Raiden (The Kent Brothers #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,55
some, I was alone. In others, my bodyguards surrounded me. There were photos of me outside of my house, and some outside of Raiden’s. They had watched me for a while.
My voice trembled when I asked, “Who put the contract out?”
“It was O’Brien. I applied for it, but the reply was they had filled it,” Huff told me.
“What am I supposed to do now?” I was a pathetic mess.
Gemini grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “You’re going into hiding tonight. Disappear and don’t tell anyone. This is the hard part, Scottie. Not a word to anyone, even Raiden, because it could mean his life too. Destroy your communication with us on burners. We’re setting you up in a safe house with a new identity. You’ll cut your hair and bleach it blonde.”
“I’m not sure if I can do that.” They didn’t know I was already in WITSEC.
Drex crossed his arms and looked ready to take on an army. “Why the fuck not? One solid reason.”
“I’m already in WITSEC.”
The room became eerily quiet. Then Drex spoke first. “Care to repeat that?”
“No. You heard me and I’m only telling you three because I trust you. I can’t lose who I am again. It’s a fucking nightmare.”
Drex pointed to a chair and demanded I take a seat. We all did.
“Explain,” he said, “and I will guarantee that what’s said here will stay here.”
My long, painful story came out in pieces. It took a while because I shed a lot of tears. Losing your entire family, including your child, wasn’t something to skim over. “Now you know.”
“You were a fed before you were a DEA agent?”
“Yeah, and I was working the O’Brien case, which is why I have this vested interest in them.” I sucked in my tears, trying to appear stronger than I was. “It’s also why I was so on board with grabbing the brat. An eye for an eye and all that.”
“‘The best revenge is not to be like your enemy,’” Drex said.
“You can quote Marcus Aurelius all you want, but you still have your family. I don’t.”
“She’s right, Drex. When a woman loses a child, nothing can replace it.” Gemini put her arms around me and hugged me. “I’m so sorry for your losses.”
Drex threw his hands up as he leaned back in the chair. “Then what do you two propose? We have to keep you safe, Scottie.”
Gem stood. “I have an idea and you won’t like it.”
“What is it?”
“We’ll go somewhere, using different identities, until this is over. You contact O’Brien, tell him if the contract on Scottie isn’t removed, his daughter and granddaughter die.”
“Where will you go?”
“No one can know, not even you. We’ll stay in touch through burners and I’ll get us fake IDs, passports, credit cards, etcetera, so we can travel. We’ll fly commercial so they won’t be able to track us because they won’t know our names.”
His jaw twitched, but he agreed. “Fine. Get some photos with your new looks sent to WI so we can get that taken care of, along with the burners. And just so you know, I don’t like this one bit.”
“You can’t always get what you want, Drex.”
“So now you’re quoting The Rolling Stones?”
“No, I’m telling the truth.”
Gemini and I went to work on our looks. She cut my hair, adding layers, which was fine. It would grow back.
“Hey, you’re awesome at this. I like it.” It was right above the shoulders, and if I didn’t dry it, my waves would give it some bounce and texture.
“I used to do my own for years until Drex and I got together. I didn’t have the money for the salons, so I learned how to do it by trial and error. Now for mine.”
“You’re not asking me to do it, are you?”
“You any good?”
“Hell, no,” I said, laughing. “Unless you want to look like a frightened squirrel.”
“Um, no thanks.” I watched as she pulled her long locks up and out to the sides, cutting and cutting. Tons of hair fell to the floor, and I gasped.
“Don’t worry, it’s cool.” She continued with snipping here and there, even cutting bangs.
“Oh, I love that look on you! It changed everything.”
She ran her fingers through her thick mane, shaking her head, and declared, “Finished. I like it too. But Drex will shit.”
“So will Raiden. I wonder what I’d look like in bangs.”
Grabbing a chunk of my hair and holding it up, she said, “Like this. But I think we need to change your part if