Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“Then you should take it.”
The line went quiet again. “You didn’t call me to ask if I’m coming home.”
“I think you are home, Kyle.” Drake’s tone had gone deep, a sure sign he was either serious or getting emotional. “I think this time you’re going to take will prove to you that DC was never home, and me and Julia were never your family. We were a blip on the radar of your life.”
“That’s not true.”
“I hope it is for your sake,” Drake replied. “I hope you wake up a year from now and barely remember what happened. You know you can trust MaeBe. I’ve done a deep dive on her.”
“You investigated Mae?” He knew he shouldn’t be surprised, but he didn’t like the thought of anyone looking into MaeBe.
“I had to when I realized how close you were getting.”
“We’re not. That’s the problem.” But the words sounded like a lie. He felt close to her.
“Well, how close you’re getting to one day actually asking her out,” Drake said with a chuckle. “I thought I should make sure she’s okay, though I was fairly certain given the fact that Big Tag vetted her. She’s had a couple of brushes with bad guys, but she’s never had a real problem. She’s a white hat hacker. Anything she’s done has been to try to help the greater good. I think you’re safe with her.”
“I thought I was safe with Julia.”
A long sigh came over the line as though even hearing her name made Drake infinitely tired. “No, you didn’t. That was part of her appeal. You know you never would have actually married her. You were already pulling away from her.”
“Because I suspected something was wrong. I knew she was lying to me.”
“Did you ever think I was lying to you?”
He considered his words. “Of course I thought about it, but then you came to me with the truth and I’ve trusted you ever since. You’re right. I was thinking of breaking it off with her. I knew it wasn’t going to work long term at the end. What happened between me and Julia was a hurricane. It was fast and adrenaline filled, and I was left wrecked by it. Mae thinks she’s some kind of replacement for her.”
“You talked to her about Julia?”
He couldn’t talk to her about Julia. Not truly. So much of that time was classified, but he’d told her some truths. “Not in specifics, but yeah.”
“Then you’re further along than I thought, and I’m happy for you. But you have some decisions to make, brother.”
About the money. The stupid money that had shown up in his account. “I want you to take it.”
“I don’t need it. I don’t want it. I know it bugs you, but she wanted you to have it. I traced it back to an account I’m sure was hers.”
About a month after Julia died, he’d realized there was more than a million dollars in his account that shouldn’t have been there. It had come from an offshore bank, and he hadn’t been able to trace it. It looked like Drake had more luck. Kyle had quickly opened his own offshore account and stuffed that almost certainly blood-stained cash in it.
“Why would someone move it to me?”
“I don’t know. I suspect she was working with someone. An assistant of sorts. I’ve done some research on how I think the operatives function. I think Julia met with her Consortium handler several times over the course of the last year. I’m trying to pinpoint a location,” Drake said.
Guilt swamped him. He should be working on this op, not following Hutch around. “Give me something to do. I can help you.”
“Absolutely not. You need to stay out of this, but I want to ask you to keep the money. As a favor to me.”
“You don’t need the money.” Kyle’s gut tightened. “Or has something gone wrong?”
“I think if we have to go down a rabbit hole to get the whole story on Julia, we might need untraceable cash,” Drake explained.
A million untraceable dollars would help if he needed to go on the run. They had no idea how The Consortium would handle it if they discovered they were being investigated. “You know where the account is, and you can easily access it. If you need it, I won’t get rid of it, but I’m not going to touch that money. I’m honestly in a bind financially, but I’m not spending a dime that she earned by betraying us.”
“All right. I just want to know it’s there. Be careful. I think Jessica Layne could do some damage,” Drake said. “And you should think about giving in. Tell MaeBe how you feel and what you need. It’s easier that way. I wish I had the chance.”
The line went dead and Kyle slipped his phone into the pocket of his pants and then eased out of the shadows and started to do the one thing that might help him get a decent night’s sleep.