Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
I was losing my mind, which was exactly why I’d tried to stay away from Jacob, but the pull was too strong. I’d fought all manner of skilled and dangerous enemies, but I didn’t know how to fight what I felt for Jacob. Now that I knew about his past, I wanted him even more. I wanted to be the anchor he’d never had.
Had X felt like that when he’d met his man? Was that what love felt like—this all-consuming force you couldn’t escape, not even when you were a trained operative who’d survived years in hell? Why would anyone wish for that?
Because once you stop fighting, you get to feel like you did last night when you slid inside him, when you held him, when you got to be the one he surrendered to.
But what if he really could find someone better, what if he only thought he liked me because…
“Grant?” Jacob’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. “Whatever you’re thinking… I can tell it’s bad. Please don’t push me away.”
I hugged him tightly. “Never. I… I couldn’t.”
“Good. Now let me in.” He gestured toward the front door, which was only a few yards away. I knew he didn’t just mean to let him into the house, but that was a start.
When we stepped inside, the twins and TJ were sitting at the counter. TJ was watching Rhys with a look that let me know there was more to his attraction than my brother’s good looks. I bet even TJ’s family rarely saw that soft look on his face.
I knew the tension between them was going to blow up in my face, but I’d worry about that later. Right now, I had to figure out how to keep the FBI from coming down on us. I was going to need X’s help. I hated that I already needed help from him when I’d only been at the ranch for a month.
“Tell me what we know,” I said once I’d encouraged Jacob to have a seat. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit still, so I leaned against the wall, pretending I wasn’t going to pace the whole time.
“The dead guy is an FBI agent named Brandon Monroe,” Rhys said. “He’s been cited for use of excessive force, and he just got off a suspension after being investigated for his role in bringing down a gunrunner. His mark was tortured viciously and left for animals to finish off.”
“Fuck. Even I wouldn’t do that.”
Rhys looked at TJ and snorted.
“I have rules.”
“Ones you would break if your family ordered you to.”
I glared at my brother. “Rhys, this isn’t the time.”
He started to protest, but Rogue cut him off. “Are we sure the FBI won’t be glad we got rid of this guy?”
“We can hope,” I said. “How did we get all this intel so fast?”
TJ smiled. “X has contacts everywhere.”
“You know how to get through to X directly?” I asked.
He nodded. “I pay attention. People dismiss me as no more than a gun, but I remember things. I remember everything.” He looked at my brother and something passed between them. I so did not have time for that.
“Don’t talk to X again without discussing it with me first.”
“You’re my bodyguard, not my boss.”
“Cross me and we’ll find out who’s in charge here.”
Rogue held up a hand. “We needed this information. And we needed it fucking fast.”
He was right, but I still didn’t like that I hadn’t been consulted. “What about the blond guy? Is he FBI too?”
“X was cagey about the details,” TJ said. “But he’s definitely FBI. More importantly, it looks like the FBI has an inside connection here.”
“Evan.” I should have known better than to assume loyalty from someone who’d already proven they weren’t going to stay loyal. Not that anyone should have supported the evil bastard he’d been working with, but I’d been taught to never trust a snitch.
“That’s my best guess,” Rhys said. “Next, I’d look at Colton since he is the one who escorted Evan here.”
I thought about seeing Colton in the barn after following Evan from the barn to the house. I hadn’t found any evidence that he was involved in anything fishy, and X had been the one to assign him escort duty, but we still needed to watch him. “I agree. We need to be very careful what we say around either of them. Do we know where the blond bastard is now and whether he’s FBI?”
“No, but X is tracking him down.”
“Are we assuming Evan led them here?” Rogue asked. “They could have tracked him on their own.”
Rhys sighed. “I’d like to think they followed him, but…”
“Evan was acting strange this morning,” Jacob said.
I turned to him. “Strange how? When did you see him?”
“When I came downstairs, he was on his phone in the kitchen, but he ended the call abruptly and acted nervous. I told him I was happy to step outside or whatever to give him privacy, but he said he didn’t need it and hurried off to his room.”