Snakes In The Grass

26

The cell door unlocked with a clang and Croft pulled the door open. I followed him inside the cell and nodded at Tasha with a small smile. She looked confused as she looked between us. She was in a pair of loose yoga pants and a tank top, her hair tied up in a knot at the top of her head.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm here simply as moral support," I said as I sat down in one chair. I should really call it a cell, it was an apartment that was guarded and the windows were sealed, but none of her things were there. She was in protective custody, but still under arrest.

Tasha's brows furrowed but she sat down in the other chair, leaving the couch for Croft. He sat down and set the file he had with him on the table.

"We have a proposition for you," Croft began but Tasha shook her head.

"I said I would give you the information I had in exchange for protection," she started but I raised a hand.

"You might want to hear what he has to say," I said softly. She looked at me, uncertainty in her eyes but she relaxed back on the chair and gestured for Croft to continue. He pulled out a number of packages and set them on the table.

"The leader of the Sânge is dead," Croft said and I watched Tasha's body relax, a breath coming loudly from her mouth.

"We have a new deal for you."

Tasha didn't look comfortable with that. I knew that she wasn't being put in a cell for security reasons, but she was still be treated like a criminal. I wondered for a moment what they did to Moroi that was different than Dhampir, but I put it aside with a quick shake of my head.

"If you can testify in court with identification of each member you know of, we will reduce your sentence, and depending on how many you identify will determine the lessening of your sentence," Croft explained as he pushed a piece of paper across the table towards her. She leaned forward and read over the paper, her eyes flicking up to me.

"Do you think I should do it?" she asked quietly.

"I think that if you help shut everything down, you'll get more than just your freedom. People have gone into hiding to protect themselves from this group, not just Dimitri and me. I think it's worth it," I explained, "But it's your choice to make."

Tasha bit her lip as she looked at the paper again. "If I give you names and identify them, my sentence is reduced?"

"If it's enough, you'll be granted immunity and released."

Hearing that she may be released seemed to be enough for her and she picked up the pen that was in front of Croft, signing her name on the paper. Once she did that, she slid it to Croft and he signed it before having me sign it as the witness. Croft spent a bit more time explaining what was expected of her, and how reneging on it would put her back here with a full sentence. She nodded silently as Croft packed up his things. He nodded at me before standing up and knocking on the door, letting the Guardian know that he was finished. Once Croft stepped out of the room, Tasha spoke.

"Was this your idea?"

I shook my head. "No. It wasn't, it was his," I said as I pulled my phone out and slid it across the table to her. Her brows quirked at me before looking down at the phone and she froze. Her hand came up to her mouth and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Is this real?" she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"It is. I met him shortly before we came back here," I said with a small smile. Tasha sighed quietly and picked up the phone, staring at the picture of her brother with Briar for a few more moments.