please?”
“Of course, Tesoro.” I pull her away from the guys. “What’s wrong?”
“Well I, um, I heard you yelling. Please don’t get in trouble over me.”
“Hart, I’m not…”
“I’m going to be fine, and you don’t have to worry.”
“Hart, listen to me. I didn’t get you out of there years ago. I didn’t protect you then. I’m not gonna fail at that again.”
“You don’t have to protect me. Like I said, I’m gonna be fine. Ethan and I can leave and find another place to stay. I don’t want you in trouble.”
“Not up for arguments here, Tesoro. You’re staying here where I can keep you and Ethan safe, and I will keep you safe.”
“But I…”
“No. You’re here. You’re safe. You don’t leave this place without me or someone else to protect you.”
There he goes again being a good guy, but I don’t want him to get in trouble for this. This is why I just left years ago, and never told him anything that ever happened. I didn’t want to cause problems for him, which is all I seem to be doing right now.
“Slyde, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but I’m just causing you problems, and I won’t upset your life like this. I do still have work and Ethan has school; you can’t be here all the time.” I try to convince him, but then something I overheard him say forces its way to the front of my mind. “Wait, what did you mean nine years? What have you been doing for nine years? I’m confused.” Then it suddenly hits me. “Oh my god. You still work for JD! Oh my god! Oh my god! I have to go, we have to get out of here!!” I turn to run back down the hall. How could I be so dumb? He still works for JD, and even though I know he would never give me back to him, I can’t risk being this close to him. I can’t risk my son. We have to go!
“Whoa, Hartley, stop. Just listen for a minute, and let me break it down for you, OK?
“No, you still work for him. I can’t stay here. He’ll find me!” I screech in panic. Slyde grasps both my arms to keep me from running.
“Hartley, I’m FBI.”
“What?” All the air leaves my body, and I become frozen with shock. I feel myself being moved, he sits me down on the couch and then sits on the coffee table in front of me. All I can do is stare at him.
“I’m FBI, nobody knows. Mack is my boss. Beamer and Kash are my partners and best friends, but you know that already. We are all a team.”
I know my eyes are wide as I stare at him. Slowly, they shift over the other three men who are all standing behind Slyde watching.
“They are the only three who know what I really am. Everyone else thinks I’m just undercover helpin’ them out so I don’t go to jail.”
My eyes remain glued to his. He watches, waiting for my response. I’m trying to process this but so many questions filter through my mind. Swallowing hard a few times, I finally manage to speak.
“How? You were there before me.”
“I was.” He nods. “I got mixed up with JD and his crew when I was about seventeen. I’d gotten caught during a deal gone bad, and I took the offer from the cops to work undercover for them to get intel on JD and all his dealings. I fed my information to the local cops, and they were able to shut down some of the smaller circles, but I knew that JD was dealing with much heavier shit then what the local cops could handle. They knew it too, and that’s when they called in the FBI. By this point I’d already worked my way up to his number one guy so all the information I’ve had access too has helped. We let him keep at it for so long because we are closing down everything. It’s a huge bust of gangs, drugs, guns, girls, etc. It’s going to shut down the entire north east area plus parts down south and out west. Anyway, the FBI had just taken over when you showed up. I watched you from afar, tried to make sure you were OK, but I had nothing to go off of since he seemed to treat you well. I tried to get you out of there
“Of course, Tesoro.” I pull her away from the guys. “What’s wrong?”
“Well I, um, I heard you yelling. Please don’t get in trouble over me.”
“Hart, I’m not…”
“I’m going to be fine, and you don’t have to worry.”
“Hart, listen to me. I didn’t get you out of there years ago. I didn’t protect you then. I’m not gonna fail at that again.”
“You don’t have to protect me. Like I said, I’m gonna be fine. Ethan and I can leave and find another place to stay. I don’t want you in trouble.”
“Not up for arguments here, Tesoro. You’re staying here where I can keep you and Ethan safe, and I will keep you safe.”
“But I…”
“No. You’re here. You’re safe. You don’t leave this place without me or someone else to protect you.”
There he goes again being a good guy, but I don’t want him to get in trouble for this. This is why I just left years ago, and never told him anything that ever happened. I didn’t want to cause problems for him, which is all I seem to be doing right now.
“Slyde, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but I’m just causing you problems, and I won’t upset your life like this. I do still have work and Ethan has school; you can’t be here all the time.” I try to convince him, but then something I overheard him say forces its way to the front of my mind. “Wait, what did you mean nine years? What have you been doing for nine years? I’m confused.” Then it suddenly hits me. “Oh my god. You still work for JD! Oh my god! Oh my god! I have to go, we have to get out of here!!” I turn to run back down the hall. How could I be so dumb? He still works for JD, and even though I know he would never give me back to him, I can’t risk being this close to him. I can’t risk my son. We have to go!
“Whoa, Hartley, stop. Just listen for a minute, and let me break it down for you, OK?
“No, you still work for him. I can’t stay here. He’ll find me!” I screech in panic. Slyde grasps both my arms to keep me from running.
“Hartley, I’m FBI.”
“What?” All the air leaves my body, and I become frozen with shock. I feel myself being moved, he sits me down on the couch and then sits on the coffee table in front of me. All I can do is stare at him.
“I’m FBI, nobody knows. Mack is my boss. Beamer and Kash are my partners and best friends, but you know that already. We are all a team.”
I know my eyes are wide as I stare at him. Slowly, they shift over the other three men who are all standing behind Slyde watching.
“They are the only three who know what I really am. Everyone else thinks I’m just undercover helpin’ them out so I don’t go to jail.”
My eyes remain glued to his. He watches, waiting for my response. I’m trying to process this but so many questions filter through my mind. Swallowing hard a few times, I finally manage to speak.
“How? You were there before me.”
“I was.” He nods. “I got mixed up with JD and his crew when I was about seventeen. I’d gotten caught during a deal gone bad, and I took the offer from the cops to work undercover for them to get intel on JD and all his dealings. I fed my information to the local cops, and they were able to shut down some of the smaller circles, but I knew that JD was dealing with much heavier shit then what the local cops could handle. They knew it too, and that’s when they called in the FBI. By this point I’d already worked my way up to his number one guy so all the information I’ve had access too has helped. We let him keep at it for so long because we are closing down everything. It’s a huge bust of gangs, drugs, guns, girls, etc. It’s going to shut down the entire north east area plus parts down south and out west. Anyway, the FBI had just taken over when you showed up. I watched you from afar, tried to make sure you were OK, but I had nothing to go off of since he seemed to treat you well. I tried to get you out of there
Similar Books
