Page 23 of Lethal Sins

Paige nodded, her mind elsewhere. The meal had ended with Graham conscripting Cody for KP duty, but her thoughts kept circling back to the tracker’s deactivation. Relief washed over her again as she remembered Cody’s unharmed state after the zapping. But a new worry gnawed at her gut.

What would he do now?

By destroying the tracker, they’d effectively set him free. He might take off, disappear into the sunset like one of those old western heroes. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Kate sidled up to her. “You look like you’re trying to solve world hunger with the power of your mind.”

“Just wondering if we’ve made a huge mistake.”

“You mean Cody? I believe he’ll keep his word.”

Paige turned to her friend, grateful for Kate’s unwavering optimism. But doubt still lingered, a persistent shadow in her mind.

Kate’s eyes narrowed, a determined glint sparking in their depths. “And if he doesn’t keep his word to help us find Jason, I’ll hunt him down myself.”

“I almost feel sorry for him if it comes to that.”

“Yeah. Don’t.” Kate patted her shoulder and headed toward Fenn.

Paige leaned against the porch railing, its peeling paint rough beneath her palms. Her mind churned like a temperamental washing machine, tossing her thoughts into a dizzying spin cycle of trust and doubt.

On one side, there was the Cody she’d known in college—earnest, kind, with eyes that crinkled when he laughed. The guy who’d stayed up all night helping her cram for tests, fueled by nothing but terrible coffee and shared determination.

But then there was the other Cody—the one who’d refused to listen to her protestations of innocence and then vanished the day after graduation without a trace. The man who’d spent years working for the very organization they were fighting against. If he was telling the truth, he’d been trapped into working for the Consortium exactly the way they had.

No. Not exactly.

They’d never known until the very end that their missions were handed down from the cabal. Cody, apparently, had known almost from the start.

And she only had his word that he’d worked the entire time to defeat them.

She rubbed her forehead. There was literally no one worse at divining truth from lies than her.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Bridger’s voice cut through her internal debate.

Paige sighed, her breath stirring a small dust devil on the porch. “Just trying to figure out if trusting Cody is brilliant or spectacularly stupid.”

“Ah, the age-old ‘trust the ex-enemy’ dilemma. A classic.”

She snorted, appreciating Bridger’s attempt at levity. “It’s just ... he seems sincere. But then again, he seemed sincere before he threw me to the lions and disappeared back in college.”

Bridger scanned the horizon. “Trust is a tricky thing. It’s like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.”

“Great. So I’m basically fumbling around in a fog?”

“More like navigating a minefield while blindfolded,” Bridger chuckled. “But here’s the thing—sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. The question is, are you willing to risk the fall?”

Paige mulled over his words. Trust Cody and potentially gain a valuable ally, or keep her guard up and possibly push away someone who genuinely wants to help them take down the Consortium, and find Jason?

As she stood there, the warm desert wind whispering secrets she couldn’t quite catch, Paige realized that this wasn’t just about the mission. It was about her heart, still bruised from old wounds, daring to hope again.

“I guess,” she said finally, a wry smile tugging at her lips, “I’ll have to decide if I’m in the mood for a trust fall or a face plant.”

Bridger clapped her on the shoulder, his touch reassuring. “Nothing like a little emotional Russian roulette to spice up a mission.”

Bridger leaned against a sun-bleached post, his face thoughtful. “For what it’s worth, I’m inclined to believe Lassiter. His intel aligns with what we’ve gathered.”

From the other end of the porch, Tai snorted, the sound reminiscent of a disgruntled bull. “Yeah, and I’m inclined to believe in the tooth fairy. Doesn’t make her real.”

---