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His anger over what had happened to his mother and desire to not argue with Liv had all added to his certainty that he needed to be physically present for whatever plan they created and she needed to be tucked away safe where he wouldn’t worry about her. He hadn’t expected her plea for him to stay or the quiet defiance she’d shown. Would she forgive him?
“I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve found that no matter how shitty a parent is, their kids still care if they live or die. You should have told her.” Hassick’s words hit right at the heart of all his doubts.
“And what let her rush off to some trap?” Sean snapped.
“Telling her has nothing to do with letting her rush into danger. I’m not trying to get in the middle of your relationship, but sounded like you promised to do just that. I think you are underestimating that woman. Anyone who could keep cool for two years while gathering the information I’ve seen isn’t a hot head.”
Sean hadn’t considered that. He’d only been judging her on the fact that she’d run off from the safe house. Would he have had the patience and will to wait two years for revenge if Luis had killed his brother? The man had only attempted to hurt his family and Sean was ready to pull the trigger himself and end the problem. Shit, he’d fucked up.
Dante’s phone rang through the car’s hands free system, Marcus’ name lighting up on the dashboard screen. He only hesitated a second before pressing the call accept button on the steering wheel.
“You’re on speaker.” Dante said.
“Is Sean or Liv with you?” Marcus’ voice was only slightly distorted by the hands free unit.
“I’m here. So is Agent Hassick. Liv is back at the cabin.”
“Our men found Liv’s mom in an abandoned house in Louis’ old territory. Best guess is the woman OD’d. He says she’s been dead for at least a day. We’ve contacted the local PD.”
Dante growled. “So that fucker didn’t even have her?”
“According to one of the other junkies, she’d been given enough heroin to last a week and been told to stay put. The idiot probably thought that was easier than having men guard her.”
Fuck. How was he going to explain this to Liv? His plan was falling apart and his reasons for leaving were getting less important by the minute. He had to salvage this somehow.
“Any luck tracking down the phone he used to send us the message?”
“No. It was a burner and we couldn’t track it.”
“Hold on a second.” Hassick pulled his notebook from his jacket pocket. The agent read out a phone number. “Was that the number he contacted you from?”
“No. Why?” It was impressive how much suspicion Marcus could put in his voice even over the phone.
“Luis has been sending Liv threatening texts from that number for the past week. I’m going to have my people put a trace on it, but you all might be quicker since I have to get authorization.”
How hadn’t he known that Liv was getting threats from Luis? He’d believed her when she said back at the cabin that the oversight about her files was an accident. At the time, he’d been furious because his mother would have never been in danger if they’d already found the man. But why would she hide something as important as this?
“Why didn’t she tell us?” Dante’s anger mirrored his own.
“She said her phone was turned off because she didn’t have a charger and only realized he’d been texting her when she turned it back on to send me the extra files.”
“And why didn’t you tell us?” Sean shouldn’t be taking his anger out on Hassick, but couldn’t help it.
“One, you aren’t law enforcement, so I’m under no obligation to share. And two, when exactly would I have told you? When you were in a screaming fight with your girlfriend or when you were rushing me out to the car acting like a lion with a thorn in its paw?”
“How about in the hour we’ve been driving in silence?”
Hassick narrowed his eyes. “I refer you back to point one.”
“I’ll start the trace and get back to you.” There was a beep indicating the call was disconnected.
Sean took a deep breath. No wonder Liv had been so jumpy after she’d gotten her phone from the bedroom. Oh, he could use the excuse that the news about his mother had shaken him, but he should have realized something more was up than simple insecurity at being left alone. Then he’d dismissed her like she wasn’t the most important thing in his life, treating her like a reckless child who had to be managed rather than the capable woman he’d been falling in love with for the past week.
“Very convenient that you’ll share information when you want to skirt your rules.”
“Tepes.” Dante barked his name like it was a command.
The use of his military callsign was a reminder that mid mission wasn’t the time to be arguing among allies. Even if he barely knew the man, he did trust that Hassick was on their side. As a DEA agent, he had rules he was required to follow, even if he skirted them. The freedom from regulations and rules was one of the things Sean had struggled with in post military life until he replaced them with the guidelines they followed at Echelon. They too bent the law when it wasn’t convenient, so he shouldn’t be harassing the DEA agent when he did the same.
