Wicked Company

Chapter Five

~ Present Day ~

"That was my biggest mistake of all." The agent in front of me snorted a sarcastic laugh and rolled his eyes. "You really have a flare for dramatics, huh?"

"I really can't stand you, Hawkins. You know that?" I squinted my eyes and leaned back in my seat, glaring at the mocking man in front of me.

"You're not the first and definitely won't be the last. Now-"

"If you don't like how I tell my story, then that's fine. I can head out." I cocked my thumb towards the door and went to stand, but was waved down by Agent Rhett, who also sat glaring at his partner.

"Excuse him. He's not a people person."

I laughed in agreement to Miles' comment, settling back in my seat.

"Whatever. Can we just try this again? And this time, maybe start from the actual beginning?" Hawkins' scowl was turned on his partner because he'd taken my side.

"The fuck do you want to know? It was a cold winter night. The wind was howling, the walls shaking. And my parents... they were fucking. Probably doggy with the bitch that my mother is. And thirty-nine weeks later? Hi, how are ya?"

"I hate you."

"Ouch. Kick a girl while she's down, Hawkins, damn."

"Dani-"

"Oh, don't get your panties in a wad. Feeling's mutual. Now. Can I continue? Or do you need to know how many times I shit my diaper as a baby, too? Because it was at least-" I counted on my fingers, staring up at the ceiling, "-twice. I don't actually know, so don't even bother asking."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head back and forth. "Can you at least tell us how exactly all of this started? Why you went after twenty men, including one of Los Angeles' most powerful businessmen?"

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa. Calm down on the speculation, dude. I don't know what you're talking about. I would never."

Unamused, Hawkins sighed, readjusting his seated position.

Miles chirped up. "Dani, we just need to know the truth. The men were never hurt, their money was just rerouted. And not by them. So you could imagine that the money is hard to trace in scattered anonymous accounts and was never pocketed. So. Where did it go?"

Well... I pocketed a little bit of it.

I played it off. "That's dumb. Why would someone allegedly rob someone and not keep the money?"

"God complex? The adrenaline to see how far they could go without being caught? Revenge, maybe? You tell me, Dani. Why would someone do that?"

"Call her Karma."

"Her?"

"Can I get back to my story now, boys?"

"Dani." Hawkins' warning tone pricked at me, his scowl too familiar to be intimidating now.

I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to continue without interruption if I didn't give them something.

I pursed my lips, leaning forward. My elbows rested against the cold metal of the table and I glanced the agents up and down, trying to figure out how much to even tell them.

With the knowledge that the sound was still cut to the room, I sat back, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Look. Maybe whoever did rob them did it because those men cared more about embezzling money for themselves than they cared about their employees. More than the health of said employees. More than the families those employees had. Maybe whoever robbed them did it because they knew that those men? They deserved it."