Page 57 of Reclaiming Izabel

“Are you sure the Veep isn’t involved?”

“VP is a boy scout,” Viktor muttered. “He checked out and there’s no reason to suspect he’s involved.”

“You think I can help?” my wife asked.

“Iza.” The last thing we needed was to give Viktor an inch. “I don’t want this to touch you.”

“Just be prepared for them to find your weakness, Maddox.”

The man’s ice-blue eyes glanced briefly at Izabel, making me bristle. “Your return will raise questions from every corner of the government. If the Navy or JSOC gives you problems, let me know. My people will handle your release from the military. You work for me. We’ve got Exetron communications and Mitchell and Tierney under close surveillance. We’ll handle them. Just do your part.”

“Back the fuck up,” I growled. “I didn’t spend three years separated from my wife, only to turn around and put her in danger. No fucking way.”

“Drake—” Izabel started.

“No!” I roared at her with more force than I intended, making her jump. But her eyes flashed, indicating her own rising temper.

“You”—she gritted through her teeth—“unilaterally decided to fake your death in order to keep me safe. I want this to be over. I want every single one of them brought to justice and if I can help in any way, I will. Got it?”

“Mitchell is a cutthroat bastard,” I argued.

“You can be too,” Izabel said. “Be cutthroat, I mean. Not a bastard.”

Brick coughed. “Oh…don’t know about that.”

Izabel smiled at my teammate, whose face grew as red as his hair.

Jesus. The situation was spiraling out of my control.

“We need to talk about this,” I informed my wife, even as it was a struggle not to yell at everyone and kick them out.

Viktor slipped a memory stick from his pocket. “Details are here. We’re not sure when, where, or how Tierney and Mitchell will handle this, so we’ll play it by ear.”

“Oooh…” Izabel looked excited as she stared at the flash drive. “Is this one of those that will self-destruct after you look through it?” she asked, deadpan.

I rolled my eyes as everyone chuckled.

“You guys gotta leave.” I scowled at them. “I’d like to spend some time alone with Iza before all this shit goes down.”

I ignored my team’s knowing looks and herded them to the exit. When the door closed behind the guys, I clasped Izabel’s shoulders. “Don’t ever, ever give Viktor an opening. For anything.”

“I was trying to be helpful.”

“Guess what, Iza, you’re not,” I snapped. “Can’t concentrate on my fucking job if I’m worried about your safety.”

Izabel shrugged my hands off her shoulders and backed away. “You’re such a hypocrite.” She pointed between us. “This is what we get when we sleep together and haven’t sorted out our problems.”

“Not seeing a problem here. Seeing a problem when my wife wants to put herself in the crosshairs of the enemy.”

“Well, it’s done,” she countered.

“I just want to keep you safe,” I rasped in growing frustration.

Sadness flashed across her face. “Think about what happened the last time you did that.”

I walked right into that one.

“I’ve made my point.” She spun around and headed toward the stairs.

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