Page 126 of Damián

“That’s a lot of trust in a team, mate,” Law teases.

“I’m not trusting a team. I’m trusting my brothers.”

“Besides, it’s not like we are going for different cartels,” says Knox, and throws two boxes of ammo into his bag. “It’s three corporate assholes. What could go wrong?”

“Ahhh! He jinxed it!” Björn groans loudly. “He just jinxed it.”

Knox stops sharpening his knife, using the blade to point directly at Björn. “I didn’t jinx a thing.”

“You probably did,” Tae agrees, tossing a few extra medical supplies into his bag just in case.

And as they continue bickering on how to cleanse the jinx, I decide to add an extra pack of ammo for my pistol, a combat knife, and a rope in case it is needed.

Once I’m geared up, I grab my bag and head down to the underground garage. I help the team pack our equipment into three separate vans: one for the sniper and tech, one for defense, and one for offense.

“I’m almost set back here,” I call out, arranging my bag in the trunk.

BZZT! BZZT!

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and check the caller ID; it’s Oliver.

I answer the call, pinning the phone between my ear and my shoulder so I can finish securing my rifle. “Hey, nene. What’s up?”

“It’s not Oliver,” a woman’s voice replies. It’s Zara, and she sounds completely panicked. “I can’t find him…”

My hands stop moving. “What do you mean you can’t find him? Where are you?”

Nearby, Logan and Björn give me worried looks, while the rest of the team is busy loading up the other two vans.

“We’re at a party,” Zara says, and I can barely hear her over the music in the background. “Ollie took drugs.”

What the…?

Wasn’t he asleep?

Didn’t they just party on the yacht yesterday?

What the fuck is he doing at another party, rolling on drugs at three in the afternoon?

Suddenly, I’m hit with an intense mix of emotions. I am worried about him because Zara can’t find him, but I’m also annoyed he’s being this fucking irresponsible… especially without giving me a heads-up, and today of all days.

“Sorry, Zara,” I toss the last bag into the trunk. “I don’t have the time to check on Oliver on one of his drug trips today. Text me when you find him, and I’ll check on him tonight.”

I pull the phone away from my ear, and my thumb hovers over the end button when Zara screams.

“Damián, listen to me! Oliver has never done drugs!”

I am just about to slide into the driver’s seat, but I stop completely with one foot still on the pavement. Logan immediately notices the panic on my face and realizes something is wrong.

I press the phone back to my ear. “What do you mean he’s never done drugs? I’ve seen the coke tray in his room, and the E pills in his bathroom.”

“He uses it as a cover for whenever he needs to lock himself away to work on intel for the agencies. He asks Silvio for the drugs so his family thinks he’s just getting high. In the end, he just flushes it all down the toilet.”

Fuck…

My heart and mind start racing at the same time.

The intel said he was a murderer, but that was a lie… he saves them, not kills them. The intel said he was an addict, but that’s also a lie… he just uses the drugs to fake a bender so he can be left alone to work.