“I think the witness is already dead.” Brutal, but true. “After he told you what he saw, he was dead. Because his words were a flat lie, and the real killer here isn’t going to let him keep breathing.”
Frowning now, Mercer reached for his phone. Gunner’s teeth ground together as he listened to Mercer on the call. The big boss was demanding that the witness to the tampering be brought in, only...
Mercer glanced back at him. “He convulsed in holding, just a few moments ago. Tina’s on scene. Says it looks like the guy overdosed.”
“Get Tina to do the blood work,” Gunner said as his mind whirled. “Because I’m betting you’ll find muerte in his system.”
Mercer gave the order, then hung up the phone.
“That’s why he was making all those charter flights,” Gunner muttered as he rose to his full height. “They were drug runs. He was making connections down there. Setting everything up.” He raked a hand through his hair. “His accounts were cleaned out because he didn’t plan on coming back to the U.S. He was leaving everyone—”
Leaving Sydney.
“Then he got into trouble down there.” As if there wouldn’t be enemies in the drug cartels. “He wanted us to bail him out.” Only he and Sydney had almost died in the process.
Somehow Slade had survived. Thrived.
“He wasn’t their captive.” No, Gunner didn’t think that had been the case at all.
The door opened behind him. A quick glance showed Logan coming into the room.
Logan, whose whisper-thin voice had ordered him to “Play along” at the hospital because he wasn’t turning his back on him. The EOD stuck together.
Always.
“He was working us, the whole time. Slade wanted us down there so he could have an in at the EOD.” So he could search their files. Make contacts to distribute
the muerte. They’d thought he was an addict.
When he was the drug lord.
“Are you sure about all of this?” Logan shook his head. “We don’t have proof, man. Every piece of evidence is pointing to you. We can’t even bring in the FBI because they’d want to lock you up, not him.”
“Because he’s smarter than we realized. He’s been working us all along.”
“We need more evidence.” Mercer stood behind his desk. “If Slade is behind the muerte spread, we have to bring him down and stop his whole cartel.”
“Let him come at me,” Gunner demanded. “Give him a straight shot at me. He hates me.” That had to be obvious to them all. Otherwise, why plant all the evidence against him? “I can get you what you need.”
But Mercer shook his head. “No, you can’t.” Definite. “You don’t share with a man you hate. You share your secrets with those you love.”
Sydney.
“He’s tried to kill her,” Gunner said, gritting his teeth. “I’m not risking her—”
“It’s Sydney’s life. She gets to decide the risk. Not anyone else.”
“And she’s carrying my babies,” Gunner snapped right back. “So that means I get to—”
“Uh, babies?” Logan murmured, and coughed. “As in more than one?”
Gunner gave a grim nod.
“Hot damn,” Logan said.
“So you see why I’m not risking the woman I love.”
“You just—” Logan sputtered. “You just admitted to loving her? Who are you? Where’s the real Gunner?”