Lib Novel Page 47
“I need you here because I think I have an old friend showing up soon with one intention. I need help with strategy and tracking him.”
“Who are you talking about?” Del asked.
“Letov, and he’s out for blood—mainly mine.”
There was a beat of silence before Jaime said, “Let’s have some coffee and get the whole story out.”
Randy waited until everyone was settled at the dining table before he pushed for more. The need to demand answers simmered in his blood, but he knew better. It would just set Sean off, and it would waste precious time if Letov were on his way here. There was another factor in all of this. Jaime. She was barely keeping it together. Most people wouldn’t see it, but the look Sean had given him as they sat at the table told Randy their lover had seen it too. Her nerves were raw, and her temper was bubbling beneath the surface. One wrong move and someone was going to end up in a body bag.
“Alright, tell us everything,” Randy said.
Sean took a sip of coffee before he answered. Nothing had changed, at least not much. Sean hated sharing any secrets.
“I got a call from Lassiter. There was a job, but he called me because of my connection to it.”
Sean shared a look with his sister. Randy saw that connection and the shared memory and, dammit, he was jealous. Not that it was even sexual, but the fact there was this other person in Sean’s life Randy didn’t know about until now hurt. Plus, he couldn’t get over feeling like a voyeur. It was odd seeing this entirely new side of Sean, and he kept stealing glimpses into the private looks Emma and Sean shared.
“So, Lassiter knew?” Randy asked.
Sean nodded. “Let me back track a bit. I’m going to confuse everyone with the story.”
“That’s because you don’t walk a straight line. You have to do that so everyone knows what is going on,” Emma said in a tone that made Randy think she was repeating a lesson she had learned as a child.
He smiled at Emma and his expression softened. They might not have known about each other long, but they cared for each other. Sean rarely let others see what he was feeling, but it was easy to see how he felt about his little sister.
“Okay. So, Lassiter started hearing things out in the field. Things about Letov and his interest in me. I didn’t understand it. Not at first, then I realized the connection was back to that first job we did together.”
“The FUBAR in the Philippines?”
He nodded. “Remember when we were trying our best to avoid the bastards who were chasing us?”
“Yeah. I got shot, so I sort of remember that,” Randy said, not trying to hide his sarcasm.
“The kid who shot you…the one I shot, it was his son. He didn’t survive.”
Randy shook his head; trying his best to follow that line Emma told Sean to draw. “No, wait, that was MILF.”
Emma snorted. Sean tossed her a smile. When he turned back to face Randy, he said, “Emma didn’t know what the US acronym was until I told her.”
“Let’s not get off track,” Del said. “MILF-that’s one of the terrorist groups in the Philippines?”
Sean nodded and Randy’s stomach started to sink. He was starting to get an idea where this was going.
“So, you killed Letov’s son? You’re lucky he didn’t hunt you down and kill you himself.”
“True. I take it you know the man?” Sean asked.
Del nodded. “He was selling illegal arms to Syrian rebels. Not that he believed in their cause, but because it would make him money. I also know he was raised by a father who was former KGB. Torture is a family business. Add in the human trafficking and he’s a real sweetheart.”
“Sounds about right, and I think his son was just getting his feet wet playing a guard. And, yes, they were using MILF to hide. They dressed as them, spread rumors, and it was all about getting back at Lassiter.” He looked at Jaime. “Remember going in and bugging his office?”
Jaime nodded.
“He despised Lassiter for it.”
“You’re saying that your first jobs with each one of us brought you to this point?” Jaime asked; the disbelief was easy to hear in her voice.
Sean nodded. “In order to get at me, Letov started digging. He wanted to know everything about me. He found out that my father was not actually dead. That he just abandoned us.”