Page 43 of Protecting Bree
“Smiley,” he said as he answered.
“What the motherfuckingfuck?” Cookie said in a low, pissed-off tone.
Smiley sighed as he studied the floor, frowning. Yup. Tex had definitely talked with Cookie and the others about Mateo Castillo. And the former SEAL clearly wasn’t happy that he’d been kept in the dark, which Smiley didn’t blame him for one bit.
As the days went by, Smiley had felt worse and worse about keeping intel from Wolf’s team. It wasn’t right, but he’d felt as if his hands were tied because of everything Tex was doing to help with Bree’s situation.
But not telling his friends was the wrong decision. Period.
“I told Tex it wasn’t a good idea not to tell you,” Smiley said.
“Damn right it wasn’t. I can’t believe he—and you and your team—kept this from me! My wife went throughhellat the hands of Castillo! Well, maybe not him specifically, but the damn organization he worked for, and you all thought it was a good idea tonottell me that he might not only be in the US, but in motherfuckingRiverton?”
Cookie’s voice had risen as he spoke, and Smiley worried the women could actually hear him, even though his cell wasn’t on speaker.
“I’m going to step out front for a second,” he called out to the women.
“Okay!”
“We’ll be here.”
“No problem!”
Smiley quickly stepped toward the front door of the shop and stood outside on the sidewalk as he spoke to Cookie.
“As I said, it wasn’t my idea. I told Tex that you and Hurt deserved to know.”
“Fiona continued to go through hell when she got back. Texknewhow badly she struggled. Hell, he kept her calm when she was lost in the delusion that her kidnappers had come for her. And now, despite the possibility they reallymight havecome for her, he stays silent? It’s bullshit!”
“It is,” Smiley agreed. “But there’s no evidence that Castillo knows anything about Fiona. Or Julie, for that matter. From what Tex was able to find out, he wasn’t even in the jungle when you rescued them.”
“I don’t care,” Cookie said, still sounding pissed off. “If there’s a one percent chance that anyone from that fucking organization even knows my wife’sname, I should’ve been informed.”
“And I’ve agreed with you,” Smiley told him. “Tex truly doesn’t think Castillo is here for your wife or Julie. He wants Bree. Paid money for her. I told Tex he should talk to you, but he asked for more time to confirm whether Castillo was even part of that organization from years ago to begin with. He didn’t want to alarm you for no reason if he was wrong. I gave him that time. It wasn’t the right decision, and I’m sorry.”
He heard Cookie take a deep breath, could practically picture him running a hand through his hair in agitation.
“Anything that has to do with my wife and that time in her life brings out the worst in me,” he finally admitted.
“Actually, I think it brings out the best in you.”
“Right. Talk to me, Smiley. Tex already gave me the deets about the hopeful apprehension of Castillo today, but I need to know whatyouthink. Everything you know about the man. Why he’s so determined to get his hands on Bree. All of it.”
Smiley wasn’t surprised by Cookie’s demand. He’d ask the same if the roles were reversed.
Ten minutes later, he’d told Cookie everything. All his concerns about the situation, his opinions, and by the time he hung up the phone, his friend was much calmer than he’d been when he’d first called. But he was on his way to the store to pick up Fiona, just in case. He also said he’d call Patrick Hurt, his former commander, and give him the rundown of what was going on, which Smiley appreciated. The last thing he wanted was to get his ass chewed by Hurt as well, after being on the receiving end of Cookie’s ire.
He re-entered My Sister’s Closet and called out, “It’s just me!” He didn’t want the women to interrupt what they were doing, thinking a customer had walked in.
But to his surprise, he didn’t get any kind of response.
The hair on the back of his neck immediately stood up, and Smiley reached for the KA-BAR knife he always carried. He walked quickly to the open door to the back room and looked inside.
His adrenaline spiked even higher when he saw the back door was wide open and the women were nowhere to be seen.
“Fuck!Shit, shit, shit!” he swore, as he pulled out his cell.
As he pressed on Cookie’s name in his contacts, Smiley knew he’d fucked up. He’d sworn that Bree wouldn’t beout of his sight until Castillo was caught—and yet he’d willingly walked out of the store, leaving not only his woman alone, but Fiona and Julie too.
