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Would he have the same outcome if he trusted his instincts, too? Or was Laila’s I love you just messing with his head?
They ended the call, and Trees returned to the kitchen and dived back into Ramos’s phone. It took him less than three minutes to realize the asshole had done his best to mitigate the loss of the device. The emails had stopped delivering days ago. Half the social media accounts prompted him for new passwords, which he didn’t have. That was fine. It might take a few minutes, but he could hack in. Even without doing that, Trees would still be able to see everything Ramos had downloaded and saved to his cloud. At a glance, it looked like plenty—locations, past operations, future plans for taking over Montilla’s “throne.”
Just like Laila had told him.
If she’d been honest about Ramos’s scheme…maybe she’d been telling him the truth about everything.
Trees wanted to roll with that theory so bad. But his feelings for Laila tangled his logic. If he had a little more evidence—anything to support this two-ton yearning dragging him under—he’d fuck the doubt, grab Laila in his arms, and never let go. But he couldn’t, not responsibly. It wasn’t just his life at stake. After Kimber’s kidnapping, he couldn’t discount the safety of the team and their loved ones, not to mention EM’s reputation. When it came to that woman, he wasn’t objective.
But he knew someone who might be.
Cursing, he set Ramos’s phone aside and reached for his own.
Matt answered on the third ring. “Trees?”
“Yeah. Sorry to bother you. How is everything out there?”
“On your perimeter? Quiet. You can relax.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What’s up?”
“I need your two cents.”
“Sure. About what? I’ll do my best.”
Matt would. Trees didn’t know the other guy well, but he’d been solid while they’d traveled to Mexico. Hell, Matt had saved his damn life. “I’m calling to ask you about Laila. About what you saw and heard between her and Victor in La Pesca.”
“You sure you want to do this?”
He had to. If Laila had sacrificed herself for his safety, Trees needed to know. He also needed to know if she was lying to save her hide. “Yeah. What did you see? And hear? Where do you think she stands? Or I should say with whom?”
Matt blew out a long breath. “When we first saw her, I was convinced she was playing you for Ramos’s benefit, but after the son of a bitch shot you, I had doubts.”
Trees got that, but it didn’t tell him what he really wanted to know. “What do you think her feelings for Ramos are?”
“Are you asking because you want to know what yours should be? Man, I can’t tell you how to feel about her.”
“I’m not asking you to. I doubt I could stop loving her if I tried. I just don’t know if I can trust her.” Trees sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted. “Thing is, she gave me this elaborate story to explain her backstab. It fits…but I’m not sure I believe it. I need a more objective perspective.”
“I’ll be honest, I’ve gone back and forth a couple of times because Laila’s choices don’t add up. On the surface, what she told you—that she’s always belonged to Victor and loves the rough sex they have—seems like the most obvious scenario. But if that’s the case…then a lot of her other behavior makes no sense. I mean, she was emotional when you said you wanted her for life. And she kissed you like you were her everything. But the instant you insisted on rescuing her from Ramos, she turned on you and claimed he was her man and all that shit. If that was true, why did she do everything short of tackle you to keep you hidden from him? And why did she misdirect Ramos and focus his attention away from you and onto Montilla?”
“I’ve had similar thoughts.” Trees squeezed the phone. “What happened after Ramos shot me?”
“And you fell on your head? Dude, Laila sobbed like her world was ending. Then she dropped to her knees and did her best to stem your bleeding.”
Also just as Laila had claimed. “Anything else?”
“In retrospect, I gotta give her credit. She begged me silently to help you without giving away my position. She never asked for any help for herself. And when the mechanic came after you with a blowtorch, she nearly lost her shit. But she couldn’t help you. She tried. I overheard her offering herself like a sacrifice to Ramos forever if he would get you medical attention.”
Trees sucked in a shocked breath. “You don’t think it was a ploy?”
“How would that have helped her cause?” Matt challenged. “In the end, it didn’t matter because, after Ramos dragged her away by her hair, he accused her of being in love with you. That’s when I began to wonder if I’d been looking at the situation all wrong.”
