Page 210 of Daddy's Pride
“Then yes. Black. As strong as you can make it.”
While Brody was making coffee, Milan wandered around his house. “Nice place,” he said when he returned to the kitchen.
“Thank you.”
“Did you inherit the money?”
Brody frowned. “Excuse me?”
“There’s no mortgage. You bought the house nine years ago and paid cash. That’s rare.”
He’d been digging into Brody’s background, then. Brody shouldn’t be surprised, considering the man’s job. “You ran a background check on me?”
Milan shrugged, not looking a bit guilty. “I wanted to know who I was dealing with.”
“You wanted to make sure I was good enough for Josiah.”
Milan crossed his arms. “After that stunt you pulled, you’re goddamned right I did.”
“And what’s the verdict?” Most of all, Brody was curious if Milan had discovered anything about Brody’s past. A standard background check shouldn’t reveal anything, but Milan had resources few people had, and those included his other partner.
Milan accepted the coffee Brody handed him, and they sat in the living room. “The verdict is that there’s something fishy about you, but I can’t put my finger on it. You don’t have so much as a parking ticket, but my gut tells me you’re hiding something.”
No wonder he was such a good detective. He had excellent instincts. “Did you ask Asher to run a check on me? As an FBI agent, he has access to databases you don’t.”
Milan’s face tightened. “He refused. Asshole.”
Brody snickered. “Oh, that must’ve pissed you off.”
Milan sighed. “Yeah, but he’s right… which makes it ten times more infuriating. Asher’s moral compass is far more sensitive than mine.”
Brody loved that Milan was honest enough to admit that. The man was a straight shooter, and Brody appreciated that. He took a deep breath. “Your gut wasn’t wrong.”
Milan narrowed his eyes. “What did you do?”
“I need your word that you won’t tell Denali.”
“Denali? That I can promise, but why not Asher? If you’re on the wrong side of the law, it’s not Denali you should be worried about.”
Brody shook his head. “It’s not like that… and it’s Josiah I’m trying to protect.”
Milan put down his coffee and leaned forward. “Talk to me.”
“Twelve years ago, I was an accountant in LA, working for a prestigious firm. I was awarded a new client, and once I started digging into their books, none of it made sense. Large sums were being paid for services that didn’t exist.”
“Money laundering.”
“On the grandest scale possible. I reported it to my boss, but his reaction told me he knew about it and expected me to fall in line. Except I couldn’t. Not so much because of the amounts but because the money came from drugs and human trafficking.”
Milan gasped. “Holy fuck. You were the key witness in the Victoria case. You’re in the Witness Protection Program.”
“Yes, though it’s called Witness?—”
“—Security Program. I know. But that’s…” Milan dragged a hand through his hair, a deep frown marring his forehead. He was working to connect the dots. “Josiah must’ve mentioned my brother-in-law.”
“President Shafer, yes. Who was your childhood best friend. Your other best friend was Shafer’s chief of staff. Your partner Asher worked for the Secret Service, and you and he were involved in breaking the Pride Bombing case.”
Milan nodded. “And you got scared because all that means visibility, and you don’t want to be seen.”