THE CRAZY GOOD SERIES - Rachel Robinson Page 0,296

smile stretches across his face and I see something I’ve never seen before. A sinister cunning. Somehow I know that whatever he says next will be a game changer. He’s not a sad man torn up about losing the love of his life. This is something different altogether. “Go on. Talk,” I encourage, raising my chin.

He steps toward me. We’re eye to eye, heart to heart. “Admit that I’m the better choice for Lainey.”

That’s easy. “You’re the better choice for her. But your choice doesn’t fucking matter. It’s her choice and she’s made it. Why not respect that?” Anger vibrates my bones.

He shakes his pointer finger back and forth like some poindexter on steroids. Lainey has a type. That’s for sure. “She’s confused. Lainey is confused by her feelings for you. She’d be easily convinced that I’m the man for her with a small nudge in the right direction. I love her, Cody. I fucking love her more than anything. A man like you can understand desperation. This is me crawling from desperation. I want you to break up with her. Tell her I’m the man she needs. The man she wants. Tell her so she believes you.” He’s lost his goddamn mind. Narrowing my eyes, I look at him closely. Is he feeling ill? Perhaps he’s taken drugs.

When I realize he’s serious, I scoff, laughing. “I get it. But what can possibly make you think I would agree to this? You’re utterly mad. Why would I hurt the woman I love, as well?”

There’s no hesitation in his response. He’s giddy to tell me. “I have something you want more.” There’s nothing I want more than her.

Shaking my head, I laugh. It’s boisterous and calculating. “No.” No need to spend any more breath on a drawn out response. I pick up my cell phone and text Molly. I need to make sure everything is running on schedule, perhaps even early as now I have an entire morning free. I glance up when I hear the silence.

Dax licks his lips. “We have intel you want, Cody. I know where he is. We’ve got a tracker on him.” The smile falls from my face and appears on his.

“Where is he?” I can’t help it. I ask even knowing what the cost will be. The SEALs surely have intel I don’t quite have yet. He’s not lying and that makes every fiber in my being squeeze with anticipation. No more hunting. I could be done with V forever. We’ve had leads during the past weeks and then we lost him. There’s no telling where he’s at. I’m worried for Lainey. “Tell me.”

Dax’s smile grows. “You already know what I want in exchange.”

I roll my eyes to the ceiling. “Blackmail? Really? And with Lainey? Even I couldn’t convince her that you’re the right man for her. Because you aren’t.” Harsh truths never killed anyone. I have, though, and so has Dax.

Dax starts pacing again. This time it’s not as calculated, he’s erratic. He was right about the level of his desperation. He could lose his job over this, possibly even face prison time if it’s spun the right way. Christ, he could lose his life. I have to respect that. I remember being an upstanding man. How difficult and demanding walking the straight and narrow was. He’s cracking. For love. For Lainey.

“You tell me where V is and you get Lainey? That’s the deal then?” I confirm, walking up behind him to stop his irritating walk. My floors are new. He’s fucking them up.

A bead of sweat slides down his temple. The wall clock ticks away seconds that sound like hours. The blood in my body whooshes with desire to kill. Retribution will be mine. Can I make this sacrifice? My happiness forever gone in exchange for V’s life snuffed? There’s no choice, really.

“She has to believe that you don’t want her, that I’m better for her. That’s the deal,” Dax says, voice rising. That will be easier said than done. She’s keen. Sharp. Lainey knows me well. I close my eyes, wincing at the image of her when I tell her bold faced lies that she will take at face value because of her emotional vulnerability. My hands on my hips I glance at my desk and the stupid plastic dancing flower she gave me. I walk over and swipe it off my desk and into the wall. I swear under my breath and lean over my desk, placing my palms down.

Hanging my