Bad Men - Piper Stone Page 0,79

including feisty, mischievous, and even reckless. But her beauty was inside and out, a woman who’d fought through the challenges of a broken family in order to make something of her life. Then her father had wanted it tossed away because of either a deal he made or a repayment of some kind.

Or so it would seem.

However, I learned a long time ago that things weren’t always as they seemed. I would hold full judgment until I’d been able to spend some time in a room with Silas Walters. Everything I’d read about him prior to leaving Italy had been glowing, including reviews from patients on his skill and work ethic.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Reviews could easily be doctored, people paid to say the right things. Something still didn’t feel right, but I’d made a promise to myself just after she’d fallen asleep in my arms that I would stop at nothing to make certain she had an opportunity to keep the life she’d worked so hard to achieve.

The why would continue to drive a stake into my heart—her whispered words.

“I love you.”

Whether or not she would even remember them or if she meant them shouldn’t mean a damn thing. But it did.

Instinct.

My instincts had kept me alive over the years and right now, they were on the highest alert. While waking up with Lindsey sandwiched between Diego and me had been more pleasant than I would have thought, the bubble we’d chosen to slide into wasn’t going to last forever. Various thoughts remained, every one of them nagging at me.

I’d turned on the morning news, leaving the sound low. I figured it was best to keep abreast of anything that was going on within the city. Reporters would be quick to point out any unusual activity.

According to the information provided by Dante, the Serpent had chosen his soldiers wisely. Some had been hired to remain as basic bodyguards, their brawn more important than their expertise. However, some were highly skilled, capable of blending into any community.

Much like spies.

That troubled me the most.

I took a sip of coffee, the robust flavor exactly what I needed. Tonight I’d break protocol, making contact with Dante. He needed to be made aware of what had happened, as well as updated information about Lindsey’s family.

That is, if he didn’t already know.

I’d known from the beginning after being recruited by a team member of the Specialists that everyone was on their own, few people truly trustworthy. After all, how could you place your full trust in people who’d spent their entire lives destroying others? There was also an unstated understanding that if any operative fucked up, they did so at their own peril. That meant our lives were completely expendable.

I hoped that Dante hadn’t made a game out of the various interwoven connections in preparation for our demise. He wouldn’t like to experience my wrath up close and personal.

“I’m sorry.”

The two little words were said with such sadness, as if stated because of the end of the world. I turned slightly and seeing Lindsey standing barefoot in a tee shirt and shorts was a reminder that we were embroiled in the middle of the game no matter what we believed. “Why are you sorry?”

She padded closer, standing on the other side of the doorframe. “Because she hurt you tremendously.”

I closed my eyes, allowing a single vision of Teresa to form in my mind before shoving it away. “She and I hurt each other.”

“How?”

“I hadn’t been truthful with her about who and what I was. When I was called back to an assignment, she couldn’t handle that I was leaving.”

“You still didn’t tell her the truth?” she asked. There was no defiance in her tone, simply a woman trying to get to the bottom of why I treated her like fractured glass.

“I couldn’t. What Diego and I do and who we work for must remain anonymous.”

“You mean a secret.”

Opening my eyes, I couldn’t help but stare into hers. “Yes. I shouldn’t have fallen in love with her. I knew my time away from my job wasn’t going to last and I certainly couldn’t have kept details from her long term.”

“So you left and never saw her again.”

The coffee suddenly tasted bitter. There was so much more to the story and while I thought I’d been prepared to let it go, maybe I was just fooling myself. “Correct.”

“That’s not it, Jack. You’re hiding something that occurred.”

I gave her a stern look before nodding toward the kitchen.