Page 88 of Sweet Lies

“I’m a grown woman and don’t need his permission—nor yours,” she bites out, trying to pull her arm away, but I grip it tightly.

“Go home.”

“You must be going deaf because you missed what I just said. I’m staying, so get over it.”

“Go home, Bec, or so help me…”

“So help you what? What are you going to do, Andre? Enlighten us all.”

“You don’t belong here. This isn’t your mission,” I growl.

Her expression turns fiery. “It’s more mine than it is anyone else’s, or have you forgotten? I need to be here when you kill him. I deserve that much.”

“This isn’t a game.”

“It never was. Not then and not now. I’m an asset, and you know it.”

“No, you’re not. Claire maybe, but not you. You’re a distraction, and one I can’t afford.”

I know the slap is coming before it makes contact.

“I’m just as good as my sister, if not better.”

“This isn’t the time to prove anything.”

“I’m not trying to prove anything. I have nothing to prove. I want to be the one who puts an end to him. It’s that simple.”

“Hm. I hate to interrupt what I’m sure was going to be an epic fight, but we do need to get moving. Bec, you in or out?” Logan asks, coming closer as the other men look around, not wanting to be slapped next.

“I’m in,” she answers at the same time I say, “She’s out.”

We both glare at each other, but Logan is right—we do need to get moving, and short of knocking her out, there’s nothing I can do to change Rebecca’s mind.

This is a small mission with Logan, Finn, and now Rebecca. The plan is simple: go in guns blazing and get out. Logan wants his brother gone as much as the next person, so it seems Sebastian has run out of allies. He might have been able to turn to Logan if he hadn’t tried to sabotage Logan and Alex’s business earlier this year, but now it’s the end of the line for him.

Finn and Logan start ahead, but I stop Rebecca for a second, needing her to understand. “You are capable, but you’ll distract me in there. I’ll be worrying about you the whole time.”

“Careful—I might think you care more than you let on.” Her smile is weak.

“You know how I feel about you, Bec.”

“No, I don’t, because you never say it out loud. This can wait. Take care of yourself, and I’ll take care of myself. We’ll both come out of this just fine. Then…well, then we’ll talk.”

“You won’t stand down no matter what I say, will you?” I ask as we follow the others.

“This is something I need to do for myself. You would be the only one capable of talking me out of it.”

“Then let me. For my own sanity.”

“We’re all a little mad here, Andre. Why do you get to stay sane?” She laughs as we get closer to Sebastian’s hideout. “I’ll watch my back. Everything will be fine.”

I want to say more, but we’re out of time. Guns are pulled, and my mind goes into war mode. My eyes focus, and my ears pick up the slightest sound. Nothing will get past me.

We were expecting there to be men—guns, drugs, action. Instead, what we find is much worse. I sense Rebecca freeze next to me, and I know she’s reliving her own past. In the middle of the room we find Isabella Ferrari on a dirty mattress, naked.

“She’s dead,” Logan says, his tone deadly.

“No.”

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