Page 40 of Sweet Torture (Torture Games #1)
THIRTY-TWO
NAZ
W e were waiting anxiously for the operation to start when Bastian’s phone's shrill scream broke the silence.
“Hi, I can’t talk right now…Claire?”
I can hear her scream at him over the line. “Put me on speaker, you idiot.”
He places the phone on the table between us and presses the button. “Hi, Claire. You are on speaker. I thought you would have been at the top already.”
Concern is laced into every word. “Something went wrong. I was called into the commissioner's office shortly before heading out. He informed me that another team would take point today. I was instructed to back down and let the big boys handle the case. I fear we have underestimated the situation, Bastian. The transmission over the radio informed us that an informant and a perp were being brought in. They couldn’t possibly be talking about Griffin, as no one knew he was helping us except for my tight-knit group. We have a leak, and I have no idea what is going on at the moment. You need to get down here right away. And bring a damn lawyer.”
The line surges dead, and I sit and tremble in my chair. This is my worst fear realized. I might have the money to bail Griffin out, but would they let him go since the charges are so serious?
What is he even charged with?
Bastian puts his hand around my shoulder and gives me a little squeeze of comfort. "Hey, we will find a way to fix everything. There is no way the courts would believe he is guilty.”
My eyes blur when I look at his face, “But he is guilty, just not of trafficking those girls. Griffin suspected Vlad of human trafficking. What if this is what they are charging him with? And if they don’t get him on these charges, they will find something else to keep him on. Everything is fucked.”
He grabs me by the shoulders. “You listen to me; I know what kind of man Griffin is, and we will fight until he is free.”
How did a criminal like Griffin harbor such respect from a stranger and love from me?
After staring at his desperate face, I grasp at the inkling of hope he offers.
He lets me go and rushes to jump on his laptop. His fingers move wildly over the keys, and a few minutes later, he is dialing the number on the screen.
“Hi, is this Liam Miller? Do you have a client with the name of Griffin Maxwell? Well, he needs your help. Meet us at the 46th precinct in thirty minutes. Bring your A-game.”
I look at him questionably, and he chuckles, “It can’t help to warn him beforehand. At least he is then prepared for whatever we walk into. Ready to go?”
I practically run to grab my bag from Griffin’s room.
One of his shirts lies on the back of the vanity chair, and I can’t resist grabbing it and sniffing deeply. His scent envelopes me and gives me the needed courage to walk out and declare, “Move your ass, Bastian. I am not coming home without him,” before I march out the front door.
The precinct is in complete disarray, and we get shoved in the line repeatedly while waiting at the reception to be directed to the person we need to talk to.
Bastian is trying his best to keep me out of harm’s way by hooking his arm around my shoulders and pulling me out of the way of two squabbling sisters.
Apparently, they were both dating the same man, and he got arrested for patronizing a prostitute. Needless to say, they were both a little fired up.
“Bastian. Naz.”
Relieved, I turn to find Claire calling us to follow her into the bullpen.
“I will take it from here, thanks, Lou.”
The man behind the desk salutes her and turns his attention back to the sisters.
“Am I glad to see you. What have you heard?” I pepper Claire with questions immediately while following her deeper into the precinct.
“Stay calm. I don’t have much information yet, but Griffin's lawyer is with him right now, and I am sure they will post bail soon.”
Bastian wants different answers. He grabs her by the shoulder and spins her around: "What happened, Claire? You were supposed to be on top of this.” His frown and big brother stance are impressive. But Claire never backs down.
Instead, she leads us to a quiet corner where we are somewhat hidden from the curious glances of other police officers in the bullpen.
Shame floods her face, “I thought I had everything worked out. I didn’t account for the generous hand of corruption.
No one was supposed to know this was going down today, and yet it is widely talked about how a Russian informant stepped forward with the desire to close down the human trafficking ring that we have been after for three years.
Vlad has never done something like this.
Usually, he takes care of business himself, and we get called in after the fact.
It was one of the reasons I wanted to keep it quiet.
The other officers knew the risks involved, but I promised Griffin no harm would come to Naz.
Now, I can’t go on a rampage because I still don’t know where the leak came from and what dangers you may still face. ”
Defeated, she looks at her shoes. I wrap my arms around her and scold her brother with my eyes. “You did all you could do. I am not your responsibility, and I am sure Griffin will see it this way, too. What can we do right now?”
I let her go and thankfully see the fire return.
“That arrogant ass you called as his lawyer is in there right now, probably arranging for arraignment. After which, bail will be set, and then you can take him home as soon as the transfer is done,” Claire says.
I bite my bottom lip. Chaos refuses to tell me what happened, but Mike is missing in action.
Except for Griffin, I can assume he would be the only one who had access to any of Griffin’s accounts.
And while I have some liquid funds, I need to keep off the radar.
I might be able to take some money from my house. It just depends on how much we need.
“Black, lawyer is looking for you.” Another officer shouts across the bullpen .
Claire puts her hand on my arm, “I'll be right back, okay? Let me find out what he wants. Wait right here.”
She rushes off, and I stare at Bastian. His face is pulled into a thoughtful frown, and I know he is thinking about something we must have missed.
“You better tell me what you know, or so help me, I will pour sickly sweet coffee over your laptop keys.” I raise my voice to rise above the usual humdrum of the place.
“Keep your voice down. This is not the place to threaten someone. Besides, you won’t get the answers you need without my wicked tech skills.” Bastian is obviously pleased with himself, but he still hasn’t given me any answers. I fold my arms and wait, tapping my foot on the floor.
“Okay, I was thinking about how Vlad got the information. I have done a full sweep of the penthouse and any other place we talked. I know Claire didn’t talk.
She only informed her team on a need-to-know basis, and she would rather die than betray someone.
I didn’t talk, and Griffin would choose death rather than put you in danger. So, who could it be?”
A lightbulb flashes on in my mind: “Not who, what? Did you see the big bouquet of roses on the dining room table? What if someone sneaked in a listening device before it was delivered?”
Bastian strokes his chin, “What did the delivery guy look like? ”
I'm confused. I find the words. “How would I know? Didn’t you sign for the delivery?”
We both wear the same confused expression when Claire returns.
“What happened?” Claire asks.
Bastian pulls at his hair and paces. “I should have checked. How could I be this stupid?” he mumbles.
“Did you break him? I only left for a few minutes,” Claire asks me.
I can’t help the snicker of disbelief that comes from my lips. “I think we have found your mole. Someone delivered flowers to the penthouse a few days ago, and neither one of us signed for them. Someone must have come in and put it there without triggering the alarm.”
“Wasn’t there a card with it?” Claire tries to be practical.
“Sure, it said, your suffering will end soon . I thought it was Griffin’s way of being sweet. He doesn’t have a lot of practice in that area.” I shrug when she gapes at me.
“It is kind of creepy,” she says.
“Yip, apparently, I like them a little creepy,” I jest.
Claire faces me and ignores her pacing brother, who is mumbling to himself.
“Speaking of creepy, Griffin is going to stay overnight. His arraignment is only tomorrow. The loser lawyer advises that we get the money together. He suspects the bail will be set as high as $ 500,000. Is that something you can get together? ”
I nod. I knew this would get complicated.
“Can I see him?” I have to ask.
She looks at her brother, still mumbling incoherently, lost in his own world: “Sure, I will take you back, and then Bastian can take you home.”
I follow her to the holding cells and take deep breaths. I don’t want Griffin to see how upset I am. He needs to focus on staying alive here. Not worry about me and my incessant urge to punch a police officer in the jugular just so I could end up in the cell next to him.
At least then we would be together.