Sighing, Zy did, then took his seat in the nearest chair, across the table from Logan. “What’s up?”
“We need to get to the bottom of some shit. Up until now, the only people who knew the location of Valeria Montilla’s new safe house were the three of us and One-Mile. At least until last night.”
Zy froze. Valeria and her sister, Laila, had been through hell. Valeria’s husband, Emilo, was finally dead, but his thugs and that criminal bunch from his splinter offshoot of the cartel had wreaked absolute destruction on those women’s lives.
“What happened?”
“Someone broke into their new digs in Orlando. Valeria was at a concert, thankfully. But Laila stayed behind to babysit her nephew. She and Baby Jorge barely escaped with their lives. We have to relocate them now.”
“You need me to go?” He hated to pack another fucking suitcase, but to save them from being snuffed and slaughtered, he gladly would—no questions asked.
“No. We’re sending Kane and Trees today to bring them back here.”
Hunter jumped in. “A couple months ago, we started working on a plan to relocate Valeria and her family nearby, then shit happened…”
Over the last few months? Yeah, had it ever.
“And you’ve got everything in place now?” Zy asked.
He nodded. “We’ll be watching their new safe house ourselves. But we worry it’s for nothing until you figure out who our fucking mole is. If it’s not Trees, we need you to prove it now.”
He tried to keep a leash on his temper. “I know you all have a boner to blame him, but he isn’t guilty.”
Hunter sent him a cutting glare. “Forgive me if we’re not willing to just take your word about your bestie.”
“I’ve spent two fucking months digging. I’ve seen zero evidence he’s leaked even a drop of urine out of this place, much less critical secrets. Seriously, I took him with me to Comfort so we could isolate him, just like you insisted. We slept in the same bunkhouse. I dug through his phone. Unless he was shitting or showering, I watched him. He’s done nothing, and I don’t know what you want as proof that he’s innocent.”
The trio fell silent and exchanged glances.
Hunter raised a brow. “Here’s what we know. It’s not the three of us. It’s not One-Mile. It’s not you, Cutter, or Josiah. That leaves Trees.”
“Or…” Logan cut in before Zy could push back, “Tessa.”
It was all he could do not to punch the asshole. “No. Fuck no. She’s the goddamn receptionist. She doesn’t have access to those secrets.”
“We didn’t think so either. But now we’re rethinking.”
“This is bullshit.”
“Shut up and listen,” Joaquin growled. “We’ve eliminated every other possibility. It’s either your bestie or your girl.”
“She’s not my girl,” he objected automatically.
Logan rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. We all know you’re one bad decision away from breaking your contract…unless you already have and there’s something you want to tell us?”
“I haven’t touched her.”
The three of them exchanged another glance, then seemed to come to some silent conclusion he wasn’t privy to.
“Then here’s the deal: You’ve got two weeks to figure out which one of them is guilty or we’re letting them both go.”
“What?”
Hunter picked up where his brother left off. “We made it easier for you by sending Trees out of town for a week. Invent a reason you need to stay at his place while he’s gone. Search it from top to bottom. If he’s got dirt, you need to hand it the fuck over.”
“He doesn’t.” Zy knew he kept repeating that, but Trees wouldn’t stab him—or anyone else—in the back like that.
“Now you get to find out for sure…at the same time you investigate Tessa.”
Were they insane? “How? You sending her out of town, too?”
“Nope.” Logan reached behind him and plucked a file folder off his credenza, then whipped out a small pile of papers held together by a staple. He flipped a few pages, drew a giant X on one, then jotted something in the margin. He passed it to his brothers next. Each of them also scribbled on the side. Finally, Logan shoved the document back in the folder and slid it down the table to him. “You’re welcome.”
Zy opened the folder and found his employment contract inside. The nonfraternization clause had been crossed out. All three of them had initialed.
They had removed the restrictions keeping him from pursuing Tessa? Even the goddamn idea made his skin tingle.
When he looked up, Logan smiled. “Yes, you’re now free to fuck her. Congratulations. But you better think with something other than your dick.”
Too late. His dick was already having a party…and his conscience was choking on guilt. The only way to get close to her was to deceive her?
“No.” He couldn’t do that to Tessa.
Joaquin shrugged. “Told you we should have just fired Trees and Tess and been done with it.”
It took everything he had not to jump out of his seat and tell them to go fuck themselves. “Neither of them deserves that.”
“No?” Hunter shrugged. “Then prove it.”
Over the past ten months, he’d seen the three of them push, shove, and maneuver some of his fellow operators into tight spaces and corners to get what they wanted. Zy had always been careful to keep his nose clean, so he’d never had it happen to him. He’d even wondered if the rumors were an exaggeration. But no.
They really were manipulative motherfuckers.
“Tessa won’t touch me. She needs this job.”
Joaquin flashed him a rare smile. “I’m going to take her aside this morning and present her with a new contract. Better sick pay and vacation, tighter non-disclosure…and no nonfraternization clause. She’ll sign. Then you’re both off the hook.”
Goddamn it. Their coercion pissed him off. But the thought of touching Tess while proving she’d done nothing wrong? “Fine. I’m in.”
“We know.” Logan sounded like an arrogant prick. “You’ve got two weeks. Get a move on.”
He clenched his jaw against some choice words that
