Page 115 of Fire for Effect

“I call bullshit,” I said, my gun trained on him.

“Griff, stop!” Taz threw her hands forward, reaching out to me with a pistol in each hand. Hell, I wanted to reach out to my woman as well, even as I felt the blood oozing from my side. “He shot Heath. He was supposed to shoot me, but he shot Heath instead. He’s my – he’s with us.”

“Not good enough,” I said, stepping forward. Sparks flew in the corner of my vision, and I knew I was about to go down for the count. But not until I knew who the fuck this guy was, and figured out if he deserved a bullet or not.

“Griff…” Taz’s voice steadied my hand, keeping the itchy trigger finger from pulling. “He’s Ghost.”

Her words felt like getting doused with a bucket of cold ice. I froze into place.

I felt the sting of the bullet wound in my abdomen throb with my pulse. Blood gushed from it now, the staples unable to keep me together.

“Kai,” her use of my first name kept me still. Her presence kept me upright, as my mind began to swim. The blood loss was overtaking the power of the adrenaline rush I’d been under.

She was safe. She was alive.

Relief robbed me of the tension that kept me laser focused.

“He’s my Dad, Kai.”

“Even if he is your Dad, he’s a fucking asshole. Where the fuck has he been for the last 30 birthdays, huh?” That fucking anger crawled up my throat again.

I took a deep breath, pushing out the darkness threatening to take me down.

“Kai, you’re hurt.” Taz was really being fucking distracting.

“Why should we trust you?” Top said, stepping to the side so we had the guy in the middle of an L shape, both of us able to shoot without hitting one another. “I’m gonna need proof before I even think about taking these sights off of you.”

“I get it,” Cobra said slowly. “I’m going to reach into my cut, and I’m going to pull out something that’ll prove who I am, got it?”

“Alright,” Top said, giving him a nod.

Just like he said, he went into his pocket, and slowly pulled out two large coins. With an open palm, he lopped two towards Top’s feet.

Top looked down, and called out what each one was.

“ shit,” Top said low, and quiet. “Paradigm, and POTUS.”

“Bullshit!” I didn’t believe it. “Who the fuck would have a coin from POTUS?”

Who, other than me, I meant.

“Well I do, boy.” Cobra’s lips curled up in a snarl.

My vision was getting less focused, unsteady like someone was shaking the camera. I was running out of time.

Top lowered his weapon, and knelt down, picking up the coins, and bouncing them in his hand.

“They’re all legit. The paradigm coin even has the initials BB.”

“Fucking Brett Bradley,” I said under my breath. Brett, one of the biggest assholes in the world, but also one of the world’s most brilliant spies.

Yeah, Sierra had given us the rundown on him, and even I had become a little bit of a fan.

“Fucking Brett Bradley,” Top said, shaking his head. “You guys don’t know this, but he was the one who cleaned up the farm after they went after Charlotte.”

“If you need more,” said Cobra, “I’ve got another.”

He slowly dropped his hand again into another pocket and pulled out a single coin between his fingers.

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