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I sat there listening in horror, clenching my fists and my jaw. I was so pissed; I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had shattered a few teeth from the pressure.
“Max, I see how pissed you are, and I get it, I fucked up, but that isn’t the worst of it.”
I pushed away from the counter, walking toward the double doors, knowing that I needed some distance from my best friend before I did something I would regret. “Sawyer, it took me a year to instill the fear of God into her ex. Enough so that he agreed to divorce her. I did that so she’d be free to live a good life. A happy life, free of that cheater, and now she has another toxic person in her life because of you.”
“I think you should sit down, buddy, because you’re not going to like what I still have to tell you.”
“Fucking just say it, Sawyer, and you better pray I still let you breathe when you’re done telling the story because I’m not liking this feeling I’m getting from you.”
“Well,” he swallowed, “Lucas isn’t in her life any longer, and he’s not in anyone’s life anymore.” He snickered. And I gave him a dirty look. “Ok, maybe that wasn’t as humorous as I intended. Last week he provided us with information about a double agent.”
“Brian, I mean Vladimir?” I questioned.
“Yes.”
“They knew why I was there?”
“I’m assuming so.”
“Son of a bitch. I assumed they had no idea, just that I was there. They sent someone after me the first night I arrived.”
“Lucas was murdered the same day you took out Vladimir and his handler.”
Sawyer stood and walked over to me. Shoving his hands in his pockets, I knew that wasn’t thebadnews when he looked at me. I felt it in the pit of my gut.
“That’s when I called and told you to get home quickly. I knew I needed you to help me figure out who was involved. I thought the worst was over until two days ago when I got a call from Reston General.” Sawyer closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, I saw tears welling in them. “An ambulance brought Evie in. Someone worked her over and gave her a message to give to me. When the staff asked her if there was anyone they should call, she gave them my name and number. When I arrived, the police were there.”
Instinctively my hand balled into a fist, and I swung with all my might. I had no remorse when it collided with my best friend’s jaw knocking him to the ground. Sawyer lay there, his hand massaging his face. “I deserved that.”
“No. The only reason you’re still breathing is that you’re what’s left of my family.” I extended a hand, helping him off the floor. “Tell me right now, how bad is she hurt? How much do the police know, and who the fuck did it?”
“She has a concussion. Got a pretty good shiner out of it, a broken right arm, and they tried to kill her by choking her. She’s a bit banged up, but it could have been much worse.” Sawyer rubbed the back of his neck as he continued. “She refused to talk to the cops. They’re not happy and have been trying to get me to convince her to make a statement. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell them she won’t; they don’t want to drop it.”
“What a clusterfuck. The cops are not going to go away. You’re going to have to figure that one out on your own. Now tell me what the message was.”
Sawyer opened the glass door, walked outside, and sat on one of the chaise lounges. “I think I have an idea who was involved, but that’s what I need your help to find out.”
Running my hands through my hair, I raised my head to the sky and closed my eyes. “Where is Evie now?”
“Upstairs in one of your spare rooms.”
“Upstairs, what the fuck are you thinking bringing her to my house? You and a select few at the Agency know I’m alive, and everyone else thinks I’m dead—died in the line of duty. Your family and our friends attended my funeral. Why would you do something so foolish as to bring her here?”
“Because your house is the safest place I know, and no one would think to look for her here. Besides, brother, you’re in love with her, which means you’ll give up your life to protect hers.”
“Why would you say that?” I narrowed my eyes and stared at my friend.
“Because the night of your funeral, Evie was distraught; she drank too much and told me everything that happened between you two. When you were kids and when your father and brother died. Your death almost destroyed her. That’s when she jumped into marrying Richard. He was a distraction and a way to get over your death, and you went to great lengths to get him out of her life. Didn’t you think I would find that very odd?”
I walked back to the glass door and reached for the handle. As I stepped into the house, I turned and called back at Sawyer, “I can’t believe you’ve known all these years and never once said anything to me. This discussion isn’t over. I’m going to get out of these clothes and shower. Is Evie awake? I’d prefer not to run into her up there.”
“I doubt it. When the hospital discharged her, they gave her pain medication to help her sleep. Plus, I put her in a room as far away from yours as possible. Though I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to pull off hiding you. I told her this was a friend’s house when she asked.”
“You’re a prick for putting me in this predicament. You better be here when I get done,” I said as I closed the door.
My hair was still wetwhen I slicked it back and slid on a pair of jeans and a Henley. I padded down the hall barefoot to the last door on the right, the only door closed, indicating that it must have been the room Evie occupied.
Slowly I twisted the handle and opened the door a crack. The room was primarily dark; a small stream of light from the gap in the curtains gave a light glow to the room. Evie’s light brown and gold highlighted hair lay strewn across the pillow as she slept, and my heart ached when I imagined how much worse the situation could have been.
