Page 61 of Sweet Sin

I shake my head. “That’s not fair. If I can, I will.”

“You can’t protect me, Savannah. And don’t even try. Please.”

He has no idea of my connections.

Frankly, I’d like to sever all ties—except I do love my parents, my brothers. Brother, I guess, since one is gone for good.

But my family can help the situation. They can make it go away.

I don’t like asking for favors, though. Because the problem with favors when there’s a situation like this? A family situation?

They want to be repaid.

My family does owe me.

They owe me for all the times I looked the other way in my job as a parole officer in Austin.

But this is a big favor to ask, and it will no doubt get them in trouble with the McAllister family. If it indeed was the McAllisters who came after me.

I have to wait for my father and grandfather to find out.

“You think you can help him?” Leif asks me.

“I know I can.”

“Vannah, no…”

I cross my arms. “I don’t take orders from you, Falcon. I don’t take orders from anyone, which is why I left Austin in the first place. But I have a feeling that you would move heaven and earth to help me if I needed it. Why won’t you let me do the same for you?”

I already know why.

On the inside, he was the leader. He took care of his cell block, but no one took care of him.

He was on his own.

“I think we’ve got a lot to talk about, Falcon,” Leif says.

Falcon frowns. “I can’t talk about all of it.”

“You’re going to have to. I’ve told you that if you want my help, I need to know what I’m getting into. In Afghanistan—”

“Don’t throw Afghanistan in my face,” Falcon says, anger lacing his tone. “You know damned well I wanted to be there, Leif.”

“But you weren’t.” Leif holds up a hand. “I’m not saying that to be rude or mean or to throw it in your face. I’m saying it because it’s a simple fact. I imagine I’ve been through quite a few of the same things that you’ve been through. Or I’ve watched my companions go through them. It’s far from pretty.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

“Maybe I don’t. Maybe our experiences are completely different. I’m willing to level with you. Will you level with me?”

“About prison? Sure. But what I did to get in there?” Falcon’s expression goes dark. “Never in a million years.”

Leif rubs his forehead. “All right. I can handle that. But if it comes back to bite you in the ass, and you ask for my help? You’re going to have to level with me, or I can’t help you.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Can’t, Falcon. That’s another thing I learned in the Navy. Without all relevant information, you don’t stand a fucking chance.”

“Yeah? We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it. What we’re dealing with now has nothing to do with me.”

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