Free The Firm Hand of the Law by Loki Renard Page B

alternately balled into fists and clawing to grab at the pocket where her earnings had gone.
    The struggle did not last long. Gareth grabbed her by the back of the neck and tossed her face down on the bed, pinning her with the weight of his body in a way that did not hurt her, but left her with nowhere to go. She screamed her rage into the coverlet, but nobody cared, least of all him.
    “This is for your own good,” he said, holding her down. “You take this money, I have to report that you’re a knowing part of this ring.”
    “I am a knowing part of this ring!”
    “Not really,” he said. “You don’t know the half of what goes on under your nose. I’ve been watching you, Lily. They run decoy packages by you and ship the real merchandise while you’re distracted.
    “Not possible.”
    “Very possible,” he growled against the back of her neck. “Trust me when I say, you do not want any evidence of having received money from these people.”
    “Trust me when I say that I have to have that money.” She tried to wriggle free, but his grip was firm and his pelvis was a heavy weight keeping her hips pinned to the bed. “You can’t take it.”
    “I already have,” he said. “And you won’t be taking any more.”
    “Then I’ll let them know that it’s not safe to do their drops here anymore.”
    “No, you won’t,” he said firmly. “Right now, you’re a concerned citizen helping us bring down these people. You won’t see a day in jail. If we get enough evidence, you won’t even have to testify.”
    Hot stinging tears of frustration were prickling Lily’s eyes. The cash he had in his pocket was supposed to be the next payment on Gammy’s home.
    “I need that money,” she repeated, hating the way her voice sounded all watery.
    “Would you rather have money, or know that you’re helping to put some very dangerous people behind bars?”
    “I’d rather have money,” Lily argued into the bed. “People don’t stay in jail, especially not people like… these people aren’t ever going down. Maybe you’ll take down a few of their officers or something, but you’ll never come close to taking down the people at the head of this—and you know it. They’ll just find new marks and new places to move their stuff. It doesn’t matter what you do, you’re never going to stop this.”
    “Well, that’s where you and I disagree,” he said. “And even if you’re right, that’s not going to stop me from doing my job. Every package we intercept is another dent in their bottom line. Make it hard enough for them to make money, and they’ll stop.”
    “No,” Lily growled. “All that happens when you clamp down on supply is that the product is worth even more. People are going to get their fix one way or another. When you take a shipment out, all that happens is everyone else gets paid more for their product. You want to fix this problem? Stop stealing my money and find a real way to fix junkies.”
    “You’d know about junkies, wouldn’t you?” Gareth purred back. “You’re hooked on this green. Look what you’re doing. Look what you’re saying, and for what? For some paper?”
    “Oh right,” she squalled sarcastically. “You don’t need money. You’re too busy being fucking Batman in a leather jacket to care about money.”
    There was a pause and a rumbling. It took Lily a few seconds to realize that Gareth was laughing. His body shook atop her, the vibrations of his mirth making the bed move.
    “Batman in a leather jacket, huh?”
    “It’s not fucking funny.”
    “One day you’ll look back on this and see that it is,” he said, his tone becoming irritatingly paternalistic. “I’m going to make the right choice for you this time, and one day, you’ll make it for yourself.”
    “Fucckkk off,” Lily swore. “And get the hell off me.”
    “If I let you up, you’ll do something silly,” he said. “I’m going to keep you here until you calm down some.”
    Lily started