No Love Lost (Masters & Mercenaries The Forgotten #5) - Lexi Blake Page 0,123

honestly think I would make it to a courtroom? Or that there would even be a trial?”

He’d thought a lot about this since the moment he’d realized his brother was alive. “I think Congress would be interested in what the Agency was doing. They’re likely still doing it, and they got a bunch of Marines killed.”

“Ah, but they picked us carefully, didn’t they?” Ezra pointed out the main problem. “It’s exactly why we were selected for the team. Because once the secrets come out, we wouldn’t be credible witnesses. I gave up on justice long ago, and honestly, some of the men who died had families. Let their children believe they were heroes.”

He made the turn and accelerated to enter the highway. “You think I should let sleeping dogs lie, don’t you?”

He wasn’t sure he could. Levi Green had cost him so much, but it was about more than vengeance. It was about safety. No matter what Levi said, he would come after them again. And who knew how many others Levi had hurt in his never-ending quest to climb to the top of the ladder.

“Not at all. I think you should do what you need to do to protect Kim and your son.” Through the rearview mirror he could see that Ezra had turned and gone up on one elbow, resting his head there. “I think you should take down Levi Green. Then you’ll confess to me and I’ll offer you penance.”

“You’re supposed to tell me to turn myself in,” he pointed out.

Ezra merely sighed. “I’ll confess, too. I’ve found my European brothers are very understanding. Especially the Italians. I’ve listened to mafia confessions. You cannot unhear those.”

He really wanted to ask about it. It was easy to slip back into their roles. Ezra could tell a great story. He’d been the go-to guy at all sleepovers to make up something scary. And he could embellish a wild night out with style. The desire to find a bar, order a beer and some wings, and ask his brother to spill about the last few years of his life tempted him, but he forced the thought aside. This wasn’t some game they were playing. Ezra was a different person. He’d lived a whole life in the time they’d been apart, and he didn’t recognize parts of the man. If things had been normal, perhaps he would have watched his brother change over time.

Or Ezra would have died of a drug overdose and his brother would have been lost forever.

He couldn’t possibly know what would have happened. That’s what Kai would tell him. He would say a bunch of crap about forces that shaped a person, but the truth was his brother was here and he had a decision to make.

He could simply hope that Ezra went back to Malta, and half a world’s distance would do its work. Ezra would have his world and Beck could have his. They didn’t have to truly be brothers. They would be two guys who’d once shared a mom.

The truth was he didn’t need Ezra anymore. Ezra had always been the fun brother. People flocked to be around him because he was brighter than the rest of the world. Beck had gone with him, had rolled with Ezra’s friends. Now he had friends of his own. Now he had his own family, one he’d cobbled together over the years, formed despite the pain of losing Ezra and Kim.

Ezra had Kim and Roman, and Beck was taking them back because they were his. Because Ezra had stolen them from him.

He wasn’t going to feel guilty about shipping his brother back to Europe. Ezra had made his bed and he would lie in it.

“Do you want me to tell you about what Roman was like as a baby?” Ezra asked the question softly, as though he wasn’t sure he’d wanted to make the offer at all.

He was about to point out that he wouldn’t have to be told stories about his son if Ezra hadn’t helped Kim keep him hidden when he noticed the blue and red lights come on behind him.

He glanced down at his speedometer. He wasn’t speeding. He turned on his blinker and moved over to let the police car speed by.

“What’s going on?” Ezra asked.

The cruiser didn’t speed by. It followed him.

Fuck. “We’re getting pulled over by the police. Is there any way you can hide in the floorboard?”

“Do you know how tall I am?” Ezra asked. “Also, I still think he