Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“From where?”
“The dining room. Or if you really want, you can sit on my lap.”
Yeah, if I sit on his lap, we’re not going to be intel gathering. Unless inspecting Trav’s dick with my ass to see if it still feels the same after all these years counts.
I drag in an ugly-ass chair that looks like it might be comfortable but really isn’t and watch as Trav shifts through boring documents about my boss. “I could’ve told you any of this stuff.”
“You don’t know what I’m looking for.”
“Then what are you looking for?”
“Known affiliations, confidential informants—”
I lean forward. “How do you even have access to that kind of information?”
“Umm … Magic?”
Fucking hell. “I know you’re trying to show off and everything, but I have my own CIs who I promise to keep safe, and you’re telling me you can access those files?”
“If it helps at all, we’re not some two-bit organization. We get a lot of government contracts and are trusted with highly classified information. I doubt very much a street hacker could do what we do. This might come as a shock to you, but I’m kind of a big deal.”
“That doesn’t fill me with any confidence. The thought of putting people in danger because they’re cooperative doesn’t sit right with me. I became a cop to protect people, not put them in harm’s way.”
“And do you really think I would put people in harm’s way?”
I throw up my hands. “How am I supposed to know that? You joke about killing people and mass murder. When we met, I arrested you for being a drug runner—”
“Alleged drug runner, thank you very much. No charges were filed.” He gives me a smug grin, but I’m less than impressed. “Dylan …”
My gaze flies to his. He never calls me Dylan. It’s always Rodriguez or Rogue-riguez because of my tongue getting tied when I arrested him.
Trav’s brown eyes are the warmest I’ve ever seen on a guy who looks like he does. He looks approachable and easy, and I think that’s what I liked most about him when we met. He was bigger and tougher, but those eyes …
“Do you trust me?” he asks, and that’s such a loaded question.
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“So I know you’ll choose turning to me over death. That doesn’t actually give me any answer.”
I don’t want to answer because the truth is I can’t be sure if I trust him or not. He has brought me wanted drug dealers before, and while that can fall under the category of bounty hunting, it’s the way he goes about it that makes me pause.
There’s something dangerous about Travis West, about how much power Mike Bravo actually has. Admitting deep down that I know he’s a good guy, despite possibly doing bad things, makes the moral high ground I pride myself on feel like a fraud.
“I trust you not to get me killed. I can’t say the same for the other people in my life.”
“Well, that’s something,” Trav mutters.
“I just don’t like how flippant you are about the law.”
“I technically don’t break any laws. Sort of. What Mike Bravo does is a gray area, but our intentions are always on the side of good.”
“I think our definitions of good might differ.”
“Yeah, well, if it were up to me, fuckers like Walker wouldn’t get a trial. They’d get a bullet in their head. Which is fighting wrong with wrong, but when you’ve been in an actual war zone, when you’ve come face-to-face with men where the situation is kill or be killed …” He pauses. “When you’ve seen the shit I’ve seen, you learn fast that the world is full of unimaginable evil. And nine times out of ten, the government will turn a blind eye or protect scum because it’s better for the country. So, you’re right. Our definitions of ‘good’ would be different, but where I’m sitting, sticking to the rules doesn’t automatically make you a good person. Take Walker. He’s supposed to be on the right side of the law, and today, he tried to kill you.”
I wish I could dispute that, but I really can’t.
Trav continues. “Turning a blind eye to ugly things like commanding officers harassing soldiers doesn’t make any of my old squad heroes.”
“D … did that happen to you?” I ask, unsure if I actually want to know the answer.
“I wasn’t the only one. We all went from being unable to come out to being terrified of coming out, and we didn’t know who we could trust. I had Domino, but other than him, I was sure any of the guys on my squad would’ve done anything to me if ordered by a CO.”
“Wait, are code reds real? Like from that movie A Few Good Men?”
Trav cocks his head. “Were you as disappointed as I was in that title? Promise me a good time, and then show me two hours of boring legal drama.”