Page 84 of Faded Gray Lines

His taunt blinded me to the point of madness. I wanted him to feel pain. I wanted him to hurt as much as I did until he lost touch with reality. I almost gave in to my need for it when Val’s words echoed in my head.

“Business over vendetta. No answers come from dead men’s lips.”

Squeezing my phone, I shook it in his face. “It doesn’t bother you that she’s sleeping with a cartel member?”

His infuriating smile widened. “It should bother you more. Isn’t that why I’m here?”

Letting out a roar, I pulled my arm back and punched him in the face, his nose exploding into a waterfall of blood.

“Ah,” he garbled. “You broke my nose!”

“Good.”

“What the hell was that for?”

“I hate weak men,” I snarled. “Plus, you’re an asshole.” I stormed toward the door, shaking my fist.

Fuck, he had a hard face.

“Let me go!” he yelled after me. “People will miss me.”

Stopping, I glanced over my shoulder. “Maybe, but they won’t find you.”

For the first time, fear flashed across Finn Donovan’s face. “What are you going to do with me?”

“Not sure yet. I’ll let you think about all the possibilities while I decide.” I slammed the door behind me to the sounds of him begging for his life.

* * *

I slept alone Thursday night, which was just as well. I needed time to decompress from my afternoon with Donovan. By the time I’d cleared my head, Friday had come and gone in a blur. Leighton and I barely saw each other during the day, and when I got back to the townhouse, she’d already left for work. For the first time, I didn’t even think about driving to Caliente and checking up on her. My mind was too preoccupied with trying to sort out all the different puzzle pieces that didn’t fit. Unfortunately, the most jagged piece of all was the woman who set all of this in motion.

Leighton shot one of our own men because she claimed he was going to kill her. That was what brought me here. That was what prompted Brody to involve us all. Yet, at every turn, more and more people were added to the puzzle, turning it from a cartel problem into one that reached beyond our borders and into so many political and judicial backdoors my head spun.

Nobody was who they claimed to be. Truths were coming out that had nothing to do with the blood on our hands, and I didn’t know how either of us were going to handle them.

Even now as it neared midnight, neither of us had spoken for the last hour. As Leighton lay draped across my chest, I knew she felt the tide turning too. It was like the less we talked, the less of a chance we had of destroying the bubble we’d created.

Unfortunately, bubbles didn’t exist in my world.

And I had a soldier tailing her.

“What happened at your mother’s office yesterday?” I asked, stroking her hair.

“What...” Leighton lifted her head, her chin digging into my chest. In the few seconds it took for the question to hover in her eyes, it cleared just as fast. “You had me followed.”

“I told you I’m going to protect you, Leighton. Even if it’s from yourself.”

“I wanted to ask her why Alex was at her party. It didn’t make sense to me. It still doesn’t.”

“Did she explain?”

She shook her head. “Not really. She said he’s an associate of Finn’s and a campaign investor. I don’t think she knows anything. My mother is a skilled actress, but even she can’t play dumb that well. Something’s off with Finn and Alex.”

I stopped stroking her hair and grabbed a handful, tilting her head back. “When were you planning on telling me this? Or were you?”

“Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear, or do you want the truth?”

“The truth,mi amor. Always the truth.”