Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 138169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
“I… I…”
“Janelle, what are you afraid of?”
“Him!” she flares, her open eyes brimming with tears as she looks up at me. “Clarence, he’s… he’s not the man I married. Or maybe the man I married was a lie, but it’s like there’s a stranger behind his eyes. God, I thought he was having an affair for years, but…”
Carefully, I squeeze her shoulder, trying to be reassuring.
“But what?” I prompt softly. My heart drums, and I don’t want to make this harder for her by pressing her too cruelly. “Janelle, please. I won’t let him hurt you. I just need to know where he goes, if you have any clue.”
She presses her quivering lips together, just staring at me for a long time.
I can feel her pain hanging in the balance, this painful decision to betray the man she thought she loved. To admit he was never who she thought he was out loud.
If this were me and Talia, I’d want her to give me up in a heartbeat, as long as it meant doing what was right.
She’d have a better chance at happiness by moving on.
And I hope, when this is over, Janelle can find happiness, too.
After several rough breaths, she jerks her head away, lowering her eyes.
“Mariposa Cove,” she whispers. “When I thought he was having an affair, I snuck a tracker app on his phone. He had no idea. About once a week, sometimes more, he goes to Mariposa Cove. I don’t know what he does there, but I don’t think he’s meeting other women.”
Mariposa Cove.
I know the name.
It’s a tiny waterfront town about an hour and a half away from here on the Atlantic Coast. Hell, it’s barely a town, just a dock and a terminal with a few buildings clustered around it.
A shipping dock favored by people running all sorts of clandestine operations.
If a ship’s coming in tonight as part of the Arrendell/Jacobin drug ring, that’s a mighty good place for it to land.
“Thank you,” I say breathlessly. If there wasn’t a counter between us, I’d hug her. “Thank you. You did the right thing, Janelle. Let me find out what’s happening and end it.”
She lifts her head, looking at me mournfully, hot tears gathered in her eyes.
“Go,” she whispers. “Don’t make me regret this. I’m so sick of living a lie. I’m tired of all the secrets in this town, all the heartbreak… and tired being part of them. Fix it, Micah. Please.”
“I will, ma’am,” I promise.
I may not be able to fix breaking Talia’s heart, but I can still manage this.
Not alone, though.
It’s time to call in reinforcements.
I’m stunned at how fast the Redhaven PD assembles at the station when I call them for a late-night meeting, no questions asked.
I never thought of myself as someone who’s built that kind of trust.
Aside from Mallory, there they are, all lined up in the back room with Henri still buttoning up his uniform shirt and Lucas bleary-eyed from being up with their baby and Grant still sporting bedhead from hell—and bed beard, which I didn’t even know was possible.
“What’s this about, Micah?” Grant folds his arms across his burly chest, hazel eyes watching me keenly.
“I don’t have time to explain,” I say. “And we have even less time to move. I need you guys to trust me and believe every word I’m about to say.”
“Hell of an intro. Now I’m curious.” Lucas rubs his thick black scruff, his green eyes sharpening.
“I’ll answer questions later. For now, this is all you need to know.” I glance around.
Though I’ve told myself many times that all the relationships I’ve built here are temporary and surface deep, something in me knots up at the thought of this team I’ve worked with for years hating me for the lie, rejecting me.
I draw a deep breath before I speak.
“I’m not who you think I am. I’m undercover DEA, and I was sent to Redhaven to root out a drug operation that’s been poisoning the entire East Coast for years. That operation is the reason my brother died. Xavier Arrendell runs that op with the Jacobins, while Chief Bowden runs interference so no one ever thinks of them as anything more than harmless moonshiners.” I look from one stunned face to the next. “I have evidence. Clearly. Wouldn’t dream of standing here right now if I didn’t. They killed that hiker, Brian Newcomb, and if we can get to Mariposa Cove in the next two hours, we might just get a hell of a lot more than that and take them all down.”
I’m breathing hard when I finish.
My crew just stares at me.
Tension prickles up my spine.
Fuck, time is running thin.
I don’t have time for a thousand questions and even less for disbelief.
If they won’t trust me, I’ll have to do this on my own. I can’t let it slip through my fingers after laying the groundwork for years. It has to happen now, or—