Page 17 of Dear John

“Iwent to great lengths,” I reminded him. “But that’s beside the point at the moment. The senator seems to think that the reason we didn’t get anything out of him is because the real players behind The Syndicate’s success are much larger and more difficult to take down than we know.”

“And who would these mysterious people be?” I didn’t miss the way his eyes lit up at my words. I could already see the wheels turning in his mind, all the different ways he could use the information if only he had the missing key.

“He didn’t tell me. He has a few stipulations.”

“Of course.”

“Don’t worry. I doubt any of this will affect you very much,” I said snidely. “All he wants is a protection team as he continues his race for president. And, of course, my further cooperation to ensure he gets the nomination and the presidency.”

He shook his head. “He doesn’t ask for much. Why does he need you? And the protection team, for that matter. He’ll have the Secret Service on his side.”

“Because he says whoever this is behind The Syndicate is too large for anyone to deal with. Apparently, the only way to keep him relatively safe is to become president. Don’t ask me what the fuck any of that means aside from the fact that if we pursue this, some really bad fucking people will come after us and everyone we love.”

He smirked slightly. “That bad, huh?”

My nostrils flared in anger. “You have to tell me right fucking now, Cash. Is this information really worth that much to you? Are you willing to risk everyone’s lives? Eva’s? Your kids? Do you need it that badly?”

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing at my words. Then he turned away from me, and for just a moment, I thought I saw a glimmer of something like sadness instead of anger.

“It’s a simple fucking question, Cash. Tell me what the fuck you need right now, or I walk out of here. I’m not playing these games anymore.”

When he didn’t answer, I shoved out of the chair and headed for the door, but I didn’t make it out of the office when I heard him finally speak.

“You want to know what I need?”

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder at him.

“I need someone to fucking work the job and get me the answers I’m looking for.” He pushed out of his chair and stalked over to me. “You have these connections, and yet you’re bargaining with me instead of doing what you’re supposed to fucking do. This is the job. We follow the truth and finish the job. What fucking part of that don’t you understand?”

I stayed quiet, trying to find a speck of the man I respected so much, but all I found in his eyes was a yawning darkness that held no life at all. I had nothing to say. There wasn’t a single thing that I could think of to respond to his rant. So, I turned and walked out the door without another word.

“Fucking useless,” he muttered as I left.

7

ISLA

“No!”I shouted, holding up my hand as an explosion tore through the house. I was engulfed in flames, but Riley…she was gone. She was by the fridge, and now?—

“You did this,” Shawn growled at me. “You could have ended all of this. Now, everyone is going to pay.”

He pulled the gun from behind his back and pointed it at my head. I opened my mouth, but never got the chance to scream. The bullet exploded from the chamber and I knew this was the last time I would ever see the light of day.

Panting hard,I sat upright, desperately clawing for air to enter my lungs and fill them the way they were supposed to. Nothing helped. Not even seeing the light streaming through the windows ended the pain. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stuck my head between my legs. Slowly, the black spots that were starting to ebb into my vision faded and breathing became easier, though I still felt the overwhelming panic from my dream. But at least I wasn’t on the verge of passing out.

“What are you doing?”

I sat up suddenly, hair flying over my shoulders as I stared at my sister. “What?”

Concern marred her face as she walked further into the room. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I said instantly, not even sure why I was hiding it from her.

“Don’t give me that shit. You look like you were on the verge of losing your shit. And your hands are shaking.” She gripped my hand and her eyes shot up to mine. “Fuck, you’re freezing.”

Now that she mentioned it, chills skated over my body. “Just a bad dream.”

She pursed her lips. “Did you tell Kavanaugh?”

---