Page 104 of Compulsion
Sharon yelped and grabbed her partner.“No, no!Stop!”
Gage stopped, but his face had mottled with fury.
“I was occupied,” Atlas said again.He simply couldn’t help himself.Sometimes, he enjoyed being a prick.Especially to this bastard.You used my Lily.But…
Fuck.
Time to get down to business.He had assured Lily that he’d handle the Fed, so Atlas supposed he should handle the man.“Tonya Johnson.”
Sharon sharply inhaled.A dramatic, loud sound.
They already know about her.
And wasn’t that interesting?Either Gage and his partner were a lot better at their job than Atlas had initially realized or…
I’m about to be fucked.And not in the fantastic way that he’d fucked with Lily.
He waited, didn’t move.Time for the Feds to put their cards on the table.
“You arefamiliarwith Tonya Johnson?”Sharon asked him, voice cautious.
“No.I’ve never met the woman in my life.”True story.“But Lily’s friend, ah, Sloane—Sloane Armstrong, I believe is her name.”He more than believed it.He had a full report on Sloane in his Lily file.“She called this morning.She’d seen a news story about Tonya.”His gaze slid between the two agents.Lingered on Gage.“Sloane was concerned about the woman’s death?—”
“Hermurder,” Gage bit out.
“Because she recognized Tonya’s name.”
Gage kept glaring.
Sharon released him.Stepped to his side.“We are aware that Tonya’s father was Lyle Johnson.The big rig driver who killed all of those hitchhikers.”
Atlas kept his face expressionless.
“Guessing information about Tonya was included in the files taken from Lily’s house,” Sharon added with a questioning quirk of her brows at Atlas.
“We still haven’t been given the all clear to check Lily’s house,” he returned.“But if we are allowed to go in now, I’m sure we can provide you with a full listing of missing items.”He dropped his arms.
“Do you wait for all clears?Is that what you do?”Gage wanted to know.“Or do you just, oh, say break into a place when the mood strikes you?”
Oh, now he’s surprising me.But Atlas blinked innocently.“Whatever do you mean?”
“I mean Detective Benedict Swain’s house.I’m talking about you, breaking into his place.See, I stopped by there first thing this morning.It was trashed to hell and back.”
“And you’re accusingmeof doing that?”He rolled back his shoulders.“Sounds like the same sort oftrashingthat happened at Lily’s place.I don’t know why you would think I was linked to that type of activity.I’m an upstanding businessman.Ask anyone.”Well, except dead Detective Benedict Swain.
“You were there.”Gage took an aggressive step toward him.
“At Lily’s place?Yes.I was.So were you.You saw me there?—”
“Benedict’s,” Gage bit out.
“When?”
But Gage just stared at him with his furious eyes, and Atlas knew the man was working on conjecture, not truth.Though the fellow’s instincts were way better than Atlas had assumed.“How about we get back to the murder victim?”Atlas asked.He thought he sounded polite.
Footsteps were coming down the stairs.A heavy tread.Desmond, frowning.
He should be with Lily.I told him to stay with her.
