Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
“Like I need your praise. And of course I don’t think of you as a priest. I remember when you used to take hour-long showers after you discovered girls,” he grumbled. “I had to choose to be late to school or go without a shower.”
“The father is fine where he is. Sanctum is the best place for him. He’s got everything he needs, and we can move him around without eyes on him. We can smuggle him in and out easily from there.” Tag sat back, obviously getting down to business. “Theo’s working with Jax and Hutch on trying to track Green. Green’s in DC, but according to what we’ve learned he’s supposed to head out to the Hamptons this weekend where his fiancée’s family is holding a campaign event for her father.”
“Who is the vice president of the United States, looking to be president,” Charlotte explained. “Levi has thrived under the current president, and we expect he’ll continue if his father-in-law wins. He’s moved into the upper echelons of the CIA. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up heading the Agency.”
Eve had a notepad out, a pen in her well-manicured hand. “Solo, do you have thoughts about Levi’s past? I’ve got a full dossier on him, but you’ve known him for a long time.”
“Yes. Most of my adult life. We met when we were both in training. Power has always been very important to Levi.” Kim had her hands around the mug like she needed the warmth. “He grew up in a wealthy family, but his parents weren’t all that interested in him. I think they were a bit like mine. Unfortunately, his father’s wealth was wiped out during a financial crisis. Levi was in college at the time, studying political science. He wanted to go into politics, but without cash it wasn’t going to happen. Levi didn’t want to be a mayor or a state representative. He wanted to go to the top and fast. He still had a lot of connections, including some at the Agency.”
“He was never really an operative.” It was one of the many things that rankled Beck. “They never put him in the field, but he quickly was given the lead to use operatives and teams. In this case, it was my brother’s Force Recon team.”
“I know we did a deep dive on this back in the day, but I need a refresher,” Li admitted. “It’s been years, and I don’t think we had much to go on back then.”
“Well, in my defense, the whole team was supposed to have died.” Tag started passing around folders with the original report in them. “Solo, did you hide the other team members around the globe somewhere?”
Kim’s grip tightened. “No, they died in a firefight.”
“I wouldn’t call it that. It was more like an ambush.” Ezra’s eyes were on the table in front of him. “Most of us didn’t get a shot off.”
“What was the purpose of the op?” Tag asked. “And why was Solo in charge?”
“Beck, I think we should talk about this in private first,” Ezra said quietly.
“There’s no need to.” He’d avoided his brother’s mea culpa for days. He intended to do this on his time. “Everyone’s read the reports.”
“Okay.” Ezra sat up and folded his hands together on the table in front of him. “In order to understand that particular mission, you need to understand how I got there.”
“No, we don’t.” Frustration welled. He didn’t want to hear his brother’s sad story. “You liked drugs and you got recruited by a guy who liked to make money off drugs. We got it.”
Kim sighed. “And that reaction is exactly why he couldn’t come to you. You were always so judgmental. It’s why I couldn’t tell you. Ezra, there’s no point in going over this. I’ll explain the op.”
Shit. The last thing he needed was for Kim to decide he hadn’t changed. “I’m sorry. I’m angry with him and I’m not being reasonable. Ezra, if you want to talk about this privately, we can go to my office.”
“You were right. He has a leash now.” Li had leaned over and whispered to Tag.
“No, it’s fine. It’s best I get it all out there,” Ezra said. “I had a minor injury after a mission. I was my team’s medic. The truth was I wasn’t all that brilliant in battle with a gun, but I was excellent at saving soldiers. I often think if I hadn’t found my way into medic training, I would have left the Navy pretty early on.”
“I thought he was a Marine.” Liam opened the folder in front of him.
Tag tried to pass him a pair of reading glasses. “The Marines get their medics from the Navy. Avery says you have to wear these or you get a headache.”
“Fuck you, Tag.” But Li took the glasses. “I’m only wearing them because my darling thinks I look good in them.”