Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
All I knew from Carter was that his childhood had been hell, but I never learned any details other than the fact that he’d lost his mother when he was five, and his father and brother were both cruel to him. Once I got into the research, I started to see a picture of the kind of men they were. They didn’t deserve to be on the same planet as Carter.
The more I read about them, the more my disgust grew. They’d both been indicted for fraud, domestic abuse, and trafficking numerous times, but neither had ever been convicted. I began to see that Carter’s father was a man who wouldn’t hesitate to have his son brought up on false charges of treason. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone who got in his way. What kind of hell had Carter been through before the navy?
I was more thankful than ever for the friends Carter had found when he went away to school. Even if they hated me, they’d clearly been a lifeline for Carter. As much as I might resent Miles’s behavior, I had to give him credit for helping Carter recover.
Deeper investigation showed that while Carter’s father was ruthless, he preferred a more direct approach to taking care of his problems. Carter’s brother was the one who liked convoluted schemes. He preferred using blackmail or hiring someone else to get his dirty work done. I needed to discover how much of the family business operations his father had turned over to him.
I pulled up a picture of Landon at a recent charity function. The son of a bitch had a lot of nerve acting like he wanted to help anyone. If he was the one who went after Carter, I was going to find him, capture him, and make him suffer in ways he’d never imagined. I was going to kill him and bring him back to life, then kill him all over again. That smug asshole was going to regret ever daring to abuse his younger brother.
16
CARTER
When I was far enough away from my cabin to be able to breathe, I pulled into a small parking area mainly used by hikers. I killed the engine and called X. He answered almost immediately like he was expecting me. “I suppose you want Leo’s number.”
“How the fuck did you know that?”
“Because I sent you to talk to Matteo and now you need to verify his story.”
“I…yes.”
“I don’t blame you. He could have made it all up. He could be here to kill you. He could have truly joined the cartel and now he’s a double agent for them.”
“No.” The word was out before I even realized it.
“No?”
“He’s not doing any of that.”
“Exactly, but I’m texting you Leo’s number anyway.”
“Thank you.” I ended the call before he could force me to bare my soul. Why was everyone okay with how I felt about Matteo? Everyone except Miles anyway. I shouldn’t be so quick to accept that Matteo hadn’t betrayed me. Yes, I was good at reading people. Yes, I’d been shocked he could be a traitor, but that didn’t mean I was right. I’d been blind to his faults before because his dick had been so damn good.
Were you really or was it just easier to tell yourself that?
I tapped Leo’s number, and the phone started to ring. I didn’t bother with a greeting when he answered. “Was I really supposed to have championed the man who shot me and betrayed our unit?”
He chuckled. “No, that wouldn’t be a normal response at all. Your friends would have thought you were crazy.”
“Exactly.”
“But now that you do know what really happened, what are you going to do about it?”
“Did it all really happen the way he says? Did he really get coerced into this by the CIA because I was being threatened?”
“Yes.” Leo answered without hesitation.
“But the CIA would deny he was ever one of theirs?”
“That’s also true.”
“Just because he failed?”
A moment passed before Leo responded. “No, because they’re afraid of whoever is behind this.”
“But we’re somehow going to beat them? Am I still in danger?”
“Yes and yes.”
“And Matteo knows that?”
“He does.”
How had Matteo won Leo’s loyalty so easily? “He never planned to go back to Columbia, did he? No matter what happened with our battle.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Would you trust him to have your back?”
“That is a very good question,” Leo answered.
“And that is an evasive answer.”
“I’m former CIA. That’s the only kind of answer I give.”
“Fuck off.”
He laughed. “I don’t trust people until I’ve gotten to know them. You know him far better. If you’re asking if I would consider it based on what I do know and based on his service record, then yes.”
“So he’s honorable?” I could barely get the word out of my mouth.
“That might be going a little far. I mean how many of us truly are?”