Wyatt...

I closed my eyes, hoping they were playing some sick trick on me, but when I opened them again, his name was still there.

My mind was refusing to adapt to the fact that it was him all along. The one behind everything, the one who took my parents from me.

He was my father's friend—they were partners. My father welcomed him into our home and our family. He sat with us at the same dining table. He betrayed every ounce of friendship and morality—he was an animal. No, animals were loyal to one another, and they never turned on their own, even the wild ones. He was a monster.

I could feel the blood boiling in my veins as rage hissed through my body like a deadly poison, and hate welled up in my heart.

Standing up, I started pacing around the apartment. I was utterly disgusted.

I never believed in vengeance and retaliation, but I wanted to see him suffer, and I hated him even more for bringing out the worst version of myself.

"Alex."

I heard Liam calling my name. It was the first time he opened his mouth since we read the file. My face was red with suppressed rage, so I avoided looking at him.

"Please, don't let fury control you or it will drive you to do something you will definitely regret for the rest of your life. We need to give this a serious thought so we can reach a reasonable solution together." He emphasized the word together as he finished.

He was right. I couldn't take matters into my own hands because if I did, I would be just confusing vengeance with justice, and that wasn't me. I was a federal agent; it was my duty to restore order and not further chaos.

I took a deep breath, trying to put out the fire that was still blazing inside of me.

"What do you think we should do?" I asked, finally looking at Liam.

"We should take this to Aaron McCoy," he replied, pointing at the files.

I was about to argue with him that we couldn't trust anybody at this point, but he stopped me before I could utter a word.

"He's known to be a man of honor, and he himself exposed lots of corrupt names through the course of his career in the bureau. I really think we can trust him."

I was running what he said through my mind. I knew it was a risk, but I also knew that we needed help. It was going to be a protracted war, and it needed a hell of a lot more than just me and Liam. Plus, we couldn't just go rogue and turn our backs on the FBI just because someone was crooked.

I finally nodded, hoping that by this, we weren't actually digging our own graves...

***

It was almost midnight, but we couldn't wait until the morning. We called McCoy, who thought that we were unquestionably out of our goddamned minds for calling him at such a late hour.

However, we managed to convince him that what we had was of crucial importance, and it was absolutely worth a midnight call. Then finally, he agreed to meet us at his place.

We arrived at his home an hour later, and he led us to his home office so we could have some privacy.

"So, what do you think is so important that it couldn't wait until the morning?" McCoy questioned, clasping his hands as he looked at us with tired eyes.

Liam and I shared a nervous look, not knowing where to start.

I took a deep breath before I focused my gaze on McCoy. "Sir, I'm certain that you have heard about the conversation I had with Seth Mancini only a few hours before he was assassinated," I said knowingly.

He nodded his head, clearly showing more interest in our conversation.

"Well, he confessed to being one of the people who were involved in the murder of my parents," I told him. And I saw his eyes widen as he observed what I said.

I continued quickly before he could get the chance to make any comment. "He told me that my father worked on that case covertly for years, and he uncovered a lot of secrets, but the mob found out so they got rid of him before he could bring them out."

McCoy looked like he was having a hard time grasping everything I was telling him.

I shared a look with Liam, who gave me a supportive nod.

Bringing the files out of a briefcase we had with us, I handed them to him. He accepted them without saying anything.

"I didn't believe him at first, but then I found those," I said.

He put on his reading glasses and started looking through them. We waited impatiently as he went through most of the files.

He finally looked at us with wide eyes. "Unbelievable! We worked on this case for so many years. These files could have changed everything. I'm glad you both decided to come to me; we need to move fast."

He was about to dial a number on his landline phone, but I stopped him quickly.

"Sir, Mancini also told me that there was a mole inside the bureau—a corrupt agent."

He looked at me skeptically, so I leaned forward and handed him the one file that had Wyatt's name inside of it.

He frowned as he went through most of the file, and then his eyes widened in shock before they met ours. "T—This can't be true. I trusted that man. I gave him his position, and I was even vouching for him to be my successor." He scoffed. Then he took off his glasses and gave us a determined look. "I will make sure that bastard ends up behind bars myself."

"Sir, I think we should wait," I spoke up, gaining both the attention of the director and Liam, who shot me a wary look, probably hating whatever was going on in my mind before he even heard it.

"Those files lacked one thing, the name of the mob's boss. So, if we arrest Wyatt now and reveal the files, we still won't be able to determine the identity of the upper hand in the mob. I'm sure he will find a way to rise again after we strike, and everything we do will go to waste."

"Then what do you think we should do?" McCoy asked impatiently.

Taking a deep breath, I started telling them about the plan that was forming in my head.

