Page 113 of Breach of Honor

“Listen, I have a deal I’m working in Vegas next month. Play nice with her so she’ll let you go… okay?”

Cori squeezed my knee, alerting me to agree.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“You’ll make nice?” Jason’s need for clarification wasn’t like him. Nothing about this conversation was like him. I couldn’t wait to hear Cori’s thoughts.

“I’m not an idiot. I care about Miranda, and I don’t want to lose her. Damn straight I’ll make nice with her.”

Jason exhaled with a relaxed grin. “Excellent. Another beer?”

“Definitely.” Anything to help calm the rampant thoughts flooding my brain. I felt more confused than ever. Between Cori and Jason, I might really go insane.

As soon as we left the pier, Cori was on the phone talking to Abe. Gone was Cori, the mistress. She was in full blown Fed-mode.

“Are you kidding? That’s fantastic news! I will. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Cori ended the call and turned toward me with her face beaming. “We just got a huge tip from an informant! We’ve had someone staked out in El Paso, wandering the town like a new resident.” She clapped her hands excitedly. “While getting a haircut, he asked the stylist about Juárez and what there was to do there. This woman wasn’t much older than twenty and said, ‘Jason Sayton is the man to talk to.’” She squealed. “This is so great! Our first major lead.”

“I don’t know what it means.”

“Oh my God, Will! Juárez is a corrupt city with narcos and the Mexican cartel running the show. I’ve tried digging up evidence to get us into Mexico, but without a lead, Abe wouldn’t sign off on it. We’d hoped Jason was working alone, that it was something as simple as white-collar crimes, but this is huge.”

“And dangerous?” I surmised.

“Oh yeah.”

“Shit.”

“Listen, we’ll do everything possible to keep your family safe, but now more than ever, we have to play our hand carefully.”

“What about Miranda?”

“I have some ideas, but I need to talk to Abe first.” She put her hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I know you didn’t want to be caught up in this, but the bad guys found a way into SJI through Jason. They may have already been watching you and Miranda.”

My throat constricted. If anything happened to Miranda, I couldn’t take it.

“What next?” I asked, pulling up to her apartment complex. I didn’t want to bullshit. All I wanted was to get home to Miranda.

“Sounds like Jason’s going to lie low for a bit, so take advantage of this time with Miranda. I have a feeling it’s going to get a lot worse in the coming weeks with the Vegas deal Jason mentioned.” She fiddled with the hem of her coverup. “Will… you can’t fall apart, okay? Each time you talk about Miranda, your emotions are on full display. It’s dangerous. Your love for her is just the sort of thing they’ll leverage in getting what they want. Her life means nothing to them, but they’ll see it means everything to you.”

Her words sent an icy chill down my spine, and I nodded somberly.

“I’ll be in touch. Good night.”

I threw up a hand and pulled away from the curb.

Miranda’s life meant everything to me.Shemeant everything to me. There was no chance in hell I’d let anyone hurt her.

I’d do anything to protect her.

Even going against the agreement I’d made with Abe and Cori.

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