Page 73 of Power Twist

With a soft groan, I relax my head back against the wall.

“It's your own damn fault, you pussy.”

I eye my best friend. “Come again?”

“You heard me. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if you would've told her your plan from the start instead of doing it all behind her back.”

“She would've said no,” I say with a deep exhale. Shit, I need a cigarette. And a drink. Several, in fact. “I did this for her. She'll see that.”

Tank barks out a laugh, garnering the other agents’ attention. He waves them off and turns to me, still chuckling. “Keep telling yourself that.”

He's wrong. Everything I did was for her. She didn't want to go back to Texas a failure. She's the one who was so upset that the vote might pass. Yes, there was a part of me that couldn't stand the thought of her leaving, stepping out of my life. But that's a small portion of the reason. I'm selfless, damnit.

Right?

I shake my head, the ends of my floppy hair sliding across my eyebrows.

“You need a damn haircut,” Tank tosses out.

“You need to mind your own damn business. I'm doing it for her.”

A wide, all-teeth smile spreads up his cheeks. “Ah, did I hit a nerve?”

“No.”

He attempts to suppress his smile and fails. “Right. All I'm saying is be careful how you approach this with her.”

Reluctantly, I close my eyes and motion for him to keep talking. “I'm listening.”

Tank twists one way and then the other, stretching out his back. “First off, search her for weapons.” Lightning fast, I reach out and smack the back of his bald head. “You think I'm kidding,” he says on a laugh. “That girl is amazing, but she has a different level of crazy in her. All I'm saying is check her for anything sharp. I'm thinking of your balls here, Playboy.”

Just the thought of her attacking my boys makes me cringe. I cup myself, giving them a reassuring squeeze.

“Thanks.”

Tank nods and glances to the stairwell. “Make sure you don't—”

A soft creak sounds just as her feet appear, taking the steps hesitantly one at a time. Tank looks to me and shrugs.

The fuck.

“Don't do what?” I hiss, gripping his shoulder and pulling him back to me. “Don't do what?”

A look of pity flashes across his face, pulling a snarl from mine. “Lie. Be honest with her, lay it all out on the table. Hold nothing back. If I've learned one thing from marriage, it’s that women can sniff that shit out. One small detail you purposefully withhold will come back to bite you on the ass one day.” I arch a brow with an unbelieving look. “You think it'll be worth it, saving some of the pieces to ease the blow now, but when she finds out you held information back when she thought you were being honest with her, it’ll be like a fucking atomic bomb—parts of your relationship destroyed, never able to recover. Trust me, Trey. Tell hereverything.”

I wince. Hopefully that doesn’t count for friendships too. I’ve conveniently withheld the part Mother is using as leverage to ensure I do her bidding instead of the other way around. That snippet of information I'm keeping to myself until I know more.

Did that weasel back in Boone say something, or was it one of the team members, mine or beta team? Somehow she knows about me beating that fucker within an inch of his life. Hell, if Tank hadn't pulled me off him, I probably wouldn't have stopped there. Yes, I was pissed at that loser for how he spoke and looked at Randi, but it was more of a last straw kind of thing. So much had built up over that past year, and that idiot was just the match to ignite the inferno inside me. Either way, Mother knows, and now not only do I have to figure out how and who, but also how to get out of the shit I've stepped into with both feet.

Releasing his shoulder, I step back and turn to the stairwell. Hazel eyes meet mine. Swallowing back the guilt and nerves, I turn for the door and yank it open.

“I need some air.”

Well, that solidifies it.

I'm a chickenshit.

I'm running from the woman I love so I don't have to tell her how I've screwed everything up. There has to be a way to spin it all to make her see my side. Make her see I just didn't want her to hurt, didn't want her to leave.

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