Page 41 of Death Wish

She shook her head. “I’m wiped out. I’ll review everything tomorrow.”

“Go get ready for bed, then.”

Simone studied him. “You’re not coming?”

“Not for a while.”

“Why not? Do you need help with anything?”

“What I need to do isn’t for you to complete.”

That didn’t sound good. “Jesse, what are you planning to do?”

“Visit Trevor.”

“You can’t. He’s dangerous.”

“We can’t let him run around Sayulita, Simone. He knows who you really are, and as vindictive as he’s shown himself to be in the past, he won’t think twice about blowing our cover.”

“What are you going to do with him?” Jesse couldn’t just kill him, could he?

“Not what you’re thinking.” His lips curved. “I’m going to have a chat with him, then ship him off to a black site until we’re out of Mexico.”

“I should go with you. I know how he thinks.”

“No, baby. You shouldn’t see him at all or you’ll fuel whatever fantasies he’s created for himself. Trust me, Simone. I promised I would take care of you. This is my time to find out what he wants and get him out of your hair for now. We’ll come up with a more permanent way to keep him away from you once we’ve finished this mission. While I’m gone, I’ll ask the members of Artemis who are on watch to come into the house. You won’t be alone at any time.”

Seeing that he was determined to follow this course of action, Simone said, “All right. You’d better come back to me unharmed, Mr. Phelps. I won’t be happy if you return with new holes or scars.”

“Is your ex typically armed?”

“Always. He likes to carry around a Sig and three knives. He always said that was the magic ticket to protection.”

“Thanks for the information. I’ll be careful.”

“I wish you weren’t going alone.”

“My only other option would be to take a member of Artemis with me.”

She grimaced. “Whoever goes better be as tough as nails. Trevor doesn’t respect women at all.”

“I know just who to ask to go with me.”

“Who?”

“Rayne Weatherly. She used to be a cop in Chicago and won’t put up with anything, especially disrespect. I wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley if she had a grudge against me.”

That said something about Rayne. Tough, indeed. “She’s part of Artemis?”

He nodded as he slid his phone from his pocket. “Let me find out if she’s available to help. If not, I’ll ask one of the other women to go with me.”

“I wish your teammates were here.” Not that she didn’t trust Jesse. She did. Simone also knew Trevor. He’d be easier to handle with two men, not a man and a woman.

“We’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one left behind to wait and wonder. Her breath caught in her lungs. This was what she was in for when Jesse deployed with his team. No wonder her friends Poppy and Sage mentioned supporting each other when their husbands were gone. Simone finally got it. The problem was the silence, waiting for word on when they were coming home. If they were coming home. The black ops teams at Fortress routinely went into dangerous situations and returned home with injuries. Some were minor. Some weren’t.

No wonder Poppy and Sage stayed busy while their husbands deployed. Their work kept them from dwelling too long on the what ifs. Since worry accomplished nothing, the women worked. Simone would adopt a similar coping tactic.

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