Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
I shrugged. “For all we know, there are more layers to this than we’ve seen yet.”
“I don’t think so,” Miles said. “Not with X and his people investigating as well as ours.”
“He’s right,” Ford said. “Let’s figure out the best way to approach this.”
“The best way is for me to approach it without you.”
Worth sat down on the edge of my bed. “Carter, we’re not letting you go in on your own.”
They wouldn’t. I knew better. Miles would shoot me himself if he thought I was going to run off half-cocked. “Fine. Come with me, but I will be the only one going in after Landon.”
“For all we know, Matteo’s already taken him out.”
I shook my head. “No. If everything between us has been real, he’ll save Landon for me.”
“So you do believe he’s trying to save your ass?” Worth asked.
“Fuck. I don’t know. I just need this to be over with. I can’t believe you didn’t fucking call me first.”
Miles blew out a long breath. “You said you’d accept our help, and I wanted to help you.”
“You don’t help me by keeping me in the dark. That’s not helping; that’s treating me like a child.”
“We wanted to keep you safe,” Ford said.
“Fine. Let’s just go.” I didn’t know what to think about anyone’s motives at that moment. All I knew was that I needed to confront my brother, I needed to find Matteo, and I needed to bring this to an end.
A few hours later, I was moving toward a large building that was secluded and appeared well guarded. Fortunately, we’d figured out a way for me to get in without being seen until I was within a few yards of the building.
Once I was close, I would need to take out two guards quickly. That was hardly a challenge. The fools Landon hired to keep him safe wouldn’t have gotten a call back for a spot on my team at Montgomery Enterprises, much less made it through BUD/S. I silently dispatched the two men and slipped inside.
We hadn’t been able to obtain any interior plans of the building, and we weren’t sure what its precise purpose was. From what Miles could uncover, no one had used it for a few years. As I carefully made my way farther inside, I saw a row of cells.
Nausea curled in my stomach. Had my father held prisoners here? Maybe I should have killed him after all.
What was Landon doing here? He would never sleep in one of these cells. There must be nicer rooms upstairs. I moved silently down the hall, listening for any sound, any sign that someone might be there watching, waiting.
32
MATTEO
Landon was stupid as fuck. He’d accepted my story with hardly any questions. I couldn’t understand how the hell he’d succeeded in negotiating with the cartel and involving himself in a government conspiracy. He must have been coached by his father. He’d likely needed a script to follow.
All I’d had to do was tell him Carter had taken me prisoner after Montgomery’s attack on the cartel. I said I’d been held for a while, then I’d escaped, and I made Landon a proposition: I’d bring him Carter if he’d help me get back in the cartel’s good graces. He fucking took the bait.
I left him in his office, telling him I was going to oversee his security since that was one of my areas of expertise. I easily took out the guards in the security office, and I was monitoring the cameras, trying to figure out how many people were inside the building and if there was anyone being held in the numerous cells on the first floor.
When I flipped to the last camera feed, my heart almost stopped. Fucking fuck. This was the last thing I needed. I raced from the room, knowing I had seconds to head off a disaster.
I reached the bottom of the stairs and cursed the noisy doors that sealed in the stairwell. I managed to open one without making any sound that would carry. Then I waited, listening carefully so I could hear the nearly undetectable sound his footsteps made.
When Carter neared the doorway, I jumped out, wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him against me. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Instead of answering, he tore at my arm and tried to kick me. I managed to keep him against me, fighting him harder than I normally would. This was life or death, and the stakes rose even higher when I heard Landon calling me. Of all the fucking times for him to decide to leave his office.
I slapped my hand over Carter’s mouth and wrapped my other around his waist to keep him steady. “Don’t fight me, and don’t say a fucking word. If you stay still, everything will be okay.” I could feel his pulse going so fast—too fast—but there was nothing I could do. If I was going to get us out of this alive, I was going to have to play along with Landon for now.