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“I don’t disagree.” Trees wanted to, but he and Kane had shared a similar assessment in Florida. And the truth was, Emilo’s goons were after Valeria. If the sisters were together, the cartel would be more likely to find them. Then Laila would be dead. She served no purpose for anyone in the organization, except the one Victor and Hector had forced on her. And Trees would be damned before he let her fall into their hands again.
Unfortunately, despite that truth and logic, Laila would never be happy apart from her family.
Your job is to protect her, not worry about her happiness, dude. Focus.
“Good. We just have to find Laila somewhere safe. Somewhere no one can get to her. Somewhere she’ll be comfortable and have protection. Hey, I’ve got an idea.”
Trees already knew what Zy had in mind. Hell, he’d once suggested it, but… “Don’t say it.”
“I have to. She’s better off at your place.”
He closed his eyes, envisioning Laila filling his personal space—and his thoughts—twenty-four seven. “Fuck.”
“Look, I know it sucks. I know it’s an imposition. But with the bosses consumed with trying to rescue Kimber, I’m the guy in charge, and my resources are limited. You’ve got a really secure place. She’ll be safe there—at least until we can find another situation. And it’s so big you’ll hardly notice her.”
Impossible. All he had to do to be aware of Laila was breathe. Even with the RV’s wall separating them, he could practically feel her so close…yet so far. The urge to reassure her nearly compelled him into making promises about her safety he couldn’t guarantee. The impulse was stupid. She would never take comfort from him, anyway. “Zy…”
“Who else can keep Laila safe? There’s no one I trust more.”
Put like that, there was no one else Trees wanted protecting her. What if another operative fucked up and she got dead?
“It’s temporary,” Zy promised. “She doesn’t have to move in with you. Just…keep her until the bosses find Kimber and return to the office. Then they can figure out a permanent place for Laila. And hell, maybe that won’t even be in Lafayette, so you’d never have to see her again.”
Trees hated that idea, and he didn’t examine why too closely. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to see her. I said I didn’t want to live on top of her.”
“I’m calling bullshit on that,” Zy drawled.
“Back off. I’m trying to be a gentleman, but there’s no fucking privacy here. Even the shower is so small it’s impossible to jack off.”
Zy laughed. “So you’re having a…hard time?”
“Shut the fuck up. Do I need to remind you that you had a goddamn hard time with Tessa before the bosses finally took pity on you?”
Suddenly, his buddy sobered. “No. Not that it matters right now. She’s barely speaking to me.”
“What the fuck did you do, not lay her right?”
“The job called me out last night before I could touch her again. She seemed okay, though. Tired but not mad. This morning, she came into the office looking like she’d been sobbing. But nothing I’ve said persuaded her to open up. She claims she has a migraine…”
“Those suck.”
“Yeah,” Zy conceded. “But I don’t believe her.”
“Why would she lie?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hallie’s not sick?” Trees asked of Tessa’s baby daughter.
“Tessa would have said so. Whatever upset her, when I stopped by her place, she refused to let me stay. But my gut tells me she didn’t really want me to go. So nothing makes sense.”
Trees sighed. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but…is there any chance she’s guilty?”
“Of what?”
“C’mon, man. The bosses are convinced that either I’m their mole…or she is.”
“They’re wrong.”
“Maybe. But you know I’m clean because you searched my shit.”
“One room.”
“Then go fucking search the whole place before I get home. You won’t find anything, and you know it.”
“Yeah. What’s your point?”
“You haven’t searched Tessa at all. Hell, you’ve flatly refused to even consider her a suspect.”
“It just doesn’t make sense. Tessa is no spy. She doesn’t have the abilities or the connections or—”
“That you know of. But be logical.” Trees went through the entire team, both current and former, then drew the only conclusion he could. “If it’s none of us, that leaves Tessa, buddy.”
“It can’t be.”
“Why not?” Trees asked, hoping Zy would stop thinking with his heart. If he didn’t, he was going to get all kinds of hurt.
“Because this shit started when she was on maternity leave. She wasn’t even around.”
Valid point. “True, and I’m not saying she is the guilty one. I’m just not sure who else it could be. Let me ask you this: what happens if you don’t figure out who EM’s mole is?”
“She’s fired.”
Trees suspected she wouldn’t be the only one on the unemployment line. “Look, when I get back, I’ll sit down and perform a thorough, top-to-bottom scan of all the internal systems. I’ll even come in on a weekend and scan every single person’s computer so I’m not in anyone’s way. But until then, you need to prove you can rule her out completely.”
