Page 72 of Crucified By the Dark
“That’s how you took on Maeve’s case? Why didn’t you tell me? I thought all this time she called you like I trained her to do.” Maeve crossed her arms over her chest.
“I was keeping it all very close to the vest. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what was going on and didn’t know who to trust. Don’t get me wrong. I trust the two of you as much as I do Arek, but not the phone lines, emails, or anything else. I felt we’d been compromised and wasn’t sure where the threat was coming from.”
“But you do now?” Morry put her hands on her hips. Right about now, she wished she had something strong to drink. Fuck, things were just going too well.
“What I know is that we broke Maeve out of the transport vehicle and dropped her off in Vegas,” Trev said.
“That was when I got the call to hunt her down,” Wolf interjected. “I was sent two orders, one from the Righteous and the other from the Marshal’s office. My boss called me personally. He never calls anyone. That should’ve told me there was something wrong.”
“No point in beating yourself up. The point is, all the information that Kes, Arek, and I have been gathering is all leading straight back to Dean, or more accurately, his family.” Trev said.
“Dean? That doesn’t even make sense. Dean hates his father and wouldn’t have anything to do with his family.”
“I’m not saying he does. It just seems to be where all the issues are coming from, and that’s the facts. Who is behind it? Well, that’s another issue.”
Morry rubbed her jaw as she thought. “Do you have any idea where they would’ve taken her?”
Trev lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “I have a couple of theories I’m working on, but I’m not fucking sharing them with this one….” He pointed his thumb in Wolf’s direction. “Until I have a few more things figured out. Don’t need him running off half-cocked to save the woman he loves and fucking shit up.”
“Your confidence in me is staggering,” Wolf mocked, crossing his arms.
“Tell me I’m wrong. Where exactly were you running off to like a lame dog in a hospital gown? Hmm? You going to drive through hours of desert to bust down the doors of a cartel home and demand the love of your life back? Let’s just think about how well that would go over?”
“You’re an asshole,” Wolf said.
“But I’m also right. This needs a fucking plan and a good one.”
“Um…I’m sorry. Did he just say that she is the love of your life?” Morry’s hackles went up at the thought of Wolf taking advantage of Maeve.
Maeve wasn’t a child, but she worked hard to get herself dug out of some very dark crap, and if Wolf had done anything to undo all the work she put in, Morry would pull her gun and shoot his other leg.
“Yeah, we are…she’s myWalela, my everything.” He placed his hand over his heart. “I know that sounds crazy, especially with the age difference, but she makes my heart beat like it’s the first time. We were trying to get to you, Morry. When it came out that she knew you and who I was, we tried. This is where we were heading when they found us.” He held open his hands and stared at his palms. “I tried to save her. I tried to protect her. And I failed. I failed my sister and Jimmy and now Maeve.”
When his eyes found hers, she felt her own filling with tears. There was so much pain shining from his eyes, and she understood.
“No point in blaming yourself, Wolf,” Trev spoke up. “Neither of you. The soldiers are just like us and trained just like us. You were outnumbered with limited resources and unsure who you could trust. That’s exactly what whoever this is wanted. To keep us looking over our shoulders.”
Morry walked to the front of the bed and grabbed one of Wolf’s hands. “Trev is right. Whether this is the Cartel or someone else, they have access to those we thought were friends. This is going to need a fucking top notch plan. We can’t just storm every castle we think they might be hiding in.”
“I know.” Wolf closed his eyes as he squeezed her hand.
“Rest up, my friend, and I will show you everything I have after a few more hours of sleep. I’m fucking tired,” Trev said and stepped out of the room.
Morry made her way to the door and stopped to look back at Wolf. “I know you’re worried, but Maeve has more tenacity than anyone I’ve ever met. They’re going to be sorry they messed with her. Trust me. If anyone can walk out of burning flames alive, it’s Maeve.”
Wolf smiled as she closed the door.
“Make sure he doesn’t try that shit again, and call me immediately if he does,” she ordered the two guards.
Shaking her head, she fell into step with Trev and then glared at the side of his face. “Don’t ever cut me out of the loop again,” she said, and his eyebrow rose as he looked at her. “I fucking mean it. Nothing is classified between us after all the shit we went through. Understood?”
The corner of his mouth curled up. “Understood.”
Jeremy stared at the narrow crack of the door. He reached for his gun and realized he’d forgotten it.
Shit
He stood perfectly still and listened for any noise, but all seemed quiet. Using a finger, he gave the door a gentle shove and cocked his fist, ready for a fight. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when he first stepped inside, but he narrowed his eyes at the far wall. There was a soft glow in the corner.
