Page 16 of Declan

I ignored Thad’s comment and asked my own question. “Wanna let me in on why you have so many questions about Ash?”

“She’s been involved with some previous missions. Her loyalty has come into question.” Tex’s forthcoming answer surprised me.

“Why’s that?”

“Some of her actions have been ambiguous at best.”

I couldn’t stop my lips from twitching.

“What’s amusing?” Brooks asked.

“I was just thinking that ambiguous was a good word to describe Ash.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because Ashaki Maloof plays by her own rules. And those rules don’t always align with what others think is right.”

“And do those rules include selling out her country?”

They probably did, but I wasn’t going to tell anyone that.

“Ash is committed to the cause of stopping human trafficking. It’s more than a job, more than a mission, it’s her sole purpose. Her reason for breathing. There’s not a law, a rule, an agency that will stop her from doing what she feels she needs to do. The only thing you need to know about her is, the path is righteous. Whatever she’s done that led you to question her loyalty was done for the good of her cause.”

“Do you know Barny Pollaski?” I jolted at Tex’s change of topic.

“Is this some sort of test? You know I do. I’m the reason he’s no longer breathing.”

“Ashaki point you in his direction?”

“Yep. The only man she ever asked me to take out. Other than that, she’s only provided intel when I asked. And considering she’d never asked anything of me, I agreed. Not that it was a hardship, the man had a cargo container of thirty women. Three of them were under ten. To say it was a pleasure to slice his throat is an understatement. Ash got to the women before delivery could take place and she was able to locate his stable. There were eighty-nine in total. Not someone I lose sleep over.”

I heard Thad suck in a breath, and when my gaze went to him, he looked uncomfortable.

“Are you getting it yet?” I asked Thad. “I don’t lose sleep over any of them. Eighty-nine were saved because one man died. Thirty of them before they were violated. Three little girls. I have no regrets, Thad. So tell me, am I really the type of person you want around your wife?”

“You mean your sister?” he returned.

“You can call her whatever you want to call her. But my point remains—you need to protect her from me.”

“That’s total bullshit,” he exploded, and stood. “Do you honestly think that you can shock any of us? That any of us would find you killing a man who’d kidnapped women and children and sold them repulsive? Newsflash, Autumn, each of us has done the same. I don’t give the first fuck, none of us do. But you know the difference? You store that shit up inside of you. It eats at you. And I know it does. Because if it didn’t, you wouldn’t have just asked me if you were the type of person I wanted around my wife. So tell me, Autumn, what type of person are you?”

“Please, don’t make me sound like I’m not what I am.”

“And what’s that, Autumn?” he pushed.

Oh, hell no.

“Let’s get back to Ash and the new intel,” I suggested.

“Not a chance.”

“Thad.” Declan waded in, his tone harsh. “Tex, give us a minute and we’ll call you back.”

“No. We don’t have time to waste on this bullshit. I need more information on Madeleine. She’s here and I don’t wanna lose her.”

“Autumn,” Tex started. “You gotta know I have a file on you that’s thicker than any person I’ve ever tracked. So while you’re thinking about what type of person you are, think about this. Forty-two men are no longer breathin’ because of you. And six-hundred and seventy-two men, women, and children are free. Of those, one hundred and three were untouched. That’s what type of person you are.”

I heard the phone disconnect and my lungs started to burn. Something strange was happening in the room, a weird vibration that was upsetting the force field that I used to guard against feeling anything. It was shaking and rattling. Tiny pieces started to crack and my throat clogged.