Page 99 of Mr. Perfect

“Marshals don’t investigate crimes, and none of us are fugitives on your apprehension list.” Jude looked at Felix and Rocky. “Right?”

A man wearing pajamas, a robe, and a pair of slippers padded into the garage, holding a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in one hand and a spoon in the other. All the puzzle pieces clicked into place and the picture crystallized, reenergizing Felix’s tired brain.

“Was this really necessary, fellas?” Cameron Spencer asked.

Asher smirked at them. “Maybe not, but it sure was fun.”

“Did I hear you say you’re married to one of them?” Spencer asked.

“That one,” Asher said, pointing to Rocky.

Spencer nodded. “Your transfer from Vegas makes sense now. I was worried you were dirty.”

“What the hell is happening?” Jude asked.

“Witness protection,” Felix replied. “You’re helping the FBI take down Jack Mercy.”

“I am, although you nearly ruined it with your investigation,” Cameron said before turning his attention to Jude. “Both your investigations.”

“So, you decided to get even by sending Mercy after us?” Jude asked.

“I did no such thing,” Cameron said patiently. Then he looked at Asher. “Can I speak to them alone?”

Asher took turns studying Felix, Jude, and Rocky before nodding for the others to follow him out of the garage.

Cameron pulled over another folding metal chair and dropped down onto it. “I know you must have a ton of questions.”

Felix wanted to knock Spencer out of his chair but had no desire to take on the four bruisers who would be loitering on the other side of the door. “I’m not even sure where the hell to begin.”

“By now, you’ve figured out that The Camelot Corporation was a shell company, and the extended warranties and gap insurance offered at my dealership was a way for me to steal money,” Spencer said.

“We have,” Felix said. He couldn’t believe Cameron would admit it upfront.

“You thought I was laundering money for the mafia, but I was socking it away so my family could start over fresh someplace else,” Cameron said. “Mercy was never going to let me go. He’d been using my dealership to move drugs and guns for years.”

“No people?” Jude asked.

Cameron shook his head vigorously. “Never. Even Mercy isn’t that evil.”

“I beg to differ,” Felix replied dryly, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension. The marshals’ rough handling had aggravated every ache he’d sustained the prior week.

“You wouldn’t be alive to have this conversation if Mercy truly wanted you dead,” Cameron countered. “He’s had plenty of opportunities to take you out since the explosion.” Spencer looked at Jude. “Mercy’s attack on Felix was a lesson for you. Luckily, you both came out of it unscathed.”

Felix couldn’t find fault in Spencer’s claim, because Mercy had made his position known to Jude. But something had been bothering Felix all week. “If I wasn’t Mercy’s target, then why did the attempt on my life come so soon after I interviewed you about the Second Chance Program?” he asked.

“Mercy has people inside my dealerships watching me and reporting back to him. When you started asking the same questions as Jude, Mercy must’ve assumed Jude had recruited your help in bringing his empire down.”

Felix recalled Veronica meeting with Mercy’s ruffian from the club before Skeet loaded the clunker cars onto the hauler. She’d helped facilitate the interview, so was she the mole?

“How would Mercy have known what questions either of us asked you?” Jude asked.

Cameron heaved a deep sigh. “I panicked and told him about Jude’s interview questions. I didn’t make the connection between them until it was too late.”

“You son of a bitch,” Felix snarled.

Spencer looked at Jude. “I swear I never meant for you to come to any harm, emotionally or physically. I simply told Mercy we needed to be smarter about the program going forward.”

“So, your philanthropic gesture was nothing more than a lie?” Felix asked.