Choose Us (The Archer Brothers)

“What’s his name?”

He shrugs and smirks. “Something that starts with an R. Ray, maybe? Or is it Roger? I don’t know. I get so confused sometimes.”

“Was Ray Barnes involved in all of this?”

“Well,” Ted leans closer. “It wouldn’t be very nice of me to speak ill of the dead, now would it?” He looks over his shoulder at the guard. “I’m done.”

“I’m not,” I blurt out.

“I’m tired, and I have an . . .” He stands and looks down at his groin. “Issue to take care of. Seeing Donna,” he inhales as if he can smell her. “Well, it’s brought back some fond memories. Goodbye, pretty FBI lady.”

It takes me a moment to gather my things and center myself. I was not mentally prepared for the nature of this interview with Lawson. The man is beyond disturbed and while he obviously needs professional help with his mental health, being locked up is the best place for society.

When I step into the lobby, I’m surprised to find River in the waiting room. I stop and we stare at each other for a moment until he gets up and goes outside. There’s controversy surrounding him and whether he should be in jail. He blew up his house, which is a crime. He destroyed evidence, killed his wife, and committed a slew of other illegal activities, but I haven’t had the heart to bring him in. And thankfully, my superiors haven’t questioned me. I honestly think my bosses have an ulterior motive when it comes to River—what those are, I have no idea.

I follow him outside and motion toward my car. River follows, keeping pace with me. I unlock the car and he gets in the passenger side. “What are you doing here?” I ask him after I start the car and turn the air conditioner on full blast.

“I don’t know,” he says.

“Don’t give me that bullshit, River. What’s going on?”

He’s quiet for a moment. “I come here often.”

“To see Lawson?”

“To kill him.” He says coldly.

“River?”

“I think about committing a crime just so I can get locked up in there.”

“That would have to be a serious crime.”

“I know, but it would be worth it.”

I shake my head. “It wouldn’t be. You’re on lockdown twenty-three hours a day and you’d never see him. It’s not worth it.”

River sits in silence again until he asks, “What are you doing here?”

I sigh. “Trying to piece together some loose ends and fill in some gaps. I want to bring down the syndicate.”

“I thought we already did?”

I look over at him and shake my head. “It’s much bigger than we thought.”

“And he has the answers?” River nods toward the prison.

“I don’t know. He’s sick, that’s for sure. And he said Ingram knows more than he’s letting on.”

“Where’s Ingram?”

“I’m not sure,” I tell him. “I think he’s at MCC San Diego. If not, he’s locked up on base somewhere.”

“I can find out.”

“Where are you staying?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “Here and there.”

“And money?”

“I have enough.”

I nod. “If you need anything, let me know.”

“I will.” He opens the car door and gets out. I watch him for a minute until he disappears from sight. I probably should’ve cuffed him to the door and taken him back to San Diego, but I’m not confident he’d be safe in jail. I pull out of the parking lot and make the long drive back to the airport. If I’m lucky, I can get on standby for the next flight out. Nate isn’t going to be happy, but I expect he’ll understand that I’m just doing my job . . .

. . . a job I really hate on days like today.

CHAPTER 9

NATE

It’s hard to get mad at someone for doing their job. But then, if that someone is the woman you love, and she has a dangerous job, and that job entails going to visit one of the sickest men you’ve ever come across, you get mad. Yet, when you’re so damn proud of her for following her gut, the anger turns into something else. When Cara called me from Colorado to tell me where she was, I was livid. However, after talking to Evan, he reminded me that it’s her job to track down and rid the world of vile humans like Ted Lawson, and if she had to speak to him to do this, I had to be supportive. Still, I would’ve rather gone with her than her flying there by herself. The odd thing is, if she had been in Las Vegas and this happened, I probably wouldn’t give this a second thought, but the fact remains that she’s pregnant, and we still haven’t come to a decision on our future. Well, I have. She hasn’t. And it pains me to think she might not keep the baby.

I haven’t seen Cara for what feels like forever when it’s been a little over a day. She arrived back from Colorado just as I left for work this morning. She was going to shower and take a nap before going to the office. I wanted to suggest she stay home and rest, but those would’ve been the wrong words to say to her. Instead, I asked her to meet me after work because I wanted to show her something.