wobbled back and forth until Sam grabbed Garrett’s wrist to steady the paper. There in the article it cited a close family member as the source.
“That’s bullshit,” Sam exploded. “No fucking way. There is no goddamn way one of us sold Rachel out like that.”
He got up, knocking the stool over, and paced back and forth in the kitchen, so furious he wanted to break something. He yanked his gaze back to Garrett, who didn’t look any happier.
“Who do you think did this?”
“It wasn’t me. It sure as hell wasn’t you. It wasn’t Ma or Dad. It damn sure wasn’t Van, Nathan or Joe. Who does that leave? No one knows this kind of shit. How the fuck would they know that much about KGI?”
“Sean does,” Sam muttered.
The two brothers exchanged looks and both reached the same conclusion.
“No way he did it either,” Garrett said. “He loves Ma and Dad. He’s practically one of the family.”
Sam stared at Garrett as sudden realization swept over him. “Rusty.”
“Son of a bitch,” Garrett swore. “I’ll kill her. Mom can’t save her ass this time.”
“This’ll hurt Ma,” Sam said.
“What did the little bitch think she was doing?”
Sam sighed. “Rusty has seen Rachel as a threat from the beginning. She’s young and messed up and she resented the attention Rachel got when she came home. I guess this is her way of taking her down a notch or two.”
“She goes,” Garrett said coldly. “No one betrays the family like this. I don’t care what Ma says. Once Dad finds out, he’ll agree. Rachel will be devastated when she sees this.”
“I need to call Ethan. He’ll need to know, and he’ll want to confront Rusty with us.”
Garrett nodded, his lips still a tight line of fury.
“Morning,” Donovan called as he sauntered into the kitchen.
He eyed Sam and Garrett suspiciously as he opened the fridge and took out the orange juice.
“If I interrupted violence, by all means I’ll step back. Always nice to see bloodshed first thing in the a.m.”
“Rusty sold Rachel out,” Sam said bluntly. “It’s all over the paper.”
Donovan frowned, shut the fridge and walked over to pick up the paper. As he read, his frown deepened.
“Son of a bitch.”
“Yeah,” Garrett said.
“What’s that you’re holding?” Sam asked Donovan, noticing for the first time the papers in Donovan’s left hand.
Donovan glanced down as if he’d forgotten them.
“An email I printed off. Possible job. I know we said we were laying off for a while, until things are good here with Rachel, and Cole and Dolphin have had time to heal.”
“But?” Sam asked. “I hear a definite but in there.”
Donovan flushed guiltily. “I might have told them we’d take it anyway.”
“What the fuck?” Garrett’s face went red and his cheeks puffed out as if it was all he could do not to explode. “Am I the only dumbass who still thinks this is a partnership around here?”
Sam held up a hand before Garrett went completely apeshit. Guilt ate at him. Garrett would have a coronary if he knew what Sam had ordered Rio to do and that Sam would be going back to South America.
“Okay, tell us, Van. What’s the gig and why did you already agree to it?”
“It’s a kid,” Donovan said painfully. “An abduction case. Parents are frantic. No ransom demand. Cops have exhausted all leads. Wife is convinced it’s her ex-husband, an avenue the cops have pursued but hit a dead-end. The ex lives out of the country, so she wants someone to whom that wouldn’t pose a problem.”
Sam blew his breath out in a long exhale as he and Garrett exchanged resigned looks. If it involved a kid, Donovan was a goner. No way he would have turned it down.
“Okay Van, you need to give us details and then you need to tell me how the hell we’re going to swing this.”
Donovan leaned against the counter and folded his arms over his chest, the papers still held tight in his hand. “Rio is free. He hasn’t pulled a mission in a while if you don’t count the pussy recon mission we sent him on. Steele’s still giving him shit over that.”
Sam shook his head. “Rio and his team can’t do this.”
Garrett swung around. “Why the hell not?”
Sam ignored him. “Half of Steele’s team is out of commission for the next little while, and I still don’t think it’s a good idea for us all to leave when Ethan and Rachel are going to need all the support they can get, particularly after this