Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
“That’s complete bullshit,” he replied. “Who told you that? Levi?”
“Ezra.” If she was going to tell him, she would at least be honest about what happened before that last mission. Maybe they would have a chance then. “He changed teams and the one he ended up on…well, the CO had been doing shady shit for a long time.”
“But he specifically asked to be on that team.”
“Yes, because he knew he could get the drugs he needed and no one would bat an eye as long as he did his part.”
“His part being helping to run drugs in the area. My do-gooder, go-to-mass-every-week brother did this.” His hands were on his hips, a look of utter disbelief on his face.
She wasn’t sure how to make him believe her. “Why would I lie to you at this point?”
“That’s a very good question and I can think of a couple of answers. One is that you got caught. You got caught working with Levi. Again. And you were working against my best interest.”
She started to reply but he held up a hand.
“No, I get to finish. Two. Levi was the one running drugs and he was your friend, so you helped him cover it up and you made my brother the scapegoat.” He started moving toward her, ice in his eyes where a mere hour before he’d looked at her with such tenderness.
But this was the nature of Beck’s beast. He was the sweetest man until his anger took over, and then he could brutalize her with words.
“Did you send my brother in to die to protect Levi? I know he was your close friend back then. Did you have to choose between your friend and my brother?”
“No, but I won’t be able to convince you. You’re judge, jury, and executioner, and you always have been.” He hadn’t even given her a chance to try to explain. Three days after his brother’s death, he’d moved out, and she hadn’t heard from him again until he’d sent her divorce papers. He hadn’t fought for their marriage. He’d decided she wasn’t worth fighting for and he’d moved on.
He pointed to the computer. “How else am I supposed to make sense of this? You hid an entire investigation from me.”
“We knew we would have to keep secrets when we got married. We both worked for the Agency and that meant putting a wall up when it came to certain missions. It was classified and beyond that, Ezra didn’t want you to know he was using drugs. He begged me. I was worried if I told you, he would hurt himself. He couldn’t deal with the shame you would have heaped on him.” She felt every bit as helpless now as she had then.
His jaw went tight and he started to pace like a lion in a cage. “So now this is my fault? I’m the bad guy here? Apparently I was the only one who wasn’t doing something criminal. If you knew my brother was doing drugs and you didn’t pull him off of his team, you’re just as bad as him. He was the fucking medic.”
She was screwed. It didn’t matter which way she went. This was always how they ended. “I was trying to protect him the only way I could. By that time there were some bad people after him.”
“So you took his team on an op and decided it would be better to let him die?” His face was an angry mask.
“I’m done, Beck.” If she talked much more the real truth would come out, and she suddenly realized it wouldn’t save her. It would bury her deeper, and she would have given up a piece of her soul.
“You’re not done. This is now an investigation of you, and if you don’t want me to turn you over to Levi, you’ll comply with everything I tell you to do. And no, I’m not going to touch you again, so you can get that straight out of your head. You’re the same snake I always knew you were. The stupid thing is I’d convinced myself we had a chance. That pretty pussy of yours made me think you could do no wrong and I was the one who fucked up. I was actually thinking about a future with you, about kids and a house.”
“Well, it’s good that you know the truth then.”
“Yeah, because wouldn’t you make a hell of a mother. You’d be exactly like your own. You’d use that kid to make yourself look respectable, but you wouldn’t give a shit.”
Something inside her died in that moment, some light that had started to flicker back to life.
He went quiet as though he realized he’d gone too far, but the damage had been done.
She turned away. “I’m going to bed.”
“I shouldn’t have said that,” he said on a sigh. “I’m mad and I’m struggling to understand.”