Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“Good. Hallie started a swim class tonight. The whole thing was cute as hell, but it wore her out. She went down early, so Tessa and I are just hanging out.”
Translation: they had the rest of the evening to themselves. “And you’re wasting your time with me?”
“Well, I’m hoping we can make this chat quick.” Then Zy’s levity died. “Kane said you didn’t look like you were in a good place mentally. Want to tell me about it?”
Kane’s snitching pissed Trees off, even if the guy had meant well. “I don’t know whether Laila is trying to protect me from Ramos or sell me down the river to save herself.”
“I hate to give you your own tough love, but the advice you gave me when I wasn’t sure about Tessa was spot on. You’re going to have to probe her for answers—whether that’s with your words or your dick is up to you. But you have to get to the bottom of whatever she’s up to. Not only does EM need the info but I know you. The uncertainty is killing you.”
Sometimes he hated the way Zy could read his mind. “Yeah.”
“Can you do some of your Dom stuff on Laila and make her talk?”
“I tried. Not happening, at least not now. I’m too far gone, and I need answers too bad. So I’m sitting here with Victor Ramos’s phone, trying to decide if I really want to open this can of worms.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“Yeah.” He’d come to that conclusion, not only to see if it held any information about Laila’s allegiance but to discern Ramos’s whereabouts. The fucker was loose and dangerous.
“Zy?” Trees heard Tessa call softly in the background. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were on the phone.”
“Be right there, baby,” his best friend replied.
“Don’t worry about me, man. I’ll figure this out,” Trees assured. “Enjoy your evening with Tessa.”
Zy let out a harsh breath. “With her dressed in lingerie like that, I definitely will. I don’t know what I did to deserve that woman, but I’m a lucky son of a bitch. Call me if you need me, okay?”
“Sure.” But Trees wouldn’t. Zy had the love he deserved because he’d listened to his feelings and followed his heart. No matter what wrongdoing he’d suspected Tessa of, he’d led with his gut. And now he was living a happily ever after that made Trees envious as hell.
Would he have the same outcome if he trusted his instincts, too? Or was Laila’s I love you just messing with his head?
They ended the call, and Trees returned to the kitchen and dived back into Ramos’s phone. It took him less than three minutes to realize the asshole had done his best to mitigate the loss of the device. The emails had stopped delivering days ago. Half the social media accounts prompted him for new passwords, which he didn’t have. That was fine. It might take a few minutes, but he could hack in. Even without doing that, Trees would still be able to see everything Ramos had downloaded and saved to his cloud. At a glance, it looked like plenty—locations, past operations, future plans for taking over Montilla’s “throne.”
Just like Laila had told him.
If she’d been honest about Ramos’s scheme…maybe she’d been telling him the truth about everything.
Trees wanted to roll with that theory so bad. But his feelings for Laila tangled his logic. If he had a little more evidence—anything to support this two-ton yearning dragging him under—he’d fuck the doubt, grab Laila in his arms, and never let go. But he couldn’t, not responsibly. It wasn’t just his life at stake. After Kimber’s kidnapping, he couldn’t discount the safety of the team and their loved ones, not to mention EM’s reputation. When it came to that woman, he wasn’t objective.
But he knew someone who might be.
Cursing, he set Ramos’s phone aside and reached for his own.
Matt answered on the third ring. “Trees?”
“Yeah. Sorry to bother you. How is everything out there?”
“On your perimeter? Quiet. You can relax.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What’s up?”
“I need your two cents.”
“Sure. About what? I’ll do my best.”
Matt would. Trees didn’t know the other guy well, but he’d been solid while they’d traveled to Mexico. Hell, Matt had saved his damn life. “I’m calling to ask you about Laila. About what you saw and heard between her and Victor in La Pesca.”
“You sure you want to do this?”
He had to. If Laila had sacrificed herself for his safety, Trees needed to know. He also needed to know if she was lying to save her hide. “Yeah. What did you see? And hear? Where do you think she stands? Or I should say with whom?”
Matt blew out a long breath. “When we first saw her, I was convinced she was playing you for Ramos’s benefit, but after the son of a bitch shot you, I had doubts.”