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)
“Ha ha.” Logan shot him an acidic stare. “Matt says you have a concussion. You probably shouldn’t be turned loose with a gun.”
“Matt should keep his mouth shut. I’m fine.” Well, good enough.
As long as he didn’t think about Laila…which was proving impossible. How had she suckered him so badly? How had she lied and so thoroughly convinced him of her sob story? He would have sworn everything about her was painfully honest, but maybe life with a cartel had carved the need to survive—fuck her scruples—into her psyche. Maybe she’d decided she could stay alive most easily by mesmerizing schmucks like him with her body. Maybe she’d never felt anything for any man who’d been inside her, except Victor. Maybe her wide-eyed surprise when he’d supposedly given her both her first kiss and her first orgasm had been bullshit designed to make him feel special. And maybe he’d believed it because he’d wanted to.
If he were a forgiving man, he’d reconcile himself to the fact she was damaged and simply let her go. Too bad for her. Laila was about to find out that he was a nice guy…until he wasn’t.
“You’re full of shit. You seriously look ready to puke again.”
Trees shook his head and lied through his teeth. “Nope. I’m solid.”
“Stay in the van and be our lookout.”
So he could…what? Fixate on how he’d repay Laila and miss his chance to kill some motherfuckers? “Is that an order?”
Logan sighed. “Fine. You’re a big boy, and we need all the guns we can get. But you better not be BSing me. I don’t want to take anyone back in a pine box.”
“If you do, it won’t be me.” Not when he had a score to settle.
“Hunter is going to kill me.”
Trees didn’t care. “What’s the plan?”
Since most of EM Security, along with Deke Trenton and Caleb Edgington, Oracle agent Trevor Forsythe, and Ghost had flown in together, they’d powwowed on the plane midair. Once everyone had landed, Matt had warned his bosses about Trees’s injury, so no one had felt the need to clue him in.
He was going to change that bullshit now.
“Fine. According to our intel, Kimber is being held in one of Montilla’s haciendas. It’s remote, up in the mountains. Getting up there will be a bitch. Deke, Dad, and Hunter took Ghost and went ahead to do some recon. Once they return, they’ll join Joaquin, Matt, Trevor, Zy, Walker, and the two of us. We’ll split into two teams.”
Trees guessed Kane had stayed behind to guard Valeria and Jorge. “Roger that. Then what?”
“The preliminary plan is that one team will go in from the south, near the stables. The other will go in from the west, between some storage buildings. Supposedly, security is more lax around those sides of the estate. We’ll avoid the front altogether. We’ve got a schematic of the place, so I’m confident that, if the security pattern holds, we have the right approach. But…”
The bosses were meticulous strategists. They could be motherfuckers, but they were smart. He didn’t remember a time any of them had sounded less than confident. “What’s the catch?”
“We got here as fast as we could, but the information is already a few hours old.”
“That’s why we’re inserting on top of recon?”
“Yeah. We were warned that Montilla moves Kimber frequently as a precaution. But this also might be a trap. Are you sure you want to do this if you’re not one hundred percent? It’s going to be rough.”
Then it would match his mood, but they weren’t leaving him behind. “And abandon everyone else when another gun could make the difference between success and failure? No. How reliable is the information?”
Logan hesitated. “We really have no idea. Laila called it in.”
Trees scowled. “Tonight?”
“About four hours ago.”
Around the same time he’d received the video of Victor fucking her. “Then I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s probably bullshit. She’s proven she’s a really good liar.”
“Matt told us what happened.”
“Happened?” Like the universe had just shit out that horrible fucking video to rip out his heart. “No, what she did. Let’s be clear. And I’m fucking sorry I fell for it.”
“This is why you shouldn’t touch a client. But that train left the station. I know.” And Logan looked pissed. “Did you ever think she sent that video to stop you from coming after her because she didn’t want you in danger?”
Logan still believed there was a chance Laila hadn’t played him? It was a nice fantasy, and definitely something Laila would do—for Valeria and Jorge. He’d just been an annoyance, a toy she’d been done playing with, so she’d made sure he wouldn’t bother her with his protectiveness, his affection, or his heart beating for her anymore.
“No. I learned a while ago that when people show you who they really are, you should pay attention. Let’s just say she opened my eyes with a crowbar.”