Page 155 of The Best of Us

“Carter,” I greeted through my teeth as he pocketed his phone.

He quietly faced me, and I thought back to the last time we’d been alone—my offer for him to hit me before we’d operated.

“I, uh, heard you saved the world or something like that.” I tipped my head to the side as if what he’d done with the help of his wife, Diana, was no big deal. “Thanks.” I cleared my throat to fill the silence as he continued to study me.

He dragged his knuckles along his bearded jawline, eyes on the floor. “I’m sorry about your son.” The words were low, deep, and not what I’d expected from him. “I can’t imagine ever, uh, dealing with that.” His gaze slowly journeyed to my face, and the hate I’d expected to see in his eyes wasn’t there. “What matters is he’s in your life now.”

I nodded, unsure what else to say to him. We weren’t exactly going to hug it out. “Yeah, well, uh, thank you for the assist today. I appreciate it.”

“Easton’s a good friend, and Colin’s his nephew. Of course I’d be here.” He pushed his hands into his pockets. “But I am glad Colin has his father in his life now. I know that was hard on him.” He closed his eyes as if battling through something. “It’s good that it’s you. You know, someone I know who will never fail him.”

I stepped back, refusing to believe my ears.

“From what I’ve heard, you’re not the man I once thought you were . . . so, that’s,ahem, good.” He opened his eyes, dispelling a deep breath. “So, just don’t fuck up and die on your kid today. He needs you.” Before I could respond, he gave me a hard nod and walked away.

I took a moment to process what he’d said, doing my best to ignore the darkness trying to latch hold of me before I joined everyone.

When I entered, the room was already packed with operators, including a few I didn’t recognize. I assumed The League or Carter brought them in. Everyone, including my brothers, seemed to notice Carter standing there, and they cleared a path for him to join Sebastian and Wyatt, who were in the middle of a heated discussion.

Emilia stepped forward, parking a hand on both their chests. “Too much testosterone between the two of you, my God.”

“Dad, you’re going to be right out there with me,” Gwen said to Wyatt, looking up from her laptop at him. “Why do you have to be all growly and dad-like, treating me like a kid in a room full of all these operators.”

“Because you’re still my kid, I don’t care how old you are,” Wyatt bit back.

“This is the best plan. So, deal with it, Wyatt.” Emilia slowly lowered her hands. “You English and Irish . . . always going at it, I swear.” She huffed out a dramatic breath, flipping her long braid off her shoulder and to her back.

“Yeah, and with bloody good reason,” Sebastian shot back.

“And I’m American now, by the way,” Wyatt casually tossed out, cracking a smile, which also managed to break whatever tension I’d walked in on.

I joined them by a large screen mounted on the wall showing aerial footage of the compound. “What do we know?” Hopefully, refocusing their attention on my question would get everyone back on the same operational page.

As Emilia ticked off details, I made a bullet-point list of them in my head. “The Rizzos’ compound is a clifftop estate on the Gulf of Salerno. Only one way in from a winding road guarded by armed men. The place is heavily fortified. A seventy-foot rock wall that drops into the sea provides a natural barrier on one side, and then concrete walls with motion sensors surround the rest of the perimeter. They’re also smack in between Punta Campanella, a nature preserve, and Roman ruins on the other side. They have two watchtowers on the western and eastern flanks. The main house, where we believe Lennon and the other two hostages are being held, is dead center. Lots of open land to cross to get there indaylight.”

Hostages. Dead center.Not words I wanted Colin to overhear.

I scanned the room to locate him. He was Gwen’s shadow, along with her father, looking at her screen. And hopefully, tuning out Emilia.

“Any idea on how many hostiles we’re dealing with?” I asked. “This feed is from this morning, right?”

“Correct. We can’t get a headcount for the interior,” Sebastian answered, folding his arms, “but my guess is at least thirty tangos.” He tipped his head in consideration and added, “Striking midday may mean they’re lighter on security than they would be at night. We’ll still be dealing with roaming patrols and snipers in the towers. We also believe they’ll have reinforcements at an off-site location that’ll come when their alarms are triggered.”

He strode closer to me, standing alongside Carter. I was used to seeing him in a suit, not tactical clothing, and now that I was looking at the two of them side by side . . .

Colin spoke up before I could, reading my thoughts. “Anyone ever tell you two you look alike?”

“We get that from time to time, yes,” Sebastian said in a semi-amused tone, offering a polite smile as well. Given the man was known as the Devil of Dublin, I appreciated his reaction to my son’s off-the-cuff question.

“Sorry, I, uh, just sometimes can’t help myself. My mouth engages before my brain can shut it up.” Colin lifted one shoulder as he accepted a piece of gum Gwen offered.

At least he didn’t look terrified about what was going to happen. And why would he be?He has faith that I’ll keep my promise and get Lennon back.

“I have that problem, too. Don’t feel bad,” my sister said to him with an easygoing smile that my son returned.

And yeah, she was right about that. Izzy had no filter, just like my son.

“What’s the plan?” I locked my arms over my chest, turning to survey the room.

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