Page 16 of The Bait

August met his gaze then. “Yes! That’s what I’ve been trying to pinpoint. That’s exactly it. Like an unspoken integrity. Those ASIO suits were sleazy and shady. And for all the things Michael and Joshua ever lied about or hid from us, they still weren’t like that.”

“Like if it ever came down to it, you’d want Michael and Joshua on your side over those ASIO dicks.”

August snorted. “I mean, yeah. You’ve seen Joshua with a rifle.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Jokes aside, I already chose a side though, didn’t I? I mean, I warned them about those three men turning up and put a target on their heads.”

“That was different,” Jake said. “That was a case of kill or be killed. Would you rather find Michael and Joshua dead here? Or if it escalated in town and involved civilians? Those three men signed their own death certificates when they came here to kill Michael and Joshua. It wasn’t your fault.”

Well, it kinda was. But still . ..

“If you could go back in time, would you do anything differently?” Jake asked.

August didn’t need to answer. It was a rhetorical question, to prove his point. Because no, August wouldn’t change what he did.

Jake nodded and let out a sigh. “Whatever they did before they moved here... well, whatever Michael did, good or bad, was under orders. He worked for the government doing some pretty dark stuff, no doubt, in the name of this country. And that’s a loyalty you respect. You wouldn’t have warned them otherwise.”

August thought about that for a long moment. It was true, mostly. The real question August wasn’t ready to answer was would he have done anything differently if ASIO had called him, informed him, and specifically told himnotto warn Michael or Joshua. What would he have done then?

August wasn’t sure he liked the answer.

He shook his head and let out a long sigh. “I think maybe they moved here for a quiet life, to lie low and find some peace. And I respect that.”

“And the fact they’re a couple.” Jake shrugged. “A gay couple. I mean, it’s hard enough in our line of work. Can’t imagine what it’s like in theirs.”

August almost smiled. “Can you imagine anyone telling Michael and Joshua Hill they didn’t agree with ‘their lifestyle’?”

Jake laughed. “Not if they wanted to live.”

August nodded and looking out into the trees, he sighed again. “I still wonder who called the first time, back in December. Said they were ASIO but weren’t.”

“Someone who works with Michael and Joshua?”

“Probably.”

“Same person Joshua was trying to text. The same reason the three Croatian nationals turned up. I mean, it’s all gotta be related.”

“You’d think so.”

“Do we want to even guess who Joshua really is?”

August inhaled deeply and sighed. “Nope. Pretty sure we don’t want to know the answer to that.”

“True.” Jake was quiet for a moment. “Do you think we’ll ever see them again?”

“I don’t know. I doubt it.” August felt a little sad about that, even though he knew he shouldn’t. “Anyway, let’s get this place locked up for them. That way, if they do come back, the forest animals won’t have moved in.”

“Yeah, okay. Regardless of all the unknowns and all the secrets, I hope they’re okay.”

August clapped him on the shoulder as they headed for the house. “Same.”

RANONG, THAILAND

Harry knew Asher was a ticking time bomb, and there was little he could do to stop it.

Part of him didn’t want to stop it.

He wanted to protect Asher, yes. But he was hurting and angry—which Harry totally understood—and if Asher wanted to raze a path of destruction, then Harry would gladly help him.

They’d been out of the game for two years. A lifetime in the killing game. They’d been aging out anyway, which was why they’d had a price on their heads. They’d beenloose ends that couldn’t be tied off. God knows, men had tried.

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