“Your sister?” Kayla presses, her voice rising. “Her kids? The ones I bought Christmas presents for?”
“Another agent,” Todd admits, not meeting her eyes.
“Was any of it real?” Kayla asks, her voice cracking on the last word.
Todd hesitates, then shrugs. “I really do have an uncle who owns a Honda dealership. In Wisconsin.”
A humorless laugh escapes Kayla. “Right.” She’s quiet for a moment, and I can almost see the thoughts racing behind her eyes. “And when you asked me to marry you? What was that? What would you have done if I’d said yes?”
Todd shifts his weight, looking more uncomfortable than I’ve ever seen him. “I thought you would trust me more,” he finally says, his voice barely audible. “That you’d tell me more about Roman your abduction if we were engaged.”
Kayla nods slowly, seeming to process this. Then, without warning, she steps forward, and the palm of her hand connects with Todd’s cheek with a sharp crack.
He winces and lets out a grunt, but he doesn’t attempt to defend himself.
“You’re an asshole,” Kayla says, her voice breaking slightly.
“I know,” Todd admits, rubbing his now red cheek. “And I am sorry.” He glances around at the bodies littering the warehouse floor. “With the information I gave my superiors, we no longer believed there was any link between Dragon and the Devil’s Rejects. So the FBI executed a raid on the Devil’s Rejects clubhouse today, arresting most of the members. But Naomi and most of the club officers weren’t there.” His eyes flick to Naomi’s corpse. “None of the men would talk.”
He pauses, running a hand through his hair. “I had a bad feeling, so I went back to Dragon’s clubhouse. Arrived just as Kayla and Molly were being forced into the car.” He grimaces. “I tried to follow, but I lost them. I knew this warehouse was where the Rejects had been doing business. Acting on a hunch, I came out here.” He looks at the surrounding carnage. “And arrived just in time to intervene when I did.”
No one speaks for a long moment. Then, Dragon breaks the silence, his voice controlled but with an edge of steel. “What happens next?” he asks simply.
Demon tilts his head, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Do I need to shoot him?” The question is directed at Dragon, but his eyes never leave Todd’s face.
Dragon’s head whips around, and he growls, “Shut up,” at his brother.
Demon shrugs, unrepentant. “What? I told him all about the time I killed a man with a shoelace.”
Todd’s lips curve into a small, unexpected smile. “Let me assure you,” he says slowly, “I was blind and deaf during the time I was a guest at the Inferno’s clubhouse.”
Dragon’s eyes narrow, assessing. “And are we going to have any other… problems?”
“If you all leave now,” Todd says, his voice steady, “as far as I’m concerned, you were never here.”
Gray steps forward. “What will you tell your superiors?”
Todd’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Let me be the one to figure that out.”
“Move out!” Dragon calls to his men, his voice echoing in the cavernous space.
The brothers begin filing toward the exit, stepping carefully around bodies and blood. Kayla looks at me with a question in her eyes. “I’ll catch up,” I tell her with a small smile. She looks at me curiously but nods. Turning, she walks away without sparing Todd another glance.
I wait until almost everyone has left, until it’s just me and Todd standing amid the carnage. He watches me warily, probably wondering if I’m going to pull my gun.
Instead, I step closer and drive my fist into his stomach. He doubles over, wheezing, his face contorted with pain.
“That’s for my sunshine,” I tell him, watching as he struggles to catch his breath.
He looks up at me, his face pale, and I’m struck by the realization that the bumbling, earnest man we knew never existed. This is Todd Grant, not a car salesman, but an FBI agent good enough at his job to fool all of us for months.
“Thanks for not arresting us,” I add, surprising us both.
Todd manages a weak smile between gasps. “No problem.”
I turn away from him then, following the path Kayla took minutes before. Behind me, Todd remains in the warehouse with the dead, left to explain to his superiors how Naomi and her men ended up with bullets in their skulls.
As I step outside, the cool night air hits my face, washing away some of the stench of blood and gunpowder. Ahead, I can see Kayla and Molly huddled together. Kayla’s eyes find mine immediately, and despite everything, despite the horror we’ve just lived through, I feel that same pull I’ve felt since the day I met her.