Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“We have enemies, Kane. They cannot be made to believe that marriage makes us weak. We can’t act scared.”
“Smart is not scared. And marriage doesn’t make us weaker. You know that, right?”
There’s an edge to him with that question, one that says I have not pleased him, but he’s wrong about where he thinks I’m going with this. “I’m not saying our marriage is a problem or that I regret it at all. I don’t. You’re right. We’re in a different place now. We’re in this together.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Completely, and damn you for thinking otherwise. You know I’m all in, Kane. But we also have to navigate our marriage smartly, as you just said yourself. I almost called you when I know you can’t answer the phone. I could have distracted you. I could have gotten you killed. And if you took my call, you would have looked weak.”
“Marriage didn’t create this in either of us.”
“This? Whatever this is, you admit you feel it, too, then?”
“Yes,” he says easily, “but it’s not about us navigating marriage. It’s about me going down in that chopper and never resolving who was behind it.”
He’s taking me back to my own thoughts earlier in the day. “Your uncle. Pocher. Junior. Problems we’ve left open-ended too long.”
“Agreed.”
“Then we find endings,” I say. “What happened with your uncle?”
“He’s been put in his place.” He sits down next to me, leaning against the desk as I am.
I rotate to face him. “What does that mean?”
“It means he’s obsessed with you being in the FBI. He’s making others uneasy.”
Suddenly, that extra man he had on me takes on new meaning and it’s not good. “How uneasy?”
“My woman is off limits, Lilah. You know this.”
If he knew this, he wouldn’t be on edge, not that I’m freaking out by this reveal. I hunt serial killers. I’m pretty unflappable. I’m also realistic. Him saying the cartel won’t kill me is like me saying a killer didn’t mean to do it.
“Your mother was killed by your father’s enemy, Kane. That rule seems fairly useless. I’m FBI. Generally, the cartel does not see people like me as a friend.”
“You’re not FBI. You’re my wife, and you have a reputation that’s earned you respect, but I won’t pretend we don’t have a problem. If you’re labeled as a death sentence to the cartel, you’re a target, and my uncle has tried to make that happen, not successfully, but he’s been running his mouth in the wrong direction. And therefore, my uncle has to be broken. How I do that will be determined by his role in my chopper going down.”
“And if you never know?”
“The cartel’s loyalty is to my father and therefore me. I made it clear to my uncle tonight that if I find out he had anything to do with my attack, he’s done. “
“You confronted him?’
“Yes. In front of the masses.”
“And you said you’d take over.” It’s not a question. I know what he did.
“Yes,” he confirms.
I watch him closely as I ask, “Will you?”
“I’ve been working on a protégé, someone to take over so I don’t have to.”
“Protégé indicates you play more of a role than you say you do, Kane.”
“That’s a naïve statement, Lilah, and you are not naïve. You say I’m keeping secrets from you, but I’m not. Keeping you at a distance from the cartel keeps you safe. The truth is the truth though, and we covered this ground before we ever got married. We both know I’m a figurehead, whether I want to be or not, and that can’t change when it keeps the Society at bay, but I can disconnect. I can put someone in the role.”
“You’re right. I know all of this. I guess I’m so used to you telling me you’re not your father that I’m conditioned for that response.”
“I’m not my father. I will never be my father. But I can’t deny being his son anymore and protect us.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “Did you contain your uncle or intentionally trigger him?”
His lips twitch, telling me my answer even before he says, “I have ways of hurting him financially, bella. If he makes a wrong move, he will suffer financially. If I die, if you die, he will suffer financially. Greed most certainly will be his motivation.”
I don’t ask how Kane has influence over his finances. It matters, just not as much as other things right now. If Kane says he’s contained, I believe him. “Who is this protégé?”
“Laslo is what they call him.”
“How do you know you can trust him?”
“My father trusted his father, who is also gone now. I’ve known Laslo my entire life.”
“Then why not do this before now?”
“He wasn’t ready. I’m still not sure he’s ready now, and if I can prevent him from being pushed too far, too soon, that’s for the best. But he’s loyal. He’s only entangled with the cartel because of his father, and he never wanted that role any more than me.”