***

I was walking unusually slowly. The rhythm of my heartbeats increased with every step I took until I was facing a door. I knocked on it twice. I heard a rough "come in."

I took a deep breath and plastered the most deceiving smile before I walked in.

"Sir, I hope you have got some free time. There's something I need to talk to you about," I said.

"Sure, take a seat," Wyatt said with a smile that sent chills through my body.

I ignored the thoughts going on in my mind, urging me to wipe that damn smile off.

I sat down and looked him in the face. Disgust and anger were starting to boil inside me again. I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the mission at hand.

"I spoke to Mancini about the murder of my parents," I told him and watched as his eyes widened. I could see his body tensing.

"And then, I found those." I put the files on his desk, excluding the ones about him. Of course, they were all copies.

He wiped the sweat that was forming on his forehead as he started reading through the files. I could see that he was startled.

"W—Where did you find all of that?" he asked.

It must have been killing him to know where the files they looked for desperately for years were securely hidden all these years.

"It doesn't matter," I said dismissively and then continued quickly. "Anyway, I didn't really know what to do, and you're the only one I trust here, so I decided to come to you for help." I tried to look desperate.

I watched as he let out a breath. "Alex, listen," he started, looking at me with obvious fake concern. "You need to back off. This is so dangerous." He pointed at the files. "Leave them with me, and I will figure out what to do with them."

I nodded. "Thank you, sir. I wouldn't know what to do without you," I said, sending him a fake smile.

"Don't worry. I won't let what your father did go to waste." He gave me a bitter smile that made me feel like throwing up.

I forced another smile before I quickly left his office and made my way to the conference room, where McCoy had already gathered the people he trusted the most.

"Were you able to plant the bug?" McCoy asked as soon as I entered the room.

I nodded as I took a seat next to Liam.

McCoy gave a nod to an analyst who started working on his computer.

There was silence for a couple of minutes, but then we heard Wyatt dialing a number on his phone. We waited to hear what he was about to say.

"I have something very precious to you; something you have been desperately wanting for too long."

His malicious smile popped up in my head as I kept listening. Unfortunately, though, we couldn't hear what the person on the other end of the line was saying.

"Fine, but you have to know that the price is going to be massive," Wyatt muttered. "Oh, and apparently, you got a problem with another Ryan. The girl knows too much. You better get rid of her sooner than later."

I clenched my fists so hard that my knuckles turned white. I really couldn't wait to make him pay for all he did.

After his phone call, Wyatt left his office, and we knew for sure that he was going to meet up with the boss. Everybody rushed outside of the conference room to make all the preparations required for the raid.

My plan worked smoothly. I was positive that Wyatt would try to get the files to the big head of the mob, and we were going to follow him and storm the meeting place.

We were now all getting ready. I was putting on my bulletproof vest when I noticed McCoy approaching me.

"Alex, can I talk to you for a minute?"

He already had his bulletproof vest on, and he was wearing an FBI windbreaker. His face was unreadable.

I nodded. "Of course, sir."

"Your father and I weren't close, but we have worked together occasionally in the past. He was a man of honor, I knew that. I always respected him, and he for sure died a hero," he said, softly. "I just want you to know that vengeance is a poison to the soul. You can't let it control you."

I gave him a little smile to assure him. "You don't need to worry about that, sir. I'm not seeking revenge; I only want justice."

He smiled. "I trust that you will do the right thing." He patted me on the shoulder before he walked away.

I noticed that Liam was watching from afar. He approached me after McCoy disappeared.

"Are you ready to watch this whole case come to an end, once and for all?" he asked.

"Honestly, I'm not even sure if this is going to help me have the closure I always yearned for."

"Alex, you should be proud that you made it to this point. You're going to fulfill what your father fought and died for."

"We. We made it to this point—together," I corrected, giving him a passionate smile.

He gave me his trademark lopsided smile that was nothing short of dazzling.

"Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still don't know what this day holds for us." I shrugged, then I smirked at him. "But if things work out pretty well, you will owe me a shot of tequila."

Liam chuckled. "That's going to be my pleasure."

One agent came into view and said that it was time to leave. We both started walking alongside each other, but Liam abruptly stopped and stepped in front of me.

The second thing I knew was that his lips were pressed against my own and that nearly knocked all the air from my lungs.

The warmth spread from his lips throughout my whole body as the world started to fade away.

Unfortunately, Liam pulled away quickly. Probably so no one would walk on us and see what was happening, but I wished that he never did.

We stared at each other for a while, without uttering a word. But then Liam's lips twitched into a smile.

"That was for good luck," he told me before walking out of the room, leaving me there, speechless.

Blinking a few times, I tried to reconnect with the real world and make sense of what had happened.

I touched my lips and smiled.

For good luck, then.