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I let out a huff. “Jeez, it was one—”
“That’s all it takes, Val.” He picks up the spatula and points it at me. “One time, one lapse, and boom. You’re fucked.”
I scrub a hand down the front of my face. “Speaking of fucked—”
“Nope. I don’t like the start of that sentence.”
“Relax. I meant the leak. You need to find the source; otherwise, wherever we are, we’ll be vulnerable to another attack. Even here.”
“This place is like Fort Knox. Nobody is getting in here. I told you. Not unless I allow it.”
“Except on the roof, right?” I lift an eyebrow because of the helicopter landing pad above us. “Enemies have tried landing there before. What’s to stop them again?”
“We’re off the grid. Location settings are hidden, I have a VPN installed. That’s what makes it a safehouse. We didn’t have all of the necessary precautions taken before that attack. But thanks for bringing it up. I appreciate it.” Sarcasm drips from his words, and I allow myself a small smile. Alek hates when you poke holes in his armor.
“And your secret mystery pal? You’re really sure about him?”
“Ninety-nine percent.”
“That’s not a hundred.”
“It’s the best you’ll ever get from me.”
“Noted.” I smirk, standing up from the stool. “I’m going to see if Quinn is starting to wake up. He’s probably starving. The guy has an appetite like a jungle predator.”
“You’re not the type to get attached to what deep down you know is only temporary.” Alek moves toward me and places his hands on my shoulders, his voice holding a twinge of something that sounds suspiciously like empathy. Which is weird, because it’sAlek. And that’s why it makes the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. “Things are about to get really fucking ugly and messy. You’re going to have to make hard choices, choices that can make or break this mission. And if you want to finally nail Branko, Quinn can’t ever be one of them.”
Chapter24
Quinn
“Do you need help with that?” Val walks over to where I’m standing in front of the mirror, cursing the damn t-shirt in my hands. It’s a real bitch to put it on when one side of my body is up in flames.
I managed to change my shorts, but who the fuck ever Alek’s trusted contact is, he’s gonna have to deal with me bare-chested. Tossing the shirt onto the bed, I grimace. “Fuck the shirt. Did the doc leave me any more morphine?”
“I think we have something to take the edge off.” Her smile makes me wish she was suggesting something other than drugs. Hell, I’d expend the energy for that any day over trying to put on a shirt.
She leaves the bedroom and comes back a couple of minutes later with two pills and a bottle of room temperature Poland Spring. She couldn’t possibly know this, but I actually like my water better at room temperature than straight out of the fridge. I twist off the cap and take a long gulp before the pills because my mouth is bone-fucking dry. Then I pop the pills and sink onto the edge of the bed.
“You have to be careful you don’t make any sudden moves because the pills will numb the pain enough for you to think you can do things your body isn’t ready to.”
I lift an eyebrow. “I’m no rookie, babe.”
“No.” Her lips lift. “You’re definitely not.”
“Tell me the deal with this guy. Why should we trust him?”
“His name is Mercer.” Val walks over to a large window overlooking the desert since that’s the only thing surrounding us in this compound. “Alek trusts him, and I trust Alek.”
“That means I’ve gotta trust Alek, too?” I roll my eyes. “Why doesn’t he just shoot me between the eyes right now and get it over with?”
Val turns to me. “Patrick trusts Alek, too, or you wouldn’t be out here in Vegas right now.”
I fist my hair and tug on it. “Sometimes I wish I’d just taken off, disappeared somewhere. I could’ve gone off the grid.”
“But you didn’t.” She steps toward me, curiosity in her gaze.
“Nah.” I let out a deep sigh. “I’m not the kind of guy who starts a shitstorm and then walks away from it. I owed it to Patty to come out here. He’s a member of Red Ladro, and my job is to protect our interests. If I get a little banged up in the process, what the fuck ever. Not like it hasn’t happened before. And this time, I deserve it for what I did. But…” I wink at her. “I won’t lie. It was damn tempting to just take off.”
