There. That look. The way that Payton was looking at the head FBI agent was everything and nothing like the way that I yearned for her to look at me.
I could see traces of deep-seated love, but they were mixed with distrust and wariness.
I knew that Payton had worked with this particular FBI agent before. He was the reason that Payton had known that Grace had been kidnapped in the first place. She had done something technical to his computer so that it altered her when Liam's name had been entered into a police report as Grace's next of kin. Liam had been fairly tight-lipped about the whole thing and especially cagey when it came to details about this guy, but I had learned enough to discern that Payon and Agent MacDonald had been romantically involved.
I had not known that she had actually loved the guy.
Fuck, that realization did not feel good. I had been assuming that she was so skittish with me because of everything she went through as a child. I had come to the conclusion that she wouldn't let me in because she had never really let anyone in. Payton had made it perfectly clear that she believed that Oliver was the first person in her life to really care about her. If that were true, then how in the world did she have an entire relationship with this guy before she even met Oliver?
Did that mean that while Payton had loved Joe McDonald, he had not cared about her in return? No, that couldn't be right. Right now Agent McDonald was looking at Payton with such respect, hope, and love that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he cared about her. He fucking loved her.
I would know. I walked around with a similar look plastered to my face whenever I looked at her too.
We had all been freaked out when the camera feeds cut out. I, especially, was itching to use my credentials to get back into the prison and provide backup when we could hear Liam fighting the guards that had come to kill Sabrina on Joelle Brooks' orders. But the whole thing had been over before I reached the prison parking lot from the hotel. Liam was adamant that he had the whole thing under control and we needed to maintain my cover as a day shift guard.
So I had returned to the hotel where Ethan had stashed five FBI agents in the room next to ours. He was being vague about why he had called them in, but I understood that they were our exit plan. Ethan and I presented our case and handed over all of the evidence we had collected on both the pornography ring and the kidnapping of Caleb King. Lincoln King and his security team had been called and the FBI spent hours putting together a timeline and collecting evidence of what had happened over the last few days.
Agent McDonald was in charge and he was ruthless in his pursuit of warrants. He had no qualms in waking up federal judges in the middle of the night and drove into Vegas to meet with one to present the evidence in person. At that point, I had a growing respect for the man because he didn't seem to let anything get in his way. He ruthlessly cut through layers of red tape and state officials that tried to run interference, most likely because they were getting a cut of the porn profits.
It felt like Joe McDonald was on a personal mission to get into that prison and remove Payton and Sabrina as soon as humanly possible. And I guess he was. Because there is clearly more to this story than I am aware of. Some reason why he was spending personal favors and troding over political toes that normal feds would take the time to walk around. I would guess it had something to do with why Payton looked like she was deciding between either kissing or punching this guy.
Liam broke up the confusing moment by stepping into the cell and growling out, "McDonald!" Payton spooked and jumped away from Joe McDonald, quickly scanning the area looking like she just remembered the rest of us were even here. Joe cleared his throat and turned to direct his men.
"Nowak and Chen, go with Liam and take the guards that attacked these two women into custody. Abrams, you are with me. We are going to talk to the wardens. Young, please escort both of these women to a conference room along with the Whistler security team. We will need to interview them about the attack," Joe ordered and his team was quick to follow his orders. Two of the suit-clad agents, Nowark and Chen, shuffled through the narrow space and looked expectantly at Liam. Meanwhile, Joe turned to look at Payton one last time before leaving and taking one of his female agents with him. Leaving the other, Young, with us.
Payton looked like she was trying to decide if she was relieved or pissed off and I couldn't really blame her. I had just assumed that Ethan relayed his plan to her but after seeing her face when she first saw Joe McDonald, I was now sure that he didn't. I couldn't remember the topic ever coming up over the comms system, but these last days had been so hectic and I guess I just figured that we were all on the same page.
Ethan wasn't the kind of leader to keep things from us. The fact that he let all of this go down without giving Payton the slightest warning did not sit well with me. In fact, this whole job doesn't sit well with me. It was far too risky. Payton had been in nearly constant danger for over forty-eight hours and had been forced to take the brunt of risk while isolated from the rest of us. Not to mention that she had actively seduced two different people within that time frame.
And now she had just been reunited with an ex that apparently she had a serious history with. Serious enough that no one was saying a fucking word about it.
"You called Joey?" Payton asked Ethan, something akin to betrayal ringing through her voice making my gut clench.
"Yes," Ethan replied and I walked over to the bunk to check on Sabrina. Really, I just wanted to get into that cell so that I didn't miss a word of this conversation. Sabrina King looked exhausted, pale, and was trembling but other than the bruise to her face from where Wesley Coonce had first hurt her, she looked unharmed.
"I needed a way to get you out of here as soon as possible and Agent McDonald was more than willing to claim you as an undercover FBI agent. The fact that we cracked open and gathered ironclad evidence of the corruption and illegal activities within this prison only supported this angle. Now we can protect Sabrina until her court date in a couple of hours and make sure that you don't spend a single minute in here that you don't have to," Ethan continued to say and I forced myself to keep my eyes on Sabrina.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Payton pull her comms earpiece out and hold it up to Ethan before accusing, "And why in the world did you not tell me?"
I helped Sabrina off the top bunk and turned to see that Ethan looked indecisive. The look didn't sit well on his face. "Honestly, I thought that you would tell me not to call him. We shouldn't have taken this job. I knew it the moment that Lincoln King interrupted Ezra's mother's funeral. Doing this, allowing you to pose as a prisoner and get separated from the rest of us was a mistake. I had to make it right. I had to keep you safe and McDonald was my best chance. So I made the call."
Payton opened her mouth to reply as Sabrina tucked her shaking frame against my side but before she could say anything, Agent Young cleared her throat. "As fascinating as this all is and while I do want to hear more about whatever drama happened between you and my boss, this place is lined with ears. Why don't we take this conversation to that conference room where you will have at least a little more privacy."
Both Ethan and Payton glanced at the agent before nodding their agreement to her plan. We all filed out of the small cell and walked out of the cellblock, hopefully for the last time. Many of Lucia's crew cheered and clapped while members of the J gang called Payton a rat and issued threats. I watched as she blanked her face and straightened her shoulders. That was her game face.
