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“I guess he had to at that point,” Rhys said.
“He did, and it’s not that I wanted him to keep it a secret, but God, I hate knowing I was played like that.”
“So what you’re telling me is your ego doesn’t like this. You want to solve everything yourself. You want to catch every deception and be the first to figure out every plot against us.”
“No, it’s not that. Grant always… Shit, what I’m saying is that right now I feel fucking helpless. There, I said it. Are you happy?”
“Your pain is never going to make me happy. It’s never going to make any of us happy, but I am glad you told me. I’m glad you admitted it to me and to yourself.”
“Oh, I’ve admitted it to myself. I’ve been screaming it to myself ever since I found out what the hell was really going on.” I blew out a breath. “This is such a fucking shitshow.”
“Most missions are. We’re going to take care of this one like we have all of them before.”
Rhys sounded so damn confident. I wanted to believe him, but right then, I wasn’t sure about anything. “Can I just have some time on my own?”
“I can’t promise to hold Grant off for long, but I’ll see what I can do. If I can get him out to the barn, the horses might distract him.”
Grant I could handle if I had to. It was Darren I was really worried about… and that damn threat he’d made. Was he really going to come up here and try to make me submit to him again, and was there any chance in hell I could say no? Did I want to?
“Take some time. Jacob will have supper on the table in about an hour. You’ll be expected to join us.”
“I’ll just get a sandwich or something later.”
“Good luck telling Grant that.” Rhys left then, closing the door behind him.
I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, almost wishing the tears trapped behind my eyes would just go ahead and fall, but I hadn’t cried since that horrible day when I’d had to choose between betraying my own code and saving my friends. There hadn’t really been a question, but I hadn’t realized just how hard it would be.
16
DARREN
Grant opened his laptop and sent Xavier a request for a video call. A few moments later, X’s face appeared on the screen.
“We need a plan,” Grant said.
Xavier responded immediately. “Keep Fox safe while we figure out where the bastards are hiding.”
“To keep him safe, we have to keep him here,” I said.
Xavier raised his brows. “Are you saying you can’t do that?”
“You’re the one who decided I was best for the job.”
“We can keep him here.” Grant glared at me as Xavier blew out a long breath.
I pretended to consider his words. “Fox said you’ve got cells in the basement. We could put him there.”
Grant looked at the ceiling for a moment, but then he nodded. “We could.”
“Only as a last resort,” Xavier said. “A very last resort. What we need is Fox working with us, not trying to escape us to do this on his own.”
I snorted. “That is asking a lot.”
“You owe me a lot.” He looked at Grant. “You both do.”
“Is there anyone out there who doesn’t owe you a favor?” I asked.
Xavier smiled, and it was far scarier than his scowl. “Not many, and I’m working on them.”
Grant huffed. “You know you’re not like that.”
“What I am is someone who places a high value on the people around him.”
“And you think I don’t,” Grant snarled. “Fox was one of my men in the desert. I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe.”
“Blade will be there in a few hours.”
Grant frowned. “We’d considered asking him to join us, but—”
“Ghost contacted him, and then he called me demanding the fastest transport I could get him.”
Grant looked like he was ready to protest, but I spoke first. “Do you think Fox’s enemies will find us here?” I asked, looking from Grant to X.
“Possibly. One option is to send them toward you so you control where this ends. That would put them in unfamiliar territory while you’re on your own turf.”
“What are the chances of keeping that quiet?” Grant asked. “This is supposed to be a safehouse. We’re not supposed to draw attention to ourselves.”
Xavier smiled. “That’s not going very well.”
“But to deliberately expose ourselves—”
“What about Houston?” I asked. “It’s still unfamiliar turf for them, but it’s big enough to be anonymous.”
Xavier frowned. “Except for you, everyone’s expertise is primarily rural, not urban. Although…”
“What?” Grant asked.
“I could send you Carlo and either Devil or Angelo.”
“Let’s keep that as a possibility,” I said.
Xavier nodded. “We need to be prepared for a number of outcomes.”
“Plan B isn’t enough,” I said. “We need at least a plan C and D.”
