"It's the least I can do, it's what I have to do. I don't understand why we’re even having this discussion." I stare at him wondering what the hell he's thinking.
He sighs heavily. "But I have no idea what to do. I fucked up so badly with her. I never felt this way about anyone before until Lacey came along with her smart brain and smart mouth. Not to mention she's gorgeous, she makes my head spin. I had no idea how to play it. Boss, that's not me. I'm the ladies’ man. I fuck them and leave. I've never felt bad about it, it's what I've always done."
I can't help but smirk. "You're so fucked." I laugh, now I understand why he's being acting so weird. He's in love.
He rolls his eyes at me. "Tell me something I don't know."
I nod. "Barney can I trust you?" Even as I ask him, I still don't know if I can.
He flinches, looking insulted. "Are you being for real right now, Boss?"
"Yes I'm being for real, now answer the damn fucking question!" I bite out as I glare at him.
"Of course you can trust me, Boss. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't loyal to you," he replies instantly. He doesn't blink, he doesn't move, hell he doesn't even show any emotion.
"I believe you," I tell him and watch as his entire body deflates. "If I find out you're lying to me, Barney. There is nowhere on this earth's surface that you can hide from me. Do you understand?"
He nods once. “I understand. Now, do you want to tell me the real reason I'm here?"
I'm impressed, although I’d never tell him that. "Okay, the real reason you're here is because I want answers. I am your boss that's not why you fear me, is it? You fear me because you've seen what I'm capable of. You have witnessed first-hand the things that I have done."
"Yes, I have seen what you’ve done, just as you’ve seen what I’ve done. We're in this world together, Boss, it's a fucked up world that we live in. We need trust, I have blind faith in you, and I respect you not just because you’re the boss but because you’re a friend. You're a man that I can rely on to have my back if and when I need it. And here you are asking if you can trust me? That right there shows disrespect."
It may be disrespectful that I don't trust him but if he's not the man, that will change and he'll have my absolute faith in him. No one, and I mean no one has that, and they won't, not until Mia is back in my arms. "What I tell you does not leave this room."
He sits up taller, adjusting his shirt as he does so. He gives me a short, sharp nod. "You have my word I will not say a thing."
"I have a rat in this organization."
His eyes widen at my admission.
"Yes, someone is betraying me, maybe more than just someone. I intend to find out who it is and until I do, everybody, and I mean everybody, is under suspicion." I'm letting him know that he is not the only person that is being scrutinized.
"Why do you believe there's a rat?"
"Somebody has taken Mia, someone has taken Lacey," I state the obvious. "Let me ask you, who knew about me and Mia?"
He frowns as if he doesn't understand the question. "I don't know, not many. You told us that Mia wasn't ready yet, I had no idea what it meant, but I let it be. It obviously meant that we weren't to say anything. Besides none of us should be saying anything. You're our boss, what you do is your business, no-one else’s."
"You're right, no one else's business but mine and Mia's. How many people knew where Mia was going to when she left our parents’ house?"
He frowns, yet again but he's not stupid, he'll understand soon enough. "I don't know, Boss. Who knew?"
"No one. Nobody knew where Mia was going. Even me. I didn't know she’d be there that day. Her and her mom had an argument. Mia fled and went to her father's house. Only my inner circle knew about Mia and I, nobody knew where she was going, so how did they know she was at her father's house? How did they know to take her?" I asked the question that's been plaguing my mind since that very first day when Mia was taken, it's only recently became clear that somebody in my crew has done this.
"Fuck," he whispers finally getting it. "Who? Who is stupid enough to do this?"
"That's what I'd like to know." Not knowing is making me go crazy, I feel completely useless.
"How are we going to find out?"
I give him a look. "We?"
He shakes his head as he tuts. "Yes we. We are going to find out who the fuck is the rat, we're going to find out where our girls are. Then we're going to make this sonofabitch pay."
Cracking my knuckles, I smile widely. "Yes, they’re going to regret fucking me over. I do not and will not tolerate betrayal." There's an edge to my tone, he may have convinced me that he's not betraying me, but this is me giving him a warning. Don't ever do it, the outcome will never outweigh the motive.
"Do you have any idea who the snitch is?" he asks, his eyes twinkling with mischief. He and Jagger are the same, a hint of action and they're all over it, anything to get their hands bloody.