out of state. And I would act as a confidential informant on their behalf. Anything I could do to help bust up criminal activity along the ports I would do, so long as it didn’t put me or my family at risk.”

“So, you became a confidential information for the FBI to protect your dad.”

He nodded. “Yes. And for the last ten years I have managed to legitimize my dad’s operation. Anything even remotely illegal has been phased out. The operation is one hundred percent legit.”

I frowned at him. “I don’t understand. Why the need for the second warehouse full of cheap purses? Why all the cloak and dagger bul

lshit with the Organized Crime unit?”

He smiled again without looking up at me. “My dad had a very hard time pulling his fingers out of the pie that had been feeding him so well for so long. It was like trying to get a leopard to change his spots. He worried that the legitimate businesses wouldn’t do as well as the illegitimate ones. So rather than importing knockoff designer goods, I started importing the cheap purses. Dad had no idea I’d made the change. To him it all looked the same. He never looked at the accounts, so I transitioned everything and assured him that business was good, and that the money was rolling in.”

“Okay, so you set up a fake criminal operation to keep your dad happy?” I shook my head at him. “Do you know how insane that sounds?”

“I do,” he said. “But it worked. Dad was happy, the business was legit and profitable. Everything went according to plan. The only problem was the FBI would not let me off the hook so long as dad was around. And dad refused to retire, no matter how hard I pushed him to do so.”

“So, as long as your dad was involved in the business, the FBI had its hooks in you.” I stared into his eyes for a moment. “Oh, my god, that’s what this was all about. You wanted the police to raid the warehouse so you could convince your old man to retire.”

He finally looked into my eyes for more than a couple of seconds. “Yes. I knew the only thing that would make the old man retire was the threat of spending the rest of his life in prison. So, when I caught wind that your group was sniffing around, I decided that would be a good way to put all this to rest.”

My mind raced as we looked at each other. Suddenly I had an aha moment. “Oh, my god, you were Lester’s inside man.”

“I was,” he said, nodding. “I fed Lester tidbits of information, hoping you guys would eventually put it all together and bust the warehouse.”

“Why didn’t you just give Lester the address?” I asked.

“Because the cops would have checked it out and found that there was nothing there. I needed the SWAT to storm that warehouse while me and dad were there. I wanted dad to think that his playhouse had finally crumbled. That the only thing to do was to shut it all down and try to avoid prison.”

“And that’s what you told your dad after the raid?”

“Yes. Tim Reed, my attorney, told my dad that he had worked out a plea deal for him. If he would sell the business and move to Tampa, they would drop all charges.”

“And your dad fell for it.”

He shrugged. “He’s a tired old man who couldn’t let go of his past. Once Tim told him the lie, that he could spend the rest of his life in prison if he didn’t take the deal, he couldn’t pack fast enough.”

“It was all a ruse,” I said, falling back in my chair.

“It was all a ruse,” he said. “And I was starting to think it wasn’t going to work, then Boozie decided to leave. I told Lester about it. I said it would be a good time to send in someone undercover.”

“Wait, what? You suggested that they send in someone?”

“I did,” he said, his eyes going around my face. “I had no idea it would be someone so… interesting.”

“You knew I was an undercover cop? The whole time?”

He shook his head. “Not the whole time. I suspected you at first. That’s why I hired you. That’s why I moved in so fast on you. Sexually.”

“It was a test,” I said, tapping a fist to my forehead. “And I failed miserably.”

“Actually, you didn’t fail,” he said. “I figured an undercover cop wouldn’t sleep with me. So, when you did, I thought, hmm, guess she’s not a cop after all.” He picked up the coffee cup and toasted me with it. “Congratulations. I didn’t know you were a cop until I saw you standing outside the warehouse.”

I tried to smile, but it wouldn’t stick. I said, “I’m really sorry I lied to you.”

“Hey, that was your job,” he said. “And you did it extremely well.”

“So, what’s happened since then?”