Now he was deep into the other core team members’ information. He noticed that Cass’s savings account was depleted. He would be on the lookout for any other indicators of financial stress. Making some notes for follow-up, he decided to review Zane’s documents.
He was surprised to see the size of Zane’s accounts. This guy had money. Lots of money. But would he be so brazen as to steal cash from the cartel and then put it all in his domestic accounts? Hunter’s best working theory was that the stolen money had ultimately ended up offshore somewhere. But Zane’s financial situation meant he needed to do more digging. He knew Zane was former military, which also didn’t explain that amount of cash. The number of zeros was enough to make Hunter’s head spin. This man was beyond rich.
After putting in a number of hours, Hunter headed over to Elijah’s place. Hunter had decided to hang out with him while Layla saw her friends for dinner. He hated to leave her, but she’d shown him just how capable she could be. And he knew she wouldn’t be alone, because she was going to Viv’s house.
“Talk to me, man.” Elijah handed him a soda and took a seat in one of the huge chairs in front of the flat-screen TV. A game was playing, but he’d put it on mute.
“Layla is in danger. I can’t go into the details, but I’m worried about her.”
“Worried as a friend or something more?”
“You know the answer to that already.”
“So that’s what’s got you so wound up?”
Hunter let out a frustrated groan. “Layla’s still upset about the past. She’s focused on the present, which is a good thing as far as her security goes, but when she looks at me, I can’t help but feel like she’s staring right through me.”
“What did you expect? That she’d just fall willingly back into your arms?” Elijah shook his head. “No way.”
“I get that. It’s just all business between us. Like we’re partners working an investigation.”
“Isn’t that exactly what this is?” Elijah pulled the ottoman forward and propped up his feet.
“Yes, but you know that’s not what I want.”
“Do I? And more importantly, does Layla?”
“Obviously I haven’t broached that topic.”
“You need to be patient. If the two of you are ultimately meant to be together, then it will happen.”
“You’re not going to start preaching at me, are you?”
“Do I ever preach at you?”
“Sometimes.” Hunter laughed. “Seriously, though, you’ve respected my feelings on that front. For the most part,” he added quickly. Elijah was as rock-solid as they came in his faith, and Hunter was on shaky ground at best.
“I know I’ve given you some room to work through your faith struggles, but ultimately God is still there waiting on you. You just have to look in the mirror and ask yourself what it really is that has you so wound up. You have to be truthful with yourself, because I feel like you’re in denial.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Just because he was having doubts didn’t mean he was in denial. “I’m facing this thing head on. It’s just that I don’t like what I see. What I feel.”
“You were never that good at the feelings thing.”
Hunter leaned back in the armchair and sighed. “You wear yours on your sleeve, and I keep mine wrapped up tightly in a box.”
“That, my friend, is the problem. Look at me right now and honestly tell me what has you so angry.”
“Decisions I’ve made.”
“Be specific.”
“What happened with Layla.”
Elijah raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you mean what you did to Layla? How you cheated on her and broke her heart? No need to sugarcoat it.”
“Right.” It was much more of a tangled web than that, but now wasn’t the time or place for that discussion.
“It seemed to me before like you had taken personal responsibility, but now, hearing you talk, I wonder if that’s not completely the case.”
“It’s more complicated than you know.”
Elijah shifted in his seat. “Is it, though? You made a mistake. A very bad mistake. You say you’ve moved on, but there’s something still holding you back.”
“You’re right.”
“Whatever that is, no matter how small or big, that’s what you need to take to God. Get His help.”
Hunter admired his friend’s faith, but he just wasn’t feeling it. “Why would He help me now? He didn’t before.”
“God works in His own time. We can’t expect to understand all of His ways.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Now, wait a minute. We’ve been through too much together for you to act like I’ve had an easy path in life.”
Hunter was kicking himself. “You’re completely right. I’m an idiot, as usual, saying stupid things. I can be a bit self-absorbed.”
“You think?” Elijah laughed. “But don’t be too hard on yourself. I give you tough love because I’d want the same thing from you. When I went off the rails sophomore year, you were there to help get me back in line.”
Hunter remembered that all too well, but he’d do it again in a heartbeat. “At least neither of us has had a meltdown at the same time.”
“And let’s keep it that way.” Elijah took a sip of his drink. “Is there anything I can do to help out?”
“Not at the moment, but that could change.”
“I’ll be on standby. Just call if you need me.”
“Thanks, Elijah. For everything.” Just talking had actually helped him feel a little better.
“No problem.”
Hunter picked up the remote. “So how’s the game so far?”
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Layla looked at Viv and Izzy as they finished up dinner. Bailey was still out of town for work. They’d kept the dinner conversation light on purpose and were avoiding the serious topics until after they’d eaten. But the story Layla had just heard
