Page 82 of The Price of Power

While there was no way that all of these agents could be dirty, Gabriel still had informants inside the Bureau willing to feed him information. As long as that was true, Theo would never be safe.

My mind spun, trying to figure out how to deal with this new situation as Gabriel protectively slid me behind him.

“Mr. D’Angelo,” one of the suits said as he strode up, stopping just short of us. Even though it was dark, the agent wore aviator-style sunglasses, making it impossible to see his eyes and fully read his expression. Even so, it was clear that he was the man in charge of this whole operation. “You want to tell me what you’re doing out here by the river?”

Gabriel raised a brow—an expression that made him look as relaxed and unbothered as always, though not exactly innocent. “I’m just out enjoying the evening, Agent…Thompson,” he said, narrowing his eyes to read the name on the government badge the fed was flashing.

“Is that right?”

“It is.”

“And you expect me to believe that your evening stroll just happened to lead you to this dark pier with a handful of your known associates?”

“I’m not expecting you to do anything.” Gabriel shrugged. Clearly, this wasn’t his first run-in with law enforcement, and he didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. “As for my associates, they’re free men, just like me, Agent. They can go where they please.”

“Not with my witness, they can’t,” Agent Thompson said.

“Your witness?” Gabriel remarked before nodding slowly. “Well, if he’s your witness, doesn’t that make him your responsibility? Don’t blame me if you can’t keep a leash on your snitches.”

The agent’s mouth flattened into a straight, thin line. Even his reflective lenses couldn’t hide his irritation. “But I can blame you for forcing him out of protective custody tonight.”

But Gabriel just shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the shit, D’Angelo,” Agent Thompson snapped. “I know you kidnapped Mr. Collins and brought him down here to kill him. We thought you might pull something like that, so we slipped a tracker into his clothes back at the office.”

No wonder they’d been able to find us so quickly.

“That was a good idea,” Gabriel quipped. “Between you and me, that guy looks like the slippery type.”

“No,” Agent Thompson said with a slowly widening smile. “It was a good idea because now I get to be the man who becomes famous for finally arresting the notorious Gabriel D’Angelo. Witness intimidation, kidnapping, attempted murder—once the DA’s done with you, you’ll never see the outside world again.”

No.

As much as I couldn’t stand the thought of Theo’s death, I didn’t want Gabriel to spend his life in prison. Hell, I didn’t even want him to spend the night there.

Especially not for something he didn’t do.

“Gabriel didn’t take Theo out of your safe house.” I pushed my way out from behind the safety of Gabriel’s back and looked up at Agent Thompson. “I did.”

The agent slowly lowered his head. Maybe a few months ago, I would have been intimidated by the obvious power move, but not anymore. Now, it only annoyed the dismissive tactic only annoyed me.

“And who are you?” he asked.

“Theo’s sister.”

Behind the glasses, a brow arched. Agent Thompson looked over at my brother. “Is that true, Mr. Collins?”

“Yeah,” Theo said, pushing his way out of the circle Gabriel’s men had formed around him and rushing toward me. “She’s the one I was telling you about. She can collaborate my story.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I shook my head. “Corroborate,” I corrected him.

“Right—that,” Theo said quickly. “Anyway, she was the one Gabriel D’Angelo kidnapped. She’s the voice on the messages. The one he’s been holding hostage.”

I could read the skepticism on Agent Thompson’s face as he looked me up and down. He didn’t need to open his mouth for me to know what he was thinking. In my designer heels and couture hoodie, I’m sure I didn’t look like any other hostage he’d seen before.

“So, you’re the reason your brother came to us?”

Is that what Theo had told them? That this was all about me and not the money he’d taken from the mob? Of course, it was.