Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
I push off the island and back right into Luke, who’s still sitting on his stool. His hands come down on my hips, and he steadies me. His touch is fire, yes, but it is also a warm blanket on a cold night, the gentle comfort of partnership something I lost, but I’ve found again. Just like I’ve found Kurt again. Tears pierce my eyes and I don’t even think about what comes next. I round the island and Kurt is there to meet me, pulling me into a bear hug, holding me too tight, the way my father would the daughter he thought he’d never hold again.
He speaks into my ear, at my neck, for my ears only. “I’m sorry, honey. I really am. I just needed to protect you, the way I didn’t protect your mom.”
In all my life, I’ve never heard Kurt apologize for anything, but that reference to not protecting my mom, that’s what gets me. I’m undone. I’m bawling like a baby. When I pull my shit together, and Kurt releases me, Luke is there, kissing me before he motions to the other room. “We’re going to give you some time.”
I nod, and in a moment it seems, it’s just me and Kurt, sitting at the island, steaming cups of coffee in our hands. Two grown adults, catching up on old times while plotting the end of our enemies. That’s what our family time looks like and it’s a good thing. A really good thing. Something worth fighting for. Even killing for.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ana
I’m not sure how much time passes, or how long Kurt and I sit there and talk, but it’s not a conversation about the holidays and tender memories. I want to know who, when, where, and why all of this took place. I’m in that drilling mode, when Luke reappears in the doorway, eyeing me for approval before entering.
I motion him forward and he stops on the opposite side of the island where Kurt and I are presently sitting. Kurt eyes Luke and offers him his hand, and the two men—the two most important men in my life—share a strong handshake. And I believe we’re stronger for it, too. We are only as strong as we allow ourselves to be together, at this point. And considering our history, which runs long, wide, high, and deep, it’s a powerful connection.
It’s also a surreal moment, having Luke and Kurt come back together, one I don’t expect to punch me in the chest, and yet it does just that and more. I’m both comforted by their return to my life and terrified of the moment, they could be stripped away again. Terror is not a good place to operate from, and I’ve found knowledge to be the best way to offset that unhealthy emotion. Which, of course, was why I wanted to step back and dig for answers before we attacked. But I also want this over.
“I just spoke to Blake,” Luke informs us.
“And?” Kurt asks as if Luke is reporting to him.
There’s a slight hitch to Luke’s lips as if he’s amused by Kurt’s take-charge attitude rather than irritated. “He’s certain, Mike, Ana’s boss is dead. He says that’s not in question.”
Kurt’s brows knit together. “Was that ever in question?”
“I thought I saw him at a restaurant,” I explain, and then to Luke, “If Blake’s right, then how do I explain what I saw?”
“Mike had a brother,” Kurt replies. “Funny thing, too. He works for the Denver Lions football team which is owned by Newman Phillips’s father, Michael Phillips.” He forms a circle in the air with his finger. “It’s all connected, just how deep? Where, oh where, is our king? I can’t wait to kill that fucker.”
“Mike’s brother looks just like him, too, Ana,” Luke adds, and uses a cellphone he’s clearly acquired to show me the shot.
I stare at the man so like Mike and give a choppy nod. “Yeah, that’s who I saw at the taco joint. So, he works for Phillips, and Phillips invited us to a party.”
Kurt draws that circle in the air again. “Interesting how this all comes back to Michael Phillips.”
“He’s got to be the real buyer,” I inform him, standing up and setting my coffee in the sink before moving to the end of the island to have a better vantage point with both men. “That’s where we’ve been going with this in our heads.”
“Think about this,” Kurt counters. “Mike worked for the big guy. He replaced Maverick. What are the odds that Mike’s brother worked for the buyer of one package versus the big guy himself?”
“Okay,” I say, trying to work this out in my head. “Then maybe Mike’s brother worked for Phillips and he was the one who told Phillips that Mike could help him acquire a treasure.”