Line of Fire (Book #1) GirlXGirl

SEVEN

The conversation me and Melissa had last night resurfaced while I stared at Chapman. I wasn't afraid, but I hadn't expected him to come looking for me so soon. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since the heist.

I decided not to keep him waiting. Walking around the car I let myself in through the passenger side, a moment of silence settling between us.

We drove off, and for a split second I thought he was about to bring me to the NIA building. Or maybe he was finally bringing me to jail. Before I could ask he spoke up.

"Are you trying to get yourself arrested again?"

"No," I claimed, "And I don't know what you're talking about."

"Playing dumb with me never works," he reminded. "You and that girl Melissa are lucky I was contacted about last night and not someone else."

I shook my head, "What do you mean?"

"I mean they caught your faces on a security camera. Luckily I was able to get rid of it," he informed.

I felt my skin run cold.

He lifted one hand from the steering wheel in annoyance. "Did you really think it was a good idea to drive into town not wearing masks? I thought you were smarter than that."

I was biting the inside of my cheek out of frustration. He was right. It had been a stupid move. But last night hadn't exactly gone as planned. Then again, when did it ever?

"We weren't planning on causing a scene," I answered.

"Haven't you learned to expect the unexpected?"

I rolled my eyes, "So what, you're finally here to arrest me?"

I couldn't look at him, too afraid that my freedom was about to be ripped away from me once again.

"No," he paused, looking forward, "I'm here to thank you."

I stared at him in shock. "Well, you sure have a funny way of going about it."

"Do you want to keep being a smartass or do you want answers?"

I shut right up. This was the question I had been dying to hear since meeting him, but being face to face with this kind of opportunity was intimidating. Was I ready for the truth? Probably not. But there was no way I was passing this up.

I nodded silently.

He glanced at me before speaking, "Welsh's murder wasn't because we messed up that night at the GIB. Whoever informed them of our plan not only told them we were coming, but also what we were coming for. Welsh was murdered hours before we even stepped foot in their building."

I no longer felt responsible for Welsh's death but there was still a sense of failure. We had gone through all of that for nothing. The meaningless blood I had on my hands made me sick.

"Who knew about the plan?" I asked.

"My entire team," Chapman shook his head, "And word seems to travel fast in our headquarters."

"So you have no chance of finding who snitched?"

"No, not right now."

I took a deep breath and tried to wrap my head around the information. This seemed to be a serious problem. Too many people had known, which meant there were too many suspects. Finding out who it was would be near impossible. The only way to make sure it didn't happen again was if Chapman were to keep things low-key from here on out.

"The man you helped Monroe find," Chapman continued his thought, "Antonio Silva. He's been very helpful in reopening the case-"

"What is this all about?" I interrupted. There was a hint of desperation in my voice. "Why are you here?"