Moth(56)

“I don’t understand. Who is Windy Lewis?” Nina has a choice. She can tell me the truth, or make up something to smooth the blow. I’m eager to hear what she decides.

It takes her a few minutes to settle enough to continue. She’s looking me directly in the eyes, not glancing away as she speaks like someone lying would normally do. “Windy Lewis was studying to be a scientist before she was reported missing by her family a couple years ago. I decided to pose as her because she apparently went to school with someone who previously worked for the organization Nico was a part of. I knew it would get my foot in the door and be a good cover to work with while I figured out what happened to my brother and how to stop these people. The guy she went to school with died in a federal penitentiary, so posing as a fellow student would be easy to pull off. It was my only way into the company. I managed to access her social security number and hack into the college database. From there I positioned myself where I’d be considered for the internship.”

“Hold up.” I have to act surprised. In all honesty, I’m a bit taken back. “Assigned? You were posing? What the hell are you involved in? I asked if you were a cop and you said no.”

“I’m not a cop, Moth. I’m an FBI field agent, well, I guess I was before all this. I’d just graduated from Quantico.”

“Wait.” I hate to call her out, and maybe I shouldn’t overstep but I’m curious. “You weren’t born in the United States.”

“I was naturalized when I was adopted. As long as a citizen is naturalized, adopted or married, they are allowed to do anything except be the Vice or actual President.”

I nod. I remember hearing something like that before.

I can’t say this is good news for my case. Now I’ve got the FBI involved, or do I? I’m sitting naked next to someone I’ve enjoyed too much, and now she’s telling me she’s with a federal organization investigating the same people I’m trying to take down. I don’t know whether to hug her or lose my shit.

I rub my face with my hands and attempt to wrap my damn head around this clusterf*ck. “So you are or you aren’t with the FBI?”

“I never returned for duty. I suppose they would say I’ve gone rogue.”

“So let me get this straight?” I’m struggling to keep up and that’s a first. “Your brother, who is really your cousin is involved in an illegal narcotics operation and you took it upon yourself as a civilian to take them down?”

She shakes her head. “No. Not exactly. I didn’t know all the details until I started working with the company. I always wondered why and how my brother could land such a good paying job without an education. There were a lot of red flags. I kept tabs on his bank account for a while, and tapped his phone. I was suspicious, so when he disappeared I knew that company held the answers.”

“I’ve got tell you, Nina, shit just got real here. I don’t think you know how involved you are now, who you’ve gotten into bed with.”

“I know fully well how much danger I’m in. They’ve made me. They know who I really am. They’ve been after me to do something for a while now. They said I’m expendable but they’ll tell me what happened to Nico if I cooperate and give them what they want.”

“What is it? What do they want from you?”

She begins to plug in a code on the safe. From the angle she’s faced on the edge of the couch I’m unable to see inside when it opens. In a matter of seconds there is a gun positioned at my head. Tears are streaming down her face and she’s struggling with her words. “They want the DEA to back off.”





Chapter 18


Nina stands and backs up, the gun cocked and still positioned to blow my brains into the next room. Her legs are spread apart and it’s obvious she knows how to handle the weapon. This isn’t her first rodeo and I’m in a heap of trouble.

I put both hands in the air. “You’ve been playing me all along?”

“That’s the funny thing. You walked into my life. I didn’t have to do a damn thing.”

I begin thinking back to the visitors at her apartment and my mind begins to churn with scenarios. This could be my last few seconds alive. It would take someone months, maybe even more to find my body out here in the middle of nowhere. She’s either really lucky, or this was her plan all along. “Just hang on a minute before you blow my head off. If you know who I am then you know who my brother was. Tell me how he fits into all of this?”

“Your brother is the reason they made me. I tapped into the bosses office and overheard him on a call with someone I assume is the person running this whole thing ordering a hit on your brother, so I sought him out to try to protect him.”

“Protect him?” I’m becoming furious. “You got him killed. You could have contacted the police or authorities. What the f*ck were you thinking? FBI agents are trained for this.”

“I wanted to, Moth. I swear it. I picked up the phone countless times, but I knew someone was always listening. I even got a burner to hide some of my conversations with people who’ve been secretly getting me intel. You don’t understand how involved this is.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I know exactly how serious it is. For years I’ve been after this guy and now he’s made it personal. That’s why I’m here.”