The sound of the back window rolling down in the limo had both of us swiveling our heads in the direction of the automated glass pane. A male voice called out from the back seat. “That would be me. I’m the reason.”
Fae rolled her eyes. “No need to be so dramatic, Gallagher.”
“No need to waste my time, Montgomery,” the man fired back.
My brows went up.
“Just get in the car. He’ll explain everything better than I can,” Fae said, pulling open the back passenger door and climbing inside the dark limo. After a brief moment of deliberation, I sighed and followed her in. As I settled onto the seat on the right side of the car, I was surprised to see an attractive man with stunning blue eyes, a day’s worth of stubble, and well-mussed, overgrown black hair falling over his eyes, sitting in the seat directly across from me. He was probably in his late twenties or early thirties, wearing a rumpled black suit that needed some serious attention from an iron.
“Ms. Kincaid?” he asked.
I nodded.
“I’m Agent Gallagher.” The man leaned forward and extended his hand, and I shook it hesitantly after a quick glance at Fae. She nodded reassuringly. “I’m with the FBI. I believe Fae told you about me?”
“Oh, wow,” I stammered, casting a scathing glance at Fae. “Yes, sir, I’m sorry — Fae didn’t warn me you’d be coming. I would’ve dressed…” I trailed off, mortified by the fact that I wasn’t even wearing a bra in front of this super-hot, deadly-serious federal agent. Really, couldn’t she have given me even a five-minute head’s up?
“Not a problem, Ms. Kincaid. I’m sorry to wake you at this hour, but I needed this meeting to be as private as possible.” His eyes were beautiful but held no humor or comfort. “I work with the New York field office, in the Organized Crime unit.” He flashed a shiny gold badge at me from across the limo.
“You’re the one who got the dossier onLabyrinth,” I said, putting the pieces together. I turned to Fae. “This is yourguy.”
She nodded, and a small smile twitched her lips up at the corners.
Agent Gallagher cast a brief glance at her from his peripherals, before turning his attention back to me. “Ms. Kincaid, I’ve been aware of your investigation for a while now.”
“You have?” I was dumbfounded.
“Believe me, you’re not the only one who’s been keeping close watch on that brewery. I’ve been working this case for nearly two years now, and before my partner died, he worked it for five.” Sadness flickered in the depths of his eyes. “I nearly pulled you out of there twice, afraid you were going to jeopardize my entire investigation.”
“Oh, jeeze.” I gulped. “I’m sorry, Agent Gallagher, I had no idea…”
“I know.” He nodded in acknowledgement. “But these are dangerous people, Ms. Kincaid. You can’t get too close without disappearing. My partner was a good man, but he stepped on too many toes. Made a lot of enemies.”
“So that’s why you’re here? You want me to back off?” I asked, beginning to deflate at the prospect.
Agent Gallagher leveled me with a serious look. “Not exactly,” he said, leaning forward. His eyes were suddenly intense. “I’ve been trying to get eyes insideLabyrinthfor months, with no success. I don’t have enough cause for a search warrant, and breaking in would be impossible — it’s a fortress. Every perimeter is closely monitored by armed guards and more cameras than you can count. You can’t get in unless you’re a member.”
Comprehension came swiftly. “That’s why you helped me. You knew I could get in, with Sebastian’s help.”
“I shouldn’t have given you that dossier. If my boss found out — let’s just say this city would have one less FBI agent walking its streets come tomorrow morning. But when Fae contacted me and told me about you and your boyfriend… Things just seemed to fall into place. I gave you the information you needed, left you on a long leash, and let you run. I knew anything you saw inside could potentially help my investigation.”
“And, I suppose, if things had gone poorly for me and Bash in there, you’d be free to deny any involvement,” I said, my lips twisting in a wry smile at the thought. “Convenient.”
“It was a calculated risk.” Agent Gallagher shrugged without remorse.
Fae snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “Nice of you.”
He ignored her. “What I need to know, Ms. Kincaid…” He rubbed at his stubble, a nervous habit. “Did you see anything in there — anything at all — that might tieLabyrinthto the brewery at Red Hook and the trafficking ring I suspect they’re running? Think hard — it could be something small, just a tiny detail that didn’t seem important at the time but, in retrospect—”
“What’s your name?” I interrupted his somewhat patronizing tangent.
“Excuse me?” he asked, taken aback that I’d cut him off.
“Your name. Your first name. The one your momma gave you. What is it?” I asked.
He stared at me for a moment, no doubt judging how serious I was. My resolute expression must’ve convinced him I wasn’t joking, because he finally sighed and relented. “Conor.”
“Hi, Conor. I’m Lux.” I smiled at him. “I believe you’re asking me for a favor. Where I come from, people who ask favors have to, at the very least, display a little bit of common courtesy. Especially at three in the damn morning.”