Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Everywhere he looked, Laila was in danger.
He’d also managed to dig himself a grave. Killing Victor’s brother, Hector, then taking Laila from the surviving Ramos brother had put a target on his back. Now Montilla had cause to want him dead, too. After all, he’d helped free Kimber from captivity and shot the son of a bitch.
He’d be an idiot not to realize that he had mountains to climb and obstacles to overcome before he and Laila could have any sort of future. But he was determined to do whatever he could to make that possibility a reality.
No more sitting at home, trying to solve this defensively. Time to play offense.
After slipping from bed, Trees donned a clean pair of boxers, then headed out to the kitchen. He didn’t bother turning on the lights. He had an uneasy feeling, like they were standing in the calm before a raging storm. If Matt or Ghost had encountered anything that looked like an intrusion, they would have told him…but Trees couldn’t shake the feeling that someone—probably multiple someones—was out there, just waiting for an unguarded moment.
With a sigh, he plopped down at the kitchen table and grabbed Victor Ramos’s phone. He launched Ramos’s Abuzz account without any prompt for a new password. The cartel had been using the social media platform Zy’s father had once owned and was now selling as a part of his imminent divorce. The chatter among Ramos’s contacts had died down over the past week, but there was still plenty of dirt.
The most recent post made his blood run cold.
As of a few days ago, a spy Ramos had inside Montilla’s organization had claimed el jefe was in a coma, but when he awoke, he would be out for Ramos’s blood. Victor had written back to ask if Montilla would consider their feud settled if he served up the cabrón who had shot him.
No reply, at least not one visible in the chat. But the message string gnawed at Trees. Ramos knew exactly where he lived. It was only a matter of time before he showed up. With Laila here, that made her vulnerable, too.
Sure, he could defend his property. He’d updated and equipped it to deal with most any possible apocalypse. But he’d never imagined he’d be fighting off a cartel and their criminal assets while trying to defend the woman he loved.
It was too much to risk. There was too much at stake. He’d examine the rest of the phone later. He had to get Laila to safety now.
Trees retrieved his own phone and flipped through his contacts. Which of his bosses would be the least difficult in this fucked-up situation? None of them, but he hoped Laila providing them Kimber’s location so the team could rescue their sister provided her some cred with the trio. Plus, her sister was paying them to keep her safe. That should mean something, too.
Finally, he settled on the brother who seemed most straightforward, least likely to waste time growling about the fact he was emotionally in deep with Laila, and quickest to help him come up with a plan.
He tapped the screen. Hunter Edgington answered on the first ring. Though he’d probably been asleep, his voice didn’t sound scratchy or slurred at all. “What’s up, Trees?”
“I think I have a situation. Or I will if Laila and I stay here.” He explained the contents of Victor’s Abuzz account in a few succinct sentences.
Hunter paused a fraction of a second, then jumped into action. “I agree. Pack up. Get ready to head out. Matt and Ghost still there?”
“Should be. I’ll check in with both as soon as we hang up.”
“Good. Laila will head out with Matt to another secure location. I’ll find one in the next hour.”
With Matt? His boss intended to separate him from Laila? “No. Where she goes, I go.”
“Stop thinking like a guy who fell for a client and start thinking logically. Ramos will expect you to be together. If he can get two for one, that just makes you a juicier target.”
Trees ran that advice around his mental track…and had to admit Hunter was right. Laila was even more at risk if he was with her. He fucking hated that fact. “What do you have in mind?”
“I need to do some legwork. I’ll text you when I find a location for Laila.”
“Where should I go?”
“The office. My brothers and I will meet you there.”
“Who will be watching Laila while we’re meeting? Just Matt? He’s great, but alone he won’t be enough to defend her.”
Hunter hesitated, his pause uncharacteristically long. “We’ve been in talks to have a long-term working relationship with Oracle. They’re professional, well trained and managed, and fucking good at what they do. They feel the same about us. EM Security has gone well beyond the original scope of our business—bodyguarding, corporate security, and the like. We never anticipated taking on a motherfucking cartel. But my brothers and I agree with Jack and Deke that there’s safety in numbers. Intermingling teams on an as-needed basis makes sense.”