Page 12 of Breathe
“They did,” Dave nodded, swirling the ice in his glass.
“And they’re not suspicious?” Real squinted.
“Not that I know of. I own several places in that area under a different name. They don’t know it’s mine,” Dave said with a shrug.
“I don’t think lying to Azrael or any of them is the right thing to do,” Real said, rubbing a hand over his face.
In front of him, several bottles of water sat on a small mirrored tray on the low table. Quickly finishing his coffee, he placed the empty cup aside and cracked open a bottle of water. The table also held snacks, but food was the last thing on Real’s mind.
“Maybe not,” Dave admitted. “But it will give them a chance to relax without pressure.”
“What did Will say when you called him?” Stone asked Dave.
William “Will” Caldwell was the current Secretary of Defense, and since the man was in charge of Genesis, it made sense he would have a say in the loop about the setup of YA.
“Will said that YA is officially part of Genesis and is to be protected under that realm,” Dave said.
“That’s good news,” Stone said.
Real swallowed tightly and poured the water over the ice in his glass.
Itwasgood news. Now there was a whole team of military and former military assassins who could protect YA.
The bad news was that the members of YA hadno ideaGenesis or Erebus were involved.
And Real knew that secrets had a way of coming out at the worst possible times.
All of the YA members were very young, hence the need for guidance. But what kind of guidance could Genesis give from the shadows?
Real shook off the thought and turned to Dave.
“How did Boston justify being away?” Real asked.
Dave gave a soft snort. “He lied to me and said he was staying with Rip.”
“Where is Rip?” Stone asked.
“I have Rip watching the YA place.”
“They’re good. I bet they catch him,” Real said, but Dave shook his head.
“No, Rip is really good at staying under the radar. Look at how many years he hid from Justice and Wrath.”
“Yeah, that didn’t go over too well,” Real said.
Rip was Justice and Wrath’s little brother who had gone missing years ago. Little did they know that Rip had been right under their noses—not the whole time, but long enough to create hurt feelings when it all came out.
When he thought about all the entanglements family could bring, Real was glad he had none. If he were asked about family, he considered the men of Dave’s as close as he’d ever come. They were all his brothers.
“The only problem is…how do we get YA funding?” Dave murmured and sipped his tea.
“If you’re trying to keep this on the down-low, we can’t cut them a check,” Real said with a frown.
“We could double pay them for Erebus jobs and have Genesis pick up the overcharge,” Stone suggested, taking a sip of his tea.
“I was thinking more of a shell corporation to cover the costs. We just need to be able to sell it to YA,” Dave said.
It must be nice to have that much money, Real thought.
