Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“I can’t give you any details, but my leaving had to do with being recruited for an FBI mission.”
“Was that mission focused on betraying us too?”
He sighed, and his G-man facade faded. “No. If you’ll let me, I’ll explain my role in this.”
“Explain why you shot at us?”
“My colleague is the one who shot at you.”
“You were on the same mission.”
He shook his head.
“Brandon was sent to infiltrate the Carlotti family, but he went dark, and I was sent to pull him out.”
I raised my brow. “You’re telling me you couldn’t manage that.”
“If all I needed to do was extract him, that would have happened weeks ago, but I had to preserve the progress we’ve made so far. I tracked him here and then the shooting started.”
“And what happens next?”
Ghost straightened and took on his government-agent persona again. “That depends on you.”
“Does it?”
“You give us Evan and certain information we need, and—”
“We’re not going to become snitches for you. I’m sure you know how my career ended. I’m not exactly the right person to approach to help the government.”
“Look, I don’t know how much I can promise. Your”—he glanced around the room, though I was sure he’d instantly taken everyone in when he entered. His eyes rested for far too long on Jacob—“contact may be able to work something out, but making something this big disappear is above my pay grade.”
I huffed. “I remember when you didn’t think anything was impossible.”
“We’ve both changed a lot since then.”
We had. “About Evan. As much as I’d like to rip the little bastard apart, I know he’s been used by your colleague and by his family. Do you plan to get him help?”
“I promise you he’ll be given the help he needs.”
“I don’t think he’s mentally stable,” Jacob said.
I’d told Jacob to watch and not participate, but I should have known he wasn’t going to listen. The only time he listened to me was when we were naked.
Ghost turned toward him and smiled. “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure…”
I moved between him and Jacob. “Don’t.”
“This all might work out better for you if you only took in ‘clients’ who were able to defend themselves like this one.” He tilted his head toward TJ.
I snarled at him. “Jacob isn’t a client.”
He raised his brows. “Hmm.” Ghost leaned to the side to look around me. “Why are you here?”
I didn’t want Ghost anywhere near Jacob. “He’s—”
“I’m a friend of Grant and his brothers,” Jacob said.
I knew he didn’t want to say the wrong thing, but hearing him refer to me as a friend made my stomach turn. He was so much more than that to me.
“A friend?” Ghost wasn’t stupid enough to believe that.
“He’s mine.”
Rogue whistled, and Rhys shook his head.
“And what do you say to that?” Ghost asked Jacob.
“I… Yes. That’s right.”
“If you need to get out of here, I’d be glad to help.”
I went for Ghost again, but this time he blocked me.
“Stop!” Jacob shouted. He rose and moved toward me. Rogue and Rhys flanked him instantly, and TJ stood at his back. “I do not need your help. Rogue rescued me, and Grant… gave me a home.”
The tightness in my chest loosened. He thought of the ranch as home.
Ghost held up his hands in surrender. “All right. Now I believe you.”
“You’d better.”
Fierce Jacob was so fucking hot, but I needed him to know that he didn’t have to fight anymore. I was there for him.
“Come on.” Rhys tugged on Jacob’s arm, encouraging him to sit back down, but he shook his head.
“Evan needs psychiatric help. When he told me why he was really here, he was… unhinged.”
Ghost looked to me for confirmation.
“If Jacob says he’s unhinged, then he is. You don’t need my approval.”
“The guy is nuts,” TJ said. “You can’t just dump him in WITSEC and think that’s going to fly.”
Ghost exhaled and rubbed his forehead. “I knew this meeting was going to give me a fucking headache.”
“You’re damn lucky if you get out of here with nothing worse than that. Of all the places you could have landed, why the fucking FBI?”
“You’re running a criminal operation, and you’re scoffing at me for joining the feds?”
“Damn right I am. I can’t believe you fell for one of their lame recruitment speeches.”
“You think that’s what happened? Me falling for the propaganda?”
I exhaled. “I don’t fucking know.”
“How did you end up here?”
His change of subject threw me. “I grew up here.”
He glared at me. “You know what I mean.”
“A series of unfortunate but necessary choices.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”
“I’m not giving you information on my clients.”
“Would you consider an exchange of information? There are things you need to know and things that would help me in an investigation. I won’t ask for anything that will put your clients in danger.”
“Are you saying none of us are in danger from you now?”