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)
He sat at the tiny table, his face illuminated by the light from the laptop. He was staring intently at whatever was on the screen.
He’d done the few dishes she’d used to heat up the soup they’d had for dinner, and the tiny kitchen was neat and clean. The wall beside the little stove, however, was covered in sticky notes they’d worked on all afternoon. He’d been completely true to his word about allowing her to lead the investigation. He’d been helpful, taking notes on everything she could remember about that time and then placing them on the wall where they could sort them into a rough calendar. While they’d been working together, she’d actually felt a sense of hope that they might be able to figure this thing out.
That they might actually have a shot at being together after this.
“Hey, you look serious,” she said quietly. “I thought you were closing up shop for the evening.”
He didn’t look her way, merely kept his eyes on the computer. “I got a couple of emails I need to deal with.”
She could understand that. He’d dropped his whole life for her. She glanced up as the light over the door came on and she felt her body shift. “I hope it doesn’t take you too long. It looks like Rene’s locked up for the night.”
That meant it was his time. Beck’s. She’d worked with him all day on the case, and now she would serve her Dom. She would pay him back for everything he’d given her. Would he force her down on her knees, command her to take his cock in her mouth and swallow him down?
He stood and turned on the overhead light. “It was from Levi.”
A chill went down her spine. She’d managed to forget Levi much of the day even though she’d been working on the problem he presented. Somehow she’d found a way to pretend it was just her and Beck working together again. “Is he coming back here?”
Beck’s eyes were lasers staring through her. “I don’t think so. I think Tag’s plan worked, but remember when Levi promised he would find another way to get to us?”
She nodded. What had Levi done?
“He meant me. He had a way to get to me. Tell me how long you knew he was investigating my brother.”
Her heart dropped, gut tightening. This was the moment she’d feared for years, even more than she’d feared telling him Ezra was dead. “Beck, you can’t believe everything in that report.”
She’d worked so hard to hide this from him, to keep the promise she’d made to his brother. She’d promised the real Ezra Fain she’d go to her grave with this secret, a last plea from a desperate man.
“Believe it?” Beck pointed to the laptop. “You think I honestly believe my brother would run drugs? Would dishonor himself and our family in that fashion? He wouldn’t be my brother if he’d done that.”
Yes, there it was. That was exactly why Ezra had been so desperate. Beck had placed his brother on a pedestal. He could be so judgmental about certain things, and this was one of them. She kept her mouth shut because she’d promised there wouldn’t be lies between them again. Unfortunately, this might be a lie she couldn’t avoid.
His gaze pierced through her. “Levi was setting my brother up and you knew.”
Yes, she remembered this feeling well. This was exactly how she’d felt when he’d accused her of sending his brother to his death. His righteous nature was taking over. “I knew he was investigating Ezra’s unit.”
“And you didn’t bother to mention that fact to me?”
Her gut was in knots. She wasn’t sure she could do this again. “I went to Ezra about it.”
“But not to me.”
Did he remember anything about what had happened back then? “You weren’t in the country at the time. Not when I found out he was being investigated. You were on an assignment. I didn’t even talk to you for two months.”
“And then I was home for three before my brother was killed. Not once did you mention to me that he was in trouble.”
“Because he’d asked me not to.” She was treading a fine line. “You have to listen to me. It was such a weird time. Ezra was desperate and he was trying to find a way out. He got stuck in something he couldn’t handle, but the last thing he wanted was for you to know how low he’d gotten.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
How much could she say now? What did she still owe the real Ezra Fain? She’d given up her marriage because she’d promised him she wouldn’t tell his secrets.
Was that true? Maybe her marriage had been doomed either way because she wasn’t sure Beck would ever have been able to handle the truth about his brother, and that rage would have needed a place to go. It would have always fallen on her because Beck refused to believe he had a problem. When she thought about it, both of the brothers had an addiction problem. “Ezra got addicted to pain killers after he broke his leg. Like really addicted. He would go on missions high.”