Page 28 of Hide Little Traitor

I’d probably find it more impressive if it weren’t for the fact he killed my mother and is currently holding the woman I love against her will.

Ryker eyes me from the driver’s seat. We’re on our way back to the jet after yet another bust, and the tension between us is getting worse by the second.

We’ve managed to keep our hatred of one another at bay, but we’re barreling toward an argument that will probably end with one of us dead.

I’d like to think it would be him, but there’s a dark side of Ryker that keeps peeking out. Only ever for a moment, but it’s clear he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.

If I’m honest, I think the only reason he hasn’t done it already is from fear of pissing Chloe off, and I’d find that amusing as hell if he weren’t infatuated with my woman.

“Still no word from Damon?”

“Nope.”

He sighs and reaches for his phone on the dash. Without taking his eyes off the road, he taps out a series of messages, not bothering to check he didn’t make any typos.

I want to ask who he’s messaging, but it’s none of my business. We’re not friends. We’re not even acquaintances. We’re enemies, and our truce is only good for as long as it takes to find Chloe.

As soon as we’re sure she’s safe, all bets are off.

“Kingston has a guy inside the Lombardi compound.”

“He what?” I turn to face him.

He smirks. “You think he stayed out of your father’s clutches by sheer luck all those years?”

I open my mouth to reply but snap it shut again, because that makes a lot of sense. Every time we got a lead, he was long gone by the time we got there.

There was a rat in the organization for decades, and we never even knew.

“Don’t look so surprised. Every crime family has them. It comes with the territory.”

I don’t bother telling him the reason I’m shocked is because he was right when he called my father paranoid the other day, to the point he tracks every single phone call his men make and routinely does spot checks of their residences to make sure they don’t have any burners. I assumed it was impossible to get past all his tests.

Clearly not.

His phone buzzes, and his eyes drop from the road for a beat as he reads whatever the text says.

Ryker’s expression doesn’t change, but tension bleeds into his shoulders.

He curses, taps out a response, and drops the phone into the center console with a loud clunk.

“Is something wrong?” I ask when his hands tighten around the steering wheel.

He doesn’t respond right away, instead checking the rearview mirror to avoid looking my way.

I’m tempted to keep badgering him, but once again, I’m quite aware of how close I come to death every time I annoy him, and I’d rather not die before I see Chloe again.

We pull back into the private airfield where the jet is waiting and park the car in the same place we found it.

Ryker climbs out, still ignoring my question, and strides toward the plane with his hands fisted at his sides.

He really didn’t like whatever was in that text message.

I trail after him and barely make it to the top of the stairs before his words reach me.

“Change the flight plan. We need to go to Miami.”

My brows just about hit my hairline, but if the way his jaw clicks in annoyance is anything to go by, I’m better off waiting for an explanation rather than asking more questions.