Page 95 of Breached

“Thank you.” Nicole laughed as she stood.

I waited for the door to shut, and Grim jumped back into business.

“Do you know someone named Juliet?”

I nodded. “Yes, I do. She works at Camp Green.” If she was involved in all this along with Liza, I’d be a heartbeat away from having Cole fire everyone at Camp Green.

“Looking at what was on Bruno’s phone, seems your mole, Liza, is the J in his call list. In a message, Liza told him to enter her as J for Juliet. Her weak attempt to throw people off, I assume.”

“Explains the few times she dropped comments that Juliet wasn’t showing up for her shifts. The woman was being set up to take the fall long before we ever had any idea.”

“Would you like me to deal with her?” His expression gave me chills.

“No, but if you could send me the info, I’ll hand it over to my people. It’ll add to what we already have on Liza, and they can have the honor of taking her down.”

“I can do that.” He turned slightly and waved a hand, and I saw Jesse, Grim’s right-hand-man, in the background. “That’s all I have for now.” Grim nodded.

“I believe that’s it for me, too.” I thought for a moment. “One more thing. Did Hunter make it there all right? No repercussions from the last job?” Any mercenary work was risky, but taking a job from the FBI to gain dirt on a fellow agent was just suicide. I wasn’t sure why he’d even agreed to do it.

“He arrived two days ago. Something was off on the job, and Hunter pulled his team out before anyone knew what he was up to. It was a dirty play on the FBI, which is why he took it in the first place. He got what he needed, and now he’ll be around here for a bit. Waiting it out.”

Hunter reminded me of Trigger in the sense that he was very good at what he did. They’d both been dealt a shitty card in life. The difference was Hunter was determined to figure things out and set them straight while Trigger chose to just flip his middle finger and move on. Both men played on the dark side.

“Hunter’s done good by us,” I said. “If he needs anything, you know how to reach me.”

Grim shot me a genuine smile—a rare thing—and I knew why. Rafe Hunter was important to Grim. “Thanks, Paul. I will.”

I hung up. It had been a roller coaster of a talk, and it was good to finally get some answers.

“Hey,” Cole popped his head in, “you’re off your call. Want to recap it for me?”

I laughed and leaned back in my chair. “You might need a drink for this one.”

That afternoon, everyone was up to speed, and General Bruce had been sent all the information Grim had forwarded. Now he could go arrest Liza, thanks to the risks Hunter had taken with Bruno’s phone. Keith and Mike headed into town. They wanted to be there and watch her go down. Keith deserved that. I would have gone, too, but I had something I needed to do.

I sat in a big Adirondack chair on the deck with my laptop perched on my knees and watched the kids as they threw sticks for the dogs to jump in after. Wellington was so enthusiastic he barely got out of the water with the stick before he roared to the end of the wharf and splashed in again. The kids screamed with laughter.

“Hey.” Nicole wrapped her arms around me from behind. I knew she’d been in the kitchen with the girls, cooking. “What are you up to?” She indicated my laptop.

“Grim sent some money for Chase. In a roundabout way, it’s from Talya’s parents.” I pointed to the amount.

“Holy shit,” she gasped.

“That’ll be a monthly deposit into his account.” Her eyes bugged out. “I’ve set something up so Chase will be well looked after—education, living expenses, all that. Then I thought some of this money should go back to the people of Mexico under Chase’s name. Well, kind of.” I pointed to the initials CP.

“Really? That’s a wonderful idea.” She grinned and leaned in to kiss me.

“Mm.” Focus. “So, my thought was every month CP will donate to the Hope Heaven Orphanage.”

“Oh, my God,” her hand moved to her chest, “I love that for him. The sisters were so kind, and they worked so hard to protect the place and keep the bad people out. They even kept his bunny safe.”

“I know.” I smiled warmly, thinking how much that meant to me, too. It was the only thing he had from Talya. “They need protection and financial security, and this will ensure both.”

She leaned down and kissed me again, drawing out the moment. “If you ever question yourself again, Paul, remember this. You, my soon-to-be husband, are the most amazing, selfless person I’ve ever met. I’m honored to call you mine.”

“All yours, baby.” I kissed the side of her neck. Her body flushed with heat, and I moved the computer to the table and pulled her onto my lap. “Speaking of babies, I heard afternoon sex is the peak time to try.”

“You used that line at three in the morning, too,” she sighed happily, “but who are we to mess with a famous saying?”