Chapter 4 #2
Coulter stopped mid-stride and checked his watch. He winced when he saw the time. It was late, but it hadn’t been all that long since the asshole had called Alex. If he called Crawford now, so soon after, it may raise flags he preferred to keep hidden.
Tomorrow.
He’d make the call tomorrow, which would buy him some much-needed time to develop a proper story. An alternative that would be even more tempting than having dinner with Alex.
For now, there was another call he needed to make.
Coulter pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed another number he’d memorized long ago. He began pacing along the same path as before, but with slower, less anxious steps. It rang twice before the man on the other end picked up.
“This is Owens.”
“It’s me. Is this a good time to talk?”
“Good as any,” Rafe Owens, the owner of Tac-Ops responded. The man’s British accent was thick as he asked, “Are you in trouble?”
“Depends.” Coulter huffed. “You ever have someone you know show up in the middle of an op?”
“With Tac-Ops, no. But it happened to me twice during my time with MI6.” A slight pause ensued before his brother’s boss spoke again. “I take it someone from your personal life was a guest at Crawford’s party?”
“From both our lives, actually,” he revealed. “Alex Webb was there.”
“Alex Webb?” Rafe repeated. “You’re telling me Falcon’s sister-in-law was there?”
Along with Rafe, the members of Tac-Ops often referred to Coulter’s brother as “Falcon” due to his mad skills with a sniper rifle.
“Apparently Crawford was in Charlotte last week,” Coulter gave an indirect response. “According to Alex, he—and I quote—‘stumbled upon’ her gallery and invited her to tonight’s showing.”
“And of course, Alex went because what burgeoning artist would decline such a coveted invitation.”
“Exactly.” He exhaled loudly before running a hand over his tense jaw. “She knows, Rafe.”
“About Crawford?”
Coulter swallowed hard with a nod of his head. “Yes.”
The phone’s speaker grew silent before his brother’s boss spoke up again. “You told her?”
“I didn’t have much choice.”
“You always have a choice, Mr. Morgan.”
“Fine. It was my best option then. Whatever. The point is she now knows what kind of man Crawford really is.”
“And you?” Rafe posed. “Does she know what kind of man you truly are?”
Before tonight, Rafe was the only one who knew the truth among Coulter’s close-knit, personal circle. But now—
“Yeah.” He blew out a breath. “Alex knows I’m with the CIA.”
“I see.” There was a slight pause. “How did she take it?”
“About like you’d imagine. She’s pissed, feels betrayed, and resents me for forcing her to keep my secret from her sister and Garrett.”
“I assume she isn’t aware that I know.”
“There was no need to tell her that part.”
Rafe had known about Coulter’s involvement with the agency since before Garrett became a member of the other man’s team. It was during one of Coulter’s earlier undercover gigs. The former MI6 legend had been present during the op’s initial briefing.
Due to his past work, Rafe had possessed important, first-hand knowledge of the man who’d, at the time, been targeted by the CIA. As such, the CIA director had personally asked Rafe to take part in the meeting to help Coulter and his team form the most optimal plan.
They reunited a few years later when Rafe offered Garrett a spot on his team. At the time, neither man gave any hints that they had ever met before. Thankfully Rafe had been keeping Coulter’s secret ever since
“You know what this means.”
Oh, he knew. “I need to tell my brother the truth.”
“Falcon should hear it from you before anyone else.”
“I know.” Coulter raked a hand through his longer-than-usual hair. “I’ve already decided to tell him as soon as I get back home. And before you say it, I fully expect Garrett to call me out for being a hypocrite.”
“Only fair, given how you reacted when he finally told you the truth about being a part of Tac-Ops.”
It was true, Coulter had put on quite a show, playing the role of the deeply hurt brother. But just as he’d been lying all this time in an effort to keep those he cared about safe, Garrett had done the same regarding his role with the secretive rescue team.
Two brothers, each shielding the other from the truth.
“My show of feeling betrayed had to look real. Garrett had to believe I didn’t already know what he really did for a living.”
“From what I recall, your performance was top-notch. To this day, Falcon still feels guilty about having lied about his job to you and your dad.”
“And now I’m going to have to look him square in the eyes and admit I not only knew about his work as a high-level hostage rescue operative, but the whole time I was giving him shit for lying to me, I was deceiving him, too.”
“Your brother will understand.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Hope has nothing to do with it, Coulter. Lies like ours are an unfortunate side-effect of the job. Your brother knows this, as does every member of my team. And while Falcon may initially feel hurt, he’ll come around.”
He shared the other man’s faith that Garrett would both understand and forgive when the time came to reveal the truth. Until then, there was another problem at hand. Namely a sexy as sin brunette currently staying in the room next door.
“About Alex.” Coulter brought the conversation back around. “She’s supposed to have dinner with Crawford tomorrow, and I need a guaranteed way to cut the night short.”