Page 65 of The Hero
“Kendric,” Marlowe said gently, putting her hand on his knee.
But the sight of Marlowe when he’d first met her was stuck in his head. How skinny she was. How despondent. She was a far cry from that woman now, and he didn’t want to do anything that might put her right back in that headspace.
And eventalkingto Ian could make him go to the authorities and inform them that he’d been contacted by an escaped convict. The threat of being extradited back to Thailand could bring on more nightmares likethe one she’d had last night. Her whimpering had broken his heart, and all he could do was hold her and whisper over and over that she was safe.
He didn’t even want tothinkof how much they’d both suffer if she was returned to prison.
“We don’t know West. Yes, he’s young, but he’s notthatyoung. And if you call him up and try to blackmail him, he could react violently,” Bob said.
“And if I don’t, he’ll sell those coins, they’ll be lost forever, and we won’t have any proof that he stole them in the first place,” Marlowe countered. “He’ll probably steal from another archaeological site again because he’s greedy, and he obviously has no morals if he didn’t think twice about sending me to prison for the rest of my life! Not only that, Ineedto clear my name. I won’t be able to get on with my life if I don’t. The threat of going back to prison will always be hanging over my head if I don’t get Ian to admit that he planted those drugs in my bags.”
Bob felt as if he was going to puke. He couldn’t deal with Marlowe being in danger. And if she contacted Ian, she’d be intentionally putting herself at risk.
But ... he knew she had a point. And he hated it.
If he ever wanted a normal life with Marlowe, didn’t want to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives, they had to deal with those drug charges.
“We can get Chief Rutkey and his officers involved, so it’s official,” JJ added.
“I can call him and have it all recorded. If I can get him to actually admit he’s got the coins, that should give the authorities enough for a search warrant so they can find them, right? Maybe if I rile him enough, I can even get him to admit to setting me up in the first place. That he put those drugs in my bags to get rid of me, so I wouldn’t rat him out.”
Just the thought of her talking to Ian West made Bob so crazy with fear, he clenched his teeth together until his jaw ached. He needed a minute to process the fact that Marlowe actually wanted to put herself in such a dangerous situation.
Without a word, he walked to the balcony door, wrenched it open, and stepped outside.
He heard JJ and Marlowe talking quietly in the room behind him, but all he could do was grip the railing and stare out into the trees as his mind spun.
Several minutes passed, and when Bob heard JJ’s voice behind him, he wasn’t exactly surprised.
“I know this isn’t ideal—” his friend started out.
Bob spun around and spat, “Not ideal? My wife confronting the man who had her thrown in prison without a shred of remorse? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“The alternative is that we do nothing, and rely on Tex and the FBI to try to track down the buyer. There’s no actual proof West even has those coins, so the police can’t search his place. But as I pointed out, the second this asshole realizes she’s in the States, he can go to the police, turn her in. Get her rearrested. And this time, her brother might not be able to use his political connections and money. Might not find another reckless former Special Forces soldier who thinks he’s invincible to go in and break her out of jail.”
“Are you seriously trying to guilt-trip me into using my wife as bait?” Bob bit out.
“I don’t like the thought of Marlowe talking to that asshole any more than you do.”
“Right. But you’ll still use your disappointment against me to make it happen. Are we really doing this now?” Bob asked, more pissed than he was before.
“I guess so,” JJ said, his voice even and just as hard as Bob’s.
“Fine! I went behind your back. I worked with the FBI to go into foreign countries and rescue Americans who’d gotten themselves in trouble. And I was damn good at it. Do I regret lying to you and the others? Yes. Would I do it again if I hadn’t found Marlowe? Again,yes.
“I love it here. I love what we’ve built. But for years, it wasn’t enough for me. I was unsettled, and maybe as reckless as you accusedme of being, but the demons in my headwouldn’t stop! I haven’t slept for shit since leaving the service, and when I was on a mission, I was too focused to think about my past. About what happened to me and my friends. The adrenaline and danger kept me amped up enough that I could forget, just for a while.
“Then I went to Thailand and met Marlowe. And the risks I’d been taking suddenly seemed stupid. I was also tired. Tired of lying to my best friends. Tired of being alone. And the nightmares hadn’t stopped. Going on missions wasn’t helping, not in the long run.
“If you can’t forgive me for going behind your back, I understand. I won’t like it, but I get it. But encouraging mywifeto put herself in danger just to get back at me isn’t cool, Jackson. What if this was April? Would you be as stoic or calm if I suggested we putherin the middle of an op as fucking bait?”
A muscle in JJ’s jaw ticked as he stared at Bob.
“Right. You wouldn’t,” Bob went on, answering his own question. “You’d be just as pissed as I am right now. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but there’s no way you’d just sit back and let April put herself in danger. Even if it was the best way to solve the problem. Even if you knew she was brave and strong and so damn selfless, it makes you feel like an ogre in comparison just being around her.”
Bob swallowed hard, then took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “I can’t lose her, now that I’ve found her, JJ. Ican’t.”
“You won’t,” he said, stepping out onto the balcony and putting his hand on Bob’s shoulder.
