Jonas couldn’t help the affection welling up for Jeff and Kyle. They were good men. Good friends. They’d always had his back, no matter how bad things had gotten for him—and they’d gotten bad.
Camellia moved a little closer to him. He realized she wasn’t aware she did it, or of the small positive chemical reaction she had to the admission Jeff made that he and Kyle had discussed the eventuality of Ryland’s reactions to her accompanying them to the compound. Every protective trait he had kicked in tenfold.
She didn’t feel as if she were going to take off on him though. She jogged beside him, head up, determination in her mind.
I plan to throw you and Lily under the bus to divert his attention away from Camellia, Jonas said truthfully. That’s after I kick your ass for being an idiot. I was going to do it without anyone around to spare you the humiliation, but then we ran into these jokers.
There was a small silence. He could feel Jeff’s rising alarm and Kyle’s puzzlement.
What’s he done now, Jonas? You might as well confess, Jeff, Kyle said. I’ll find out eventually. If I have to patch you up after one of Jonas’s beatdowns, I should know why he’s kicking your ass.
Again, there was a silence. Jonas kept his gaze fixed on Crawley. The man was pulling his bullshit move again, stepping off the trail to hit a bush, hoping to leave evidence of his passing. Camellia simply repaired the damage to the plant, sending the necessary nutrients ahead of her. She did so as if she were on automatic pilot. Crawley kept glancing over his shoulder, trying to catch one of them in the act. Every now and then, his gaze dropped on her. It was brief, but Jonas didn’t like the speculation there before the man would turn his head and renew his efforts to pick up his pace.
Jonas knew there was no way for Crawley to know that Camellia had been the one to repair the damages to the plants, but he certainly was wondering if she was the one to have done so. If Crawley was in any way connected to Whitney, the man was going to have to die, no matter what Ryland said. Jonas didn’t dare leave him alive. That was the problem with taking prisoners. There was always the possibility that they could escape or smuggle word out to someone. Whitney had enough money to buy a country, let alone bribe people.
You know there’s a traitor in the compound, Jeff. Someone is aware of Daniel’s abilities.
We don’t know that, Jeff denied. Crawley could have been sent up here to get him in order to discover what his abilities are.
Whoever is behind this has a plant in our compound. They know his abilities, Jonas reiterated.
That isn’t possible, Kyle denied. The only people who ever see what Daniel can do are members of our team. No one else. We don’t make those kinds of mistakes, and neither does Daniel. He knows better. He might be a toddler, but he’s highly intelligent. He doesn’t show off, and he doesn’t ever show what he can do, not even if we go visit the Nortons and their sons.
There was another long silence. Jonas waited to see if Jeff would confess to Kyle. He didn’t. Jonas didn’t really expect him to. He sighed. Does Ryland know, or is Lily keeping secrets from him?
Damn it, Jonas. We aren’t doing this. We can’t do this. The harsh denial exploded in their minds.
Jonas jogged down the mountain for a quarter of a mile before he replied. They were in very familiar territory now. He knew eyes were on them. I wasn’t the dumbass agreeing to do it, Jeff. That was you. And you know someone else knows. If I figured it out, someone else has. That someone is the traitor. We have to stop them before they deliver Daniel and Lily into enemy hands. Or you. At first I thought this asshole and his men were coming for you. There might be another team, for all I know, coming for you. You don’t agree to this kind of shit without talking it over with us.
They all felt Jeff sigh. Talking things over means it isn’t a secret, Jonas.
Is it a secret from our commander? Jonas pushed. He needed to know how much trouble Jeff was going to be in.
I don’t know. I figured Lily would tell him. Daniel is his son. It never occurred to me she would go behind his back, but he was never with us. I still thought he knew. Now that you’re all over me about this, I’m getting a little worried.
Would either of you like to fill me in? Kyle prompted. We’re getting close, and I don’t want to get blindsided if you’re really going to talk to Ryland about something to do with Jeff.