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“Rob! Tell them I didn’t do this. Get me out of here.”

Viper held the lieutenant’s gaze. “Rob? Sounds like you two have acloserelationship.” Especially since Maria believed he’d get her out of murder charges.

The man’s cheeks went ruddy. “It’s a small town. I know nearly everyone in some capacity.”

“I wondered how she knew so soon after Spike had been arrested. I wrote it off that she figured it out when Spike didn’t check in. Now I’m wondering if she got a call or was with someone who’d receive that kind of information as part of his job. Because the second I saw Maria today, she said she knew I’d been at the police station.” Viper stared the man down, daring him to lie to him.

He gave in with a frustrated huff. “I told her you’d been there. But that’s all I told her.”

“But you hoped she’d figure out the rest.”

Nick closed the door on Maria and waved his hand out for the lieutenant to go into another room where Maria didn’t hear the rest. “Talk. Because right now, I have men in your office checking your computer, looking for any information you might have looked up and investigated on the people we’ve tied to Maria’s murder-for-hire business.”

The lieutenant tried to pull off surprised, but Viper didn’t buy it. He was sure Nick didn’t either.

“I didn’t know why she asked for the information. She just wanted some basic facts on the names she gave me.”

“Like were they law enforcement? Did they have a record that might come back to bite her in the ass? I mean, they might not want to be tied to the crime they asked her to commit. She also didn’t want them to silence the one who set it up and knew about it, too. Because blackmail is a dangerous game to play with someone who might have it in them to do something about it.” Viper saw the second the cop figured out how serious this was and that he was going down as an accessory.

“I swear, I didn’t know what she was doing.”

“Bullshit,” Viper snapped. “You looked up the man in Willow Fork who wanted to kill his wife. It’s only one town away. You’d have seen the news reports as well as been told about it from the WFPD. You knew what you’d done to help Maria fulfill her contract. You’re here to make sure she doesn’t rat you out. All it’s going to take is her lawyer telling her she can get a deal for her cooperation. But let’s face it, you didn’t hide your tracks. The only thing you did that does help you is not tell her that I’m FBI.”

“I knew you’d figure out it came from me,” he admitted. “So yeah, I hoped she’d figure it out by telling her you were at the station when there was no reason for you to be there.”

Which meant he’d hoped Maria would take Viper out before the lieutenant got caught. The fucking bastard thought getting him killed would solve his problem.

“Except Maria thinks my reputation put me there. Big, bad biker guy who has a thing for the chef at Dark Horse Dive Bar gets called in for an alibi when someone tries to kill Lyric.”

The lieutenant swore. His face paled.

“Yeah. You didn’t really think that through, did you? You’d have probably gotten away with this if you hadn’t told her about me at all. You weren’t on my radar. She probably wouldn’t have thought to give you up.”

The lieutenant swore again.

Viper got in the man’s face. “Who was behind the wheel of the car that hit Lyric?”

The lieutenant eyed him. “We’re working under theassumption it was Rick Rowe. My officers tried to find him earlier today when Agent Gunn notified us he’d been spotted at the Wild Wolves MC. Why? Is that not your working theory anymore?”

He didn’t know if the cop was lying or not. “I just find it interesting that Rick and Maria know each other.”

The lieutenant didn’t waver. “I don’t know anything about that.”

Nick stepped forward with a pair of cuffs. “Then, we’re done talking. You’re under arrest for accessory to murder.”

Viper disarmed the cop, while Nick cuffed him and read him his rights.

Another agent came forward and took the lieutenant to be booked.

Nick smacked Viper on the back. “Outstanding work, Mason.”

Yeah, he didn’t have to be Viper anymore. And a dark-haired angel with blue eyes needed to know exactly who he was. “We got them.” It felt damn good tofinallyclose the case.

“Yougot them. Including a corrupt cop.”

“Maria had her claws in a lot of men.” He caught his brother’s stare. “What?”

“There’s something still bothering you about seeing Rick and Maria together.”