Page 48 of Cruel Love

“Dude…” He sighs. “If I didn’t want to help you, I wouldn’t be here. Your brood has already given me plenty of reasons to torch your whole family tree and believe me when I say I’ve had more than a few opportunities to do so. I might not look like much but I am the one guy on this plane you really don’t want to piss off, pal.”

I lean back and smile. “Pal?”

He winces. “Sorry. I don’t wear tough guy all that well. But seriously. Have a little faith, Wisconsin. We’ve all got something to lose here.”

I pause as he walks back to his seat again, each step punching me a little harder in the gut.

Wisconsin. He really could torch my entire world with a few strokes of his keyboard. No wonder Fox puts so much stock in this guy.

I glance at Fox a few rows away. He smirks at me, having heard the whole thing.

I turn and walk to the front of the plane to grab a few drinks off the cart in the corner. The lone flight attendant looks up at me and he gives me a nod, letting me take whatever I want.

With a bottle of whiskey and two plastic cups in hand, I return to the main cabin and sit down in the seat next to Fox.

“Fox…” I place a cup down in front of him. “Tell me about your girl again. The one who inspired this whole mess.”

He eyes the cup as I fill it. “This isn’t her fault,” he says.

“I didn’t say it was.” I take a sip from my own cup, waiting patiently for him to say something.

“She’s…” He pauses. “She’s Dani.”

“Stepsister, right?” I ask.

“Right.”

“Awkward.”

“Little bit.” He takes a sip, followed by a quick breath as it burns down his throat. “But not really an issue, turns out. I’m just not good enough for her as a man.”

“Says who?”

“Her dad.”

My jaw drops. “He said that?”

“To my face.”

“Christ, you only saved her life.”

He throws up a hand. “That’s what I said!”

“Solid military record. A cool fucking scar on your face. What more does he want?”

Fox laughs. “Who knows, man.” He takes another drink from his cup and his face grows a little more serious. “Thank you for not involving her in any of this.”

“You don’t mess with innocent bystanders,” I say. “What Mercer did to her was out of line and if I hadn’t had been undercover at the time, I would have told him that.”

“Thanks,” he says again. “I wondered where you were then.”

“You mean when he dragged the rest of our squad across the country chasing you down? Killing people on live TV and blowing up hotels?”

“Yeah.” His brow furrows with angry lines. “Can’t say I looked forward to killing you, to be honest.”

“But you would have?”

“To save her, yes.”

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