74. CHANCE

What the hell is Sara doing here? That wasn’t supposed to be part of this!

Pearce looks at the men leading me in by my cuffs and frowns.

“Where’s Dresden?” he demands.

“Major Dresden has asked us to take the case from here,” says the silver-haired gentleman. “I’m Johnston, this is Frey.”

The bald man who subdued me in the park nods.

“Of course, you already know Mr. Talbot,” says Johnston.

“Yes, indeed,” Pearce grins. “Always a pleasure, Chance.”

I’ll bet, you little prick. If I wasn’t in these cuffs…

“These are my associates, Tre Carter and Sara Bishop.” He pretends to be embarrassed. “Pardon me, I mean Sara Talbot, of course.”

Johnston nods acknowledgement. “The major said you had some sensitive information that might help us resolve this more quickly, sir. We’re all ears.”

Sara’s eyes lock on mine. I wish I could read what’s going on behind them right now. All I can do is hope this turns out. And that she can forgive me.

“Well,” says Pearce. “As I told Dresden, my partners and I received some rather shocking information from Sebastian Dacosta before he was killed. As I’m sure you’re aware by now, Mr. Dacosta served with Mr. Talbot in Iraq and was an early employee of Atlas Security under the now-deceased founder, Patrick Sullivan.”

Johnston nods. “Before we go on, who are these partners you mentioned?”

Pearce looks surprised by the question. “Oh. Well, I suppose if you need to know. It’s a privately held trust run by a family from New Jersey.”

“Uh-huh,” Johnston says, scribbling in a notebook. “And the names of the principals?”

Pearce looks uncomfortable. “The head’s name is Tony Arturo.”

And just like that, I know what Pearce was trying to do. What he’s still trying to do.

“Okay,” says Johnston. “Please continue.”

“Well, Mr. Dacosta was an associate of Mr. Arturo, you see. When Mr. Arturo talked about buying Atlas, Mr. Dacosta gave him some information about how the company managed to expand so quickly several years ago.”

“And how was that?” Johnston asks, still scribbling.

“He said Patrick Sullivan managed to funnel money from a CIA counter-terrorism operation in northern Iraq back into the States, where he used it to fund the corporate expansion.”

Johnston looks up from his notebook, eyes wide. “You realize what you’re saying? You’re talking about treason.”

“Is that the proper legal term?” Pearce asks. “Well, if you say so.”

Suddenly Tre interrupts, holding his hands up as if there’s a gun pointed at him.

“Look, maybe we all need to take some time here to cool down. Treason isn’t a word we want to be throwing around randomly here.”

Johnston eyes him up. “We’ll be talking to you soon enough, Mr. Carter. Right now, Mr. Pearce has the floor.”

“Well, the rest is fairly simple,” says Pearce. “Mr. Talbot found out about it at the time and threatened to turn in Patrick Sullivan. He blackmailed his boss into making him a partner and leaving him Sullivan’s own shares in his will.”

“All right,” Johnston nods. “And how does this tie in to Dacosta’s death?”

Pearce frowns. “Isn’t it obvious? Talbot found out Dacosta had talked to my partner and he killed him to shut him up.”

I’m waiting to see what happens next when fate throws me a curveball that I never would have seen coming.

Sara comes forward, eyes blazing, and stands beside me. She turns my head to hers and plants a long, deep, powerful kiss on my mouth. It’s like a splash of cool water on a brutally hot day, and I savor every last drop of it.

“Ahem.” Johnston clears his throat. “If you wouldn’t mind not kissing the prisoner. We tend to frown on that sort of thing.”

“I don’t really give a shit what you frown on,” she says, turning to Pearce. “And I’ve had just about enough of you trashing my husband, you little prick.”

My heart pumps faster with every word. She believes me. Thank God, she believes me. It was the worst part of this whole ordeal, not knowing if she still trusted me. Knowing that she’s behind me in this is all I need. Nothing else matters.

Meanwhile, Pearce is sputtering.

“Of course his wife is going to say that!” he fumes. “Ask her how long they were together before they got married! Conveniently right after the information about Atlas’s investment came to light.”

Johnston looks at Sara and shrugs. “You seem to have something to say, Mrs. Talbot. Be my guest.”

“Oh, I have a lot to say, but right now, I want to apologize to Chance.” She turns to face me, eyes wide and swimming with tears. “I’m so sorry I doubted you. I knew you couldn’t murder anyone. And I don’t believe that you blackmailed Sully. Or that Sully stole that money. I believe everything you told me.”

I’ve got tears in my own eyes now. “There’s nothing for me to forgive,” I say. “You reacted the way anyone would have, because I wasn’t completely honest with you. I should have been, and I’m sorry.”

She kisses me again, pulling me tight against her lips. It’s desperate, the kind of kiss you give before the jail cell slams closed.

We touch foreheads and she looks into my eyes.

“It’s a good thing you gave me access to your accounts,” she says. “I can get your defense team prepared. We’re going to fight this. The charges against you, the sale, all of it. I’ve got your back.”

I smile. “I never doubted it for a moment, babe.”

“I love you,” she whispers. “Whatever comes our way, no matter what, I love you.”

“I love you, too. And I’m ready to fight with you.”

Now it’s Tre clearing his throat. We both look over at him. Sara looks like she’s spoiling for a fight, but he surprises her by holding up a hand.

“I know you love him, Sara,” he says. “But I’m here to tell you, Chance isn’t above lying. In He’s been lying for weeks now.”

Tre turns to face Pearce and smiles widely. “In fact,” he says, “both of us have.”