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He holds up a finger and shushes her. “Put me through to Jack,” he says to whoever he called.
Paige lunges toward him, throwing her body halfway out the window to snatch his phone. She launches it into the traffic with a snarl. RIP to the phones in Mace’s life. Seriously. No one has respect for the cost of these devices nowadays.
Mace’s dark laugh may as well screamgotcha. Even the FBI has to follow the rules. “Cassia. Get out of the van.”
I shift forward, but the guy in the back pushes me into the seat.
Paige shakes her head. “You’re intruding on a federal case, Macc?—”
“Fuck your case!” Mace shouts.
Pedestrians on their way to work startle on the sidewalk, most giving the van and Mace a wide berth. A few pull out their phones, ready to record at a moment’s notice.
Agent Smith huffs. “Let her go.”
The guy holding me releases me and opens the van door, but before I can get out, Mace launches himself at the guy, dragging him out of the vehicle and tossing him onto the ground. His stupid-ass tie flaps in the wind like a flaccid penis. Mace’s fist collides with his face in rapidsuccession. “Don’t.” Punch. “Touch.” Punch. “My.” Punch. “Wife.”
I grab my bag, and the contents that spilled out when I was tossed into the back, and scramble out, skirting around Mace as he pummels a federal agent.
“Astor,” Tony yells, grabbing him, struggling to haul him back. “He’s a fed, you idiot.”
Mace pauses, fist held up and eyes set on the guy whose head is lolling to the side from all the hits, and curses under his breath. He releases the man, turning to search for me, checking the van first and then spotting me on the sidewalk. His hand falls to his side. “Get in the car with Tony.”
I glance at the bodyguard. He’s still holding on to Mace, probably worried he’ll attack as soon as he lets him go.
“Now, Cassia,” Mace shouts.
Flinching at his tone, I purse my lips and move toward Tony. Reluctantly, he lets go of his boss and leads me to the car, casting worried glances over his shoulder.
“Don’t let him get arrested,” I tell Tony.
Tony shoots me a venomous look. “That’s rich, coming from you. Fucking talking to the FBI. You know I recognize that chick from Orion’s, right?”
My gaze falls to the ground. Shit. I guess I deserved that. I chew on my cheek and get into the back of the car, turning in the seat to watch Mace’s heated exchange with Paige. She points at me. My stomach drops as his gaze slides to me and his features darken. Paige sends a mocking grin in my direction. I hate that fucking bitch.
They trade a few more words, and then Mace is storming toward the car. I bite my cheek, heart slamming against my rib cage with every step he takes. He opens the back door. I slide over and press myself into the other side of the car.
Mace gets in, eyeing me before nodding at Tony. “Take us home.”
Tony pulls into the traffic, which is moving a little better now, and Mace clenches his hands in his lap, jaw grinding. He won’t look at me, though. Pain lances through me, but I swallow it, well aware this is a price I have to pay for lying to him.
thirty-two
MACE
Cassia’s breaths are shaky. Thank fuck I was already downtown when she asked me to meet her at Orion’s. She was only a subway ride away, and when Tony called to tell me someone had pulled her off the street, all I had to do was find the van he was talking about.
I thought Vito had gone back on his word. A hundred images of what he would do to her if given the chance tore through my mind. Then I found her with the FBI. As soon as I saw Agent Smith, I knew what was happening. That fucking fed has been after me for years.
I’m not surprised she went to Cassia, only pissed at myself for not warning my wife that she’d be approached. Then that asshole in the back put his hands on her. What else have they done to her? How long has she been working with them?
I’m not even worried about what she could have shared. She has zero insight into my dealings with the Marinos, and anything on Rex Technologies? I’ve been thinking about ways to rip the company apart myself. Icouldn’t care less about the company’s secrets. I’ve done nothing wrong. Cassia being manipulated, bullied, and manhandled?
That matters.
I should kill every one of those FBI agents. Fuck the law. Fuck their stupid case, and most of all, fuck that stupid motherfucker for shoving my wife. She’s mine. My vicious liar. No one touches what’s mine. Anger reverberates through me.
“I . . . I should call Orion,” Cassia says, voice trembling. She’s terrified.