48. Wesley
48
WESLEY
Sleep won’t come to me tonight.
The gun I swiped from one of Arlo’s mercenaries sits on the nightstand with six bullets inside. I wanted to have it prepared in my hand all night, but Nina’s uncomfortable with a gun in the bed.
Rolled into a burrito, she sleeps soundly beside me. She twitches and whimpers, telling me she’s dreaming. When she cries, “Stop,” I know it’s a nightmare.
“Nina,” I whisper, a soft hand on her arm.
She flinches awake, rolling into my ready arms once she remembers where we are.
“Nightmare?”
She nods into my neck. “Do they ever stop?”
I smother an exasperated smile, pressing a kiss to her head. “If they do, you’ll be the first person I tell.”
I feel her sigh and snuggle closer. My body warms as she kisses my throat. It doesn’t take long for her to fall back asleep and for me to resume staring at the door. Even now, with the woman I love in my arms, the peace doesn’t feel permanent. I’m not convinced someone won’t bust into the room and try to take her from me.
No one attacks us on our route to meet Jack.
We don’t come across any of Arlo’s men—that we know of. I find no signs of being followed. He expected us to go to Adonis; it’s why he sent three of his people to take us out in the market. For some reason, Nina and I were unbothered the moment we stepped foot above ground.
Daria.
The name hits me fast and sharp. She pounced seconds after I spoke with Adonis. She must have overheard and snitched. I hate that I’m surprised; nothing but frigid steel lies under her skin.
She probably sold him information about what she overheard. Arlo likely wanted to see where we go, if it’s true. After that, she’ll have earned some of his trust. It’s not enough for her to be a snitch; everything is a game to her.
Nina’s family folds her into a sobbing hug the moment she steps out of the car. She gives me a knowing look over Maia’s shoulder as I walk inside with Jack.
“Who do you think told him?” Jack asks.
“My money’s on Colin. Most likely to get caught and fold in interrogation.”
Colin was another hitman who helped get Santiago in return for when I got him out of a conundrum in Barcelona. Never cared much for him.
Mason, Gregory, and Silas are waiting in Jack’s office for the meeting, all of our phones collected and bodies scanned for wires.
“I need to speak with you alone first,” I tell Jack. There’s a lot to debrief, but I have to tell him about Nina and me. As the others leave, I rub my hands together, exhaling a long breath. My stomach growls. The canned food for dinner last night didn’t cut it. I ache for a proper meal.
“What is it?”
“Nina and I slept together,” I deadpan. No time to sugarcoat.
Jack blinks, confused. “No, you didn’t.”
“Sir—”
“No,” he interjects, “you didn’t . Because you respect me, Beck. You remembered that I put my new job at risk to get you this position and you didn’t do the number one thing I told you not to do.”
“It’s more than that. I’m in love with her.”
He grimaces as if insulted. “That makes no fucking difference!”
“It makes every difference. I wouldn’t tell you if it was a one-time thing.” I step closer. “When I say that I love her, that also means there isn’t anything I won’t do to keep her safe. Arlo could have killed her because he wants answers from me on something you did.”
Jack blanches. “What are you saying?”
Guilt starts to build inside of me. He put a lot on the line to help me after I closed one of his years-long investigations within two months.
And then I slept with my client and the future queen of Maldana. I hate the feeling of betraying him, but Nina being hurt—or worse—is a deal-breaker.
“Arlo knows how I feel about her,” I explain, “and if he finds a way to use her as leverage, there isn’t anything I won’t do to keep her safe .”