Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“She’s mine and knows it.” I gave Rocket a level look. “She’s probably gonna balk at severing ties with her father, but I think it needs doin’. He’s part of the reason she’s in this position in the first Goddamned place.”
“Oh?”
“Apparently, Black and his bunch have something on the man. He’s got some kind of international business with offices all over. Liv said Black threatened to expose him for stealin’ money or something. She wasn’t clear on the details. Only overheard part of the conversation.”
“Do you trust her?” Bullet asked the question quietly. I knew my brother was only asking what needed to be asked.
“I’ve known her for a few hours, man. My mind is cautious, but my heart wants to believe her.”
“You’re in pretty fuckin’ deep for as fast as this has happened, Bear. That’s not like you.” Ringo weighed in and, even though it irritated me, I knew he was right.
“If I could tell you why she calls to me on this kind of level I would, Ringo. I can’t even explain it to myself, so I can’t explain it to you. But Black is CIA. It’s his business to know his people. Like it or not, I was once on his team.”
“You think he sent her to you because he knew she was the type of woman you’d go for? Did he know you that well?” Rocket narrowed his eyes as he spoke, likely thinking really hard about the whole situation.
“You know the CIA as well or better than I do, Rocket. Those bastards know a man inside and out before they hire him. I was on Leon Black’s team for three years. So, yeah. I have no doubt that bastard handpicked Olivia.”
“And you’re still claiming her?” Rocket looked frustrated. “Bear, you know I think you’re the most capable man here. I’d trust you to have my back in any situation for any reason. But are you sure, really sure, about this?”
“I know it’s crazy, Rocket. I know what’s at stake. But she’s mine. If she works against us, I’ll accept responsibility. But I want her protected.”
“If she stays in your corner, we will protect her to the death. You know that.”
“I’m telling you right now, Rocket. I believe her. I believe she’s told me what she knows and that she’s the only innocent party in all this. God knows I’m not.”
“You know what?” Lemon stood up straight then. “Crush. Where is this fucker?”
“Roadside motel. Other side of town. Him and the other guy.” Crush met my gaze. “Goes by Boon.”
That surprised me. “Boon? Paul Jacobs?”
“He was on that same team when you were in Tripoli, wasn’t he?” Rocket raised a questioning eyebrow at me.
“Yeah.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Christ, Rocket. Boon was the only man in that group who questioned our orders. The others were ready to go, but Boon stayed with me. I told him I could help him get out if he wanted to, but Boon had a family. He didn’t want to uproot them. I have no idea what happened to him after I came here, but that whole unit was reprimanded. We weren’t active military, so the CIA was able to keep it interagency.” I shrugged. “They protected their men in the long term, but short term, it was a fuckin’ shit show.”
“Yeah,” Crush confirmed. “He took the brunt of it all. Probably because he backed you up. Me and Rocket kept you out of the loop because you had enough on your plate, but Boon spent some time in prison because of that incident. He took the fall for them.”
“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” I paced across the room. “Christ, Rocket! Why would you keep that from me?” For the first time since I’d known Rocket, I felt a sense of betrayal even as I knew he’d probably been right to keep me out of it.
“You were injured, comin’ off that mission, knowin’ you hadn’t been able to stop a massacre. Your head wasn’t in a good place, and I wasn’t about to make it worse.”
“I could have helped. Maybe kept him out of jail.”
“Oh, really?” This from Lemon. “How could you have done that?”
“By testifyin’ he wasn’t there. That he was with me.” The second I said it, I knew how utterly stupid I sounded.
“Right,” Lemon continued, not pulling any punches. “The CIA is gonna believe you, a man who disobeyed orders and vanished off the face of the earth, over the man who was expecting to be the director of the CIA?” She snorted. “Honey, you ain’t that convincin’.”
I glared at my vice president. Rocket sighed. “Lemon, you don’t have to be so fuckin’ blunt.”
“Ah. My mistake. I’ll pussyfoot around it, put some sugar on it, and tell him the exact same fuckin’ thing. Don’t change the message. Bear is many things, but he’s not a fuckin’ pussy. He needs it raw and unfiltered to get through his thick skull.”