Chapter Thirty-Two
Leo ran out to get us some food.
It was getting late now, and there was nothing on the little television. I flipped through the channels again and again, hoping that something would pop up as I just wasn’t tired.
Hearing a soft knock on the door, I sat up in surprise. For a second, I thought maybe Leo had forgotten the key, but then I remembered I’d asked him specifically to take it so that I wouldn’t freak out if someone knocked.
And here I was, doing just that.
I slipped silently off the bed, moving toward Leo’s bag that was against the wall.
They knocked again, this time a voice called out, “Hadley Caldwell? Officer Camden here, FBI. Judge sent us.”
I stilled, frowning at the door. Judge wouldn’t have sent men. He was leaving this to the brothers while his team investigated, and did whatever they could to try and stop Simon from doing more damage.
My hand finally found what I was searching for—Leo’s 9mm. I wrapped my hand around the gun and pulled it out.
“Mrs. Caldwell?”
I moved to the door, tiptoeing up to look through the peephole. Two men stood outside the door just inside the lights that lit up the balcony. They wore dark collared business shirts tucked into black jeans. They looked the part, professional and serious.
“Show me your badges,” I ordered.
They both looked up sharply, before digging into their back pockets. “Sure ma’am.”
They held them up, the man closest to the door holding his in front of the peephole. I scanned over it. My heart began to race. It didn’t take a minute to realize that they were fake.
I almost laughed.
You’d think that since Simon was a member of the Bureau that he would at least make sure his henchmen had fake badges that resembled the real ones. Especially, given that he’d been the one to teach me how to identify a fake badge.
The main giveaway was the fact that it had FBI written on it. Real FBI badges have the full title Federal Bureau of Investigation, not the acronym. That was enough for me to know that I was in danger.
I stepped back, my mind racing. I needed to stall them. Leo had been gone a while and should be returning any second. “Do you mind giving me your full name please, so I can call the agency and verify your identity?”
There was a moment of silence, and I knew they were trying to figure out what to do.
“Sure…” he answered cautiously. “Kevin Daniel Camden.”
Any real agent would also offer an ID number.
“One moment please.”
“Ma’am, I suggest you just open up. Judge wants us to take you in. He said it’s dangerous for you to be out here.” He sounded professional, but his words were tense as he rushed them out.
“I’d rather not!”
“I suggest you do,” he snapped. “Now.I don’t have time to fuck around.”
The door handle rattled, and I began to walk backward. I held the gun up in front of me, aiming at the center of the doorway.
“I just called the Bureau!” I yelled. “They said…fuck you.”
Silence greeted me and my stomach churned nervously as I attempted to hold my hand steady.
“That’s a shame,” the voice said, before the door burst open, splinters of wood flying into the room.
I pulled the trigger on the gun, hitting the first man in the chest.