AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Damn, brother, I don’t know what to say.”
“Never been a man of many words,” I joked. “It’s all good.” I lifted my chin, knowing he was there for some parting words as well, not just to check on me. “What’s up?”
He shook his head. “We have to spin up. I’m sorry to leave when you’re still here. Well, we’re leaving Bravo Two here as well. But that op we were working before we got pulled here needs to be wrapped up.”
“You’ll be down a man.” I set my palms on the bed and tried to scoot upright a bit more.
Luke leaned in and helped prop my pillow. “We’ve got some new recruits now. Flying a few boys over there as we speak,” he reassured me. Not that I knew where “there” was, nor would I ever be privy to those details, because he didn’t recruit me in 2013. He’d been right not to try though. I wouldn’t have left my platoon. “POTUS is demanding I have you and Natalia sign that NDA, though. I assured him you wouldn’t open your mouth about our team, but he likes his T’s crossed, yada yada yada. You know how it goes. Sorry to throw that at you right now.”
“I understand. But I am surprised he lets his son operate—especially for a team that doesn’t officially exist.”
“Well, you know Knox,” Luke said with a smile.
“Never out of the fight,” I responded with a tight voice. “Tell me you all got Hugo, though.”
“Yeah, but we had to play nice with the French given the mess we made in Monaco. We turned Hugo over to them, and he’s in Paris now being questioned by a half dozen three-letter agencies from all over the world.” Luke scratched his jaw, his eyes contemplative. “I’m sorry I had Asher lock you in a choke hold, and for having knocked you out.”
I shrugged. “You did what you felt was best for the team. I get it. It’s not easy being Bravo One.”
“You saved our asses, though.” He paused. “And you risked your life for Owen, and I—”
“None of you should have been in danger in the first place.” Fucking Anthony.
“Yeah, well, we took down one of Interpol’s most wanted, and we didn’t lose anyone. I’ll call that a win.” Luke leaned back in his seat. “I still don’t get how your brother pissed off Hugo, but I’ll let him tell you that story, I suppose.”
“Not sure if I even want to know,” I bitterly remarked.
“Listen.” Luke patted his jeaned legs. He’d never been so great with his emotions, but I knew he was trying. An A for effort, for sure. “I’ve missed you, man. We should stay in better touch.” He swiped a hand over the fresh cut on his cheek. “If you ever need anything, you say the word. Okay?”
“Same, man. Same.” I nodded, and he leaned over and set a hand to my shoulder, then stood and started for the door. “Actually,” I said when a memory struck me, “there is a favor I might need. An easy one. Only involves a phone call. I’ll reach out when I’m out of here, and you’re done with whatever you’re doing next,” I added with a light laugh, then began coughing, forgetting my lungs were still in shit shape.
At least I hadn’t needed heart or brain surgery, that was something.
“Roger that.” Luke smiled and tipped his head goodbye, but he paused in the doorway at the sight of my brother. He swiveled back to look at me, looking for a sign that I wanted him to get rid of Anthony.
“He can come in.” I grabbed the cup of ice chips and crunched on a few, needing to cool off with Anthony in my line of sight.
I was still trying to grapple with everything that’d happened, including the fact Natalia, my mother, uncle, and brother were all there at the hospital. Natalia was with my mom in the cafeteria, so Anthony would be short on time if he wanted to talk in private.
“Hey.” Anthony shut the door once Luke was gone. Standing just inside my room, likely judging my mood, he slowly came to the edge of my bed and studied me. “I’m not sure how to thank you, or how to apologize.”
“Never been good at either of those,” I reminded him. “Why start now?” I swallowed and looked toward the window. It was dark out. Hard to believe at that time yesterday I’d been at dinner with my uncle and Natalia in Italy. A lot had happened in twenty-four hours.
“Fair enough,” Anthony responded in a low voice.
“Why’d you lie to me, though? Why the charade? If you’d told me the truth about Hugo from day one, I could have handled things differently. And my friends could have escaped their latest near-death experiences.” I also may not be with Natalia, though.
“I didn’t think you’d help if you knew the truth.” He paused. “Maybe that’s another lie. I didn’t actually need nine fifty. I thought I could get some extra cash out of the problem—turn lemons into lemonade—and then I’d be set for a while.”
My gaze shot back to him, and I painted an invisible bullseye on his chest before shaking my head in disbelief. That was low, even for Anthony.
“I borrowed some of my girlfriend’s jewelry and sold it with the intent to buy it back. But then I lost the money in one night.” He shrugged, like it was just another blip in his life’s story and could’ve happened to anyone. Unbelievable. “Bianca figured out what I’d done. She told me her ex gave the jewelry to her, and if I didn’t get it back, she’d tell him.”
“Hugo,” I murmured, and he nodded.
“I had no clue how dangerous the dude was, but she said he was the kind of guy who’d cut my balls off and stuff them down my throat. Literally.” He stroked his beard. “I tried to get the jewelry back, but the guy wanted almost double what he paid me. So, I asked Bianca for a few weeks to come up with the cash, and the guy who had the jewelry agreed to hang on to everything in the meantime.”
“How’d the Canadian come into play?” I asked, my anger growing by the second. I hadn’t thought I could get any more pissed at the man. Yeah, I was wrong.
