From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10) - Lexi Blake Page 0,134

a person is wrestling with demons. This isn’t just about Kai.”

The tears were right there, but somehow they wouldn’t come out. They sat there behind her eyes, gated and kept inside as though she was hoarding them. “He said he wanted this to be over with so he could end this crap with me.”

“He used those words?”

“He told Case that he was happy to help, but this stuff with Kori had to stop. It made him sick. And then he told Case he couldn’t keep this up. I don’t think he was talking about his dick because he kept that up fine.”

One side of Erin’s mouth tugged up in a wry grin. “That’s good to know. So you’re pissed because he said some words that you might have taken out of context.”

When had Erin become the damn voice of reason? Before the whole pregnancy thing, Erin would have been right there with her, cheering her on and possibly teaching her how to load a gun. “How the hell else am I supposed to interpret those words, Erin? I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I have to face the facts. He needed me in order to get close to Mia. Instead of asking for my help, he chose to deceive me. I guess he thought getting me into bed would make me more pliable or something. He went too far. He made me think he loved me. It doesn’t make sense. Why would they hide this? Why would he do this? Did they know about the fact that Jared might be a serial killer?”

“I suspect so,” Erin admitted.

Another betrayal. If they knew Jared could possibly be a killer, then they’d put everyone at Sanctum in harm’s way. The Doms were supposed to protect them, not use them for an op. “Then they put us in danger. I get that you all want to find this woman, but there was another way. If all they wanted was Mia’s phone, I could have gotten it for them a long time ago. I’ve been with her in training classes. I’ve been at her house. I could have done this.”

“Which means what? Come on. You’re a smart girl.” Erin stared at her and Kori was suddenly happy she’d never been in Erin’s crosshairs because there was something deeply predatory about Erin when she got serious. “They put the club in danger. Big Tag had to be in on that. He’s a reasonable man. If he thought he could get what he wanted by coming to you and asking you to do him a favor, wouldn’t he? He didn’t. Instead he kept his mouth shut and put everyone in danger. What does that tell you?”

She thought about it for a moment, a chill going over her skin. “There’s something else. There’s something bigger that they aren’t telling us about.”

“Exactly. It’s whatever Li’s hiding. Whatever keeps Ian locked in his office all day. The old me would barge in and demand to know everything. I would take it all as a sure sign that these people don’t trust me. I would be so angry. But TJ’s mom has to be more. I have to be the woman Theo thought I could be and that woman has something I’ve never had in my life. I might have found the one thing that’s even better than love.”

Kori couldn’t think of what that would be. Love had briefly seemed to be everything. She’d relied on friendship to take its place for years, but being “loved” by Kai had blown all of that away. “What’s that?”

“Faith,” Erin replied softly. “I have faith in the people around me. I have faith that whatever they’re doing is out of love for me. I’m going to concentrate on growing this baby. For once in my life, I’m going to trust my family because this one is the best family. This is the family I chose. This is the family I fit into. You fit here, Kori. You’re part of this. So it’s time to really look at Kai Ferguson. Is he the type of man who would use you?”

“I didn’t think so.” For so long she’d thought Kai was almost perfect. Even his quirks had called to her. She’d loved the fact that they worked as a couple, even when they’d only been friends.

“Your instincts told you he was solid. All the time you spent working with him told you he is honest and true. Your friendship with him taught you he’s