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“What does that mean?” Byte asked.
Carter remained silent. He wasn’t sure what he meant, but Voodoo did. She’d figured it out and removed her hand from under his.
“It means Carter’s been sleeping with his partner. He’s been having an affair, all while telling everyone how much he loves and misses me.”
Stunned faces met hers and then redirected their focus to Carter.
But what could he say? Gwen was right. He’d slept with Nessa for years, all while searching for his estranged wife.
“Well, she just rose to the top of my suspect list,” Ivy finally said.
His too, he thought, moments before Voodoo stood and ran toward the door.
She needed space. Carter had held her, protected her from falling to the floor, and lent moral support as she watched her sister being tossed away like garbage. But no matter what his involvement, if any, was in her attempted murders, the images kept running through her head. She could see Carter kissing, touching, and making love with the bane of her existence. She always knew Vanessa wanted her husband. It hurt to know that she’d finally gotten him.
It’s not like you’ve been faithful either,she reminded herself.But I didn’t have relationships, especially not with someone who loved me.
Why did it even matter? Carter wasn’t hers, except on paper. She shouldn’t be hurt by his choices over the past five years... or she hoped it had only been five years. Could he have been sleeping with her while they were married? It would explain why he’d drawn away from her their last six months of marriage. It would explain the gaps in his stories, and it would explain the internal struggle she knew Carter was having at the time. She’d thought it was because his attempts to kill her had failed, but now she wondered if it was because she was in the way of him being with Vanessa.
Either way, she needed to see her sister. She was done listening to any more lies, half-truths, or platitudes.
Now she could walk away without any doubts. Finally, she’d be able to live again. Perhaps in time she’d find love again.
But not until I stop loving my husband.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
“Well, I didn’t see that one coming,” Ghost said after Carter’s relationship had been exposed.
No one tried to stop Voodoo. They all knew how difficult it was to face betrayal, especially by someone they loved and trusted. And based on Voodoo’s reaction, it was obvious that she still had feelings for her husband.
Carter didn’t respond to the questions left hanging. He wasn’t going to apologize and try to excuse his actions. He knew he’d been wrong. He knew it would wreck everything he wanted when the truth came out, and it would be revealed eventually. Vanessa’s feelings for him were too strong for her to walk away without tossing that grenade out. Instead, he sat there, looking at the hand that had briefly held his wife’s. The hand that still wore his wedding band. The hand that would forever feel the loss of never comforting Gwen’s. It wasn’t just his hand that was feeling lost. His soul felt hollow.
Ghost cleared his throat, nodding for Byte to go after Voodoo. Once she left the room, he spoke openly.
“We are not here to mend your relationship with Voodoo. We are here to protect her and her sister. So how do we do that?”
“The debate is whether to let Vanessa know the woman lying in the bed isn’t Voodoo,” Ivy stated.
“If we let her believe it is, Chaos remain a target for anyone believing she’s Voodoo. If we don’t, Vanessa will continue searching for Gwen, meaning she’ll have to remain in hiding if she doesn’t want the CIA digging into her new life,” Carter finally said.
“It’s a no-win situation,” Ivy stated.
“So let’s work out the pros and cons to each scenario,” Bench added. He knew it wasn’t his job to be there, but he cared for Voodoo, and she was hurting. He had a weak spot for helping others, especially his friends. “It sounds like you already know who the threat is… This Vanessa somebody. But why?”
“We aren’t one hundred percent sure, but a lot of signs are pointing to her,” Ivy answered.
“First, she has a relationship with Carter,” Ghost stated.
“Had… Past tense. She knew I could never love her, but I knew she loved me. I didn’t mean to hurt her,” Carter admitted.
“Regardless, a woman scorned is generally going to be your first suspect, so if we let her believe it’s Voodoo in that bed, we know she’ll try again.”
“I think that’s going to happen either way. The truth is, Chaos is in more danger, and not by Vanessa. Chaos has been outed. Her enemies, which I’m sure she has plenty of, know where she is and what she looks like.”
“Wait! What does Daisy do for a living? I meant to ask that earlier. Why do you call her Chaos?” Carter asked.
“Short story is your sister-in-law is a hacker, a pretty powerful one. If anyone knew her identity, she’d become a target,” Ivy explained.
