15
All wishful thoughtsof waking up, wrapped around Liv’s beautiful body, and coaxing her into spending the day making love with him blinked out as Zeke recalled the reason why he had hightailed it to Asheville. To Liv.
“I wasn’t aware the Bureau’s offer came with a caveat.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I don’t agree to the recovery, Ash pays the price.”
She broke eye contact.
“You knew.” All the way here, he’d hoped that when this moment came that he’d see confusion on her beautiful face. Not guilt. Something sharp pricked the back of his throat. He swallowed.
Could he get into bed with an agency who would treat their own in such a way? What would keep them from reneging on their promise to protect his family from any legal fallout? He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling as if the answer to The Great Question could be found in the track lighting.
Hailey returned with their order, then bustled off again.
“I only found out this morning,” Liv said quietly. When he lowered his gaze to hers, she continued, “You don’t have to give in to their bullying tactics. Despite what Mitch said in the meeting, I’m more than capable of retrieving the art piece.”
The thought of her taking on the recovery alone sent a slice of fear through his middle. “What else can you tell me about the case?”
“I can’t get into—”
He held up a hand, not wanting to hear the company line. “At least tell me what I’m getting my team into. What am I recovering?”
“The situation is highly sensitive. We can’t take the chance of revealing details to someone outside the Bureau.”
“Other people trust me with the secrets all the time.”
She sipped her cappuccino. “I’m well aware.”
He raised a brow. “From Ash?”
“No. I dug deeper into your background after our meeting.”
“We’ve come full circle again. I need information, and you won’t give it.”
“Your answer is no, then?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
He broke off a piece of the banana nut bread. “On how my answer affects my brother’s career.”
The furrow in her brow deepened with something like indecision a moment before her features hardened into a you’re-a-big-boy-figure-it-out stare.
He weighed his options. If he walked away, could someone at the Bureau be asshole enough to fire Ash in retribution? It happened in the private sector all the time, but government? He knew little about his brother’s job and nothing about his relationship with his colleagues. Discounting the possibility would be a mistake.
If Ash returned home to lead the family business, Zeke wouldn’t have to pretend like he knew what the hell he was doing anymore. But Ash would hate it. He’d already spent eight miserable years at the helm.
Even so, Zeke heard himself pushing back. “You’re bluffing.”
“Agents, especially undercover agents, are master manipulators. They’re used to blending in with some of the worst, most evil elements of humankind while keeping one finger gripped on reality.” She paused, as if chewing on something rotten. “Finding someone’s vulnerability and putting out a few comments to rip it open and make it bleed is an afterthought. The true test on their grip is—will they let the person bleed out or sew him up?”
In other words, a carefully placed word in the right ear could not only affect Ash’s future opportunities at the FBI, but kill his career entirely.
He lifted his coffee cup to his lips. “I’ll do it.”