death, he’d gotten his way, what he always wanted. Me at the family business. He died, and I had to leave a life I enjoyed, come home to be the dutiful son and do a job I knew nothing about and wanted nothing to do with. So yes, I investigated and paid others to investigate. But when they turned up with hands outstretched for more money with no leads, I just let it go so I could focus on what my life had become.”
Kyle asks, “And Anna?”
I can see the sharp stab saying her name causes, and I wonder if Carly has gotten herself tied up with a man who is unavailable to her. But that’s something we’ll have to figure out later since the guys are finally talking.
Nathan frowns. “The Italian police called me but didn’t think it was related to her work for my dad. They were the ones on the frontline with all the intel there, so I trusted it when they ruled it a random act of violence. For all I knew, with her area of work, she could’ve had all sorts of expensive things in her apartment and was a robbery victim. Or some guy could’ve followed her home from the market. It didn’t seem connected, even though the timing was suspect. But now, knowing more about the work they were doing . . .”
Kyle nods, his mind letting go of his anger at Nathan temporarily as he focuses on trying to find his real target. “It’d have to be a big player to hit both in the US and in Europe. It’s not like your friendly neighborhood accountant with a wetwork side gig can jet halfway across the world for a contract.”
Now that the gates are opened, even a small bit, the waters rush in as the words rush out. The guys talk, sharing information and rehashing the same stuff over and over from different angles. They’ve got similar backgrounds, but I can tell as they discuss things . . . they’re different.
Nathan’s a born leader, an officer in military parlance. He thinks strategically, mapping out objectives. Kyle’s not a follower, per se, but a loner. Or maybe their circumstances have made them into what they are.
Ironically, if Caleb were here, I'd say they’d have a complete team, all three complimenting each other in their own way. Although if he were here from the start, things may have gone badly. He’s definitely quick to act, so we’re probably lucky he wanted to escape to his apartment in the city for some ‘alone time’ to deal with the ‘aftermath of Dad’s shit’, as he’d called it. After our plane landed, he’d left with his trademark two-fingered wave, which is probably a good thing or tonight would’ve been very different.
My eyelids are getting heavy. I didn’t get enough sleep on the plane, but I do hear Kyle ask, “You really didn’t kill your dad to take over a billion-dollar company?”
Eyes closed, I hear Nathan answer. “I never wanted his company. I was finally happy with my life, Caleb by my side, the two of us taking on the world. But now that I have it, I’m determined to grow it in ways he was too small-minded to consider, ways he couldn’t make work because he was too busy jetting off to chase some storybook Infinity Stone bullshit. No, I didn’t kill him, and certainly not for the albatross of a company he slipped around my neck with his death. But I’ll bear it and thrive, not just survive him.”
My heart swells with pride.
Not at what he’s done for the family business, I had no doubt about his leadership skills there, but at his openness in talking about it all.
That’s new.
That’s progress.
That’s healing.
And that’s my man.
I try to stay awake, but their voices lull me to sleep.
Chapter 42
Nathan
It’s been a long night, full of revelations and painful memories, for both me and Kyle.
Somehow, we’ve both been in mission mode, and while I didn’t know his name from the merc world, it’s a wonder our lives never crossed.
If we were still in that line of work, I’d have chastised him that he should have shot me while he had the chance. It’s only fate, and maybe luck, that he wanted a moment of verbal vengeance and hands-on justice last night because if he’d fired his gun, I’d have been dead.
He wouldn’t have missed.
We’ve been holed up in my office for hours, hushed murmurs as we share everything that