Wicked as Lies (Wicked & Devoted 3)

He missed her like hell.

What a shit show. But he had to be patient—for now—because if he left Trees to fill all those roles alone and something happened, Zy would never forgive himself.

“Conference room, Garrett. Now.” Joaquin wasn’t smiling before he walked away.

“What’s that about?” Trees looked concerned.

Zy tried to shrug off the confrontation as he stood. “Oh, you know me. Always pissing off someone.”

But he wasn’t under any illusions. The bosses were finally ready to talk about his video at Trees’s place, if Muñoz’s snappy anger was anything to go by. Do-or-die time. He was beyond ready to tell them to shove the contract up their asses. Either they let him have Tessa or he walked.

And someday, he’d figure out how to confess his betrayal to Trees and apologize—and hope like hell his friend understood.

After following the quietest boss’s broad back down the narrow hallway, they entered the conference room. Zy didn’t have to be told to shut the door behind him.

“Sit,” Hunter snapped.

Zy shook his head, standing, arms crossed, at the back of the room. “Heel. Roll over. Play dead. I’m done being told what to do. I’ve given you all the proof I can that Trees is innocent.”

“And I’m telling you he’s still the most likely suspect. So he didn’t keep anything incriminating in his house. No big surprise.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to prove a man innocent, other than to point out the absolute absence of proof? It’s not like anyone pinned a handy guiltless badge on his chest.”

“Ha ha. We’re going to attack this problem from a different angle and hire a capable someone to do a forensic study of his computer and online activities, so you’re off the hook for that. But we want you with him, watching him.”

“Goddamn it! He’s not guilty, and I’m not spying on my best friend anymore.”

“Would you be willing to keep him safe?” Logan put in slyly. “We’re sending him to Comfort to help Josiah deal with those Enlightenment Fields kooks. There’s already been one local murdered, and after Josiah talked his way into the compound yesterday and got a look around… This shit is going to get ugly.”

Hunter scoffed. “Coupled with the fact we know he’s fucking Maggie on the job. They haven’t exactly been quiet about it.”

“Especially last night in the parking lot of a bar.” Logan sounded pissed at Josiah’s lack of judgment, and Zy was surprised because Grant was usually a dependable operator. “And if we know, it won’t be long before Enlightenment Fields knows, too. Then they may well put a target on Maggie’s back.”

If they did, Trees would do anything to save her. He wasn’t a chauvinist who thought women weren’t capable of self-defense; he was a protector who thought women shouldn’t have to fend off violence alone. And one guy, no matter how big and menacing he seemed, wouldn’t be enough to ward off a whole cult if they had murder and mayhem in mind.

“Fuck.”

“Coming around to our way of thinking?” Logan sounded almost smug.

Zy wanted to tell him to fuck off, but what was the use? He’d give his life to protect Trees. Hell, he owed the guy for more reasons than he could even remember. There was no walking away from this.

“If I play along, you’ll talk to me about the situation with Tessa when I come back?”

Logan turned to his brothers. “How cute. He thinks he has a bargaining chip.”

That pissed Zy off. “I fucking do. I can walk out there right now and tell Trees everything. He’ll believe me.” Which was true. “And he’ll walk.” Which was a bluff, because Zy wasn’t sure how Trees would react. “You’re already short one team member, maybe two if Grant’s fling with Maggie turns serious. And what about Walker? You sure he’s going to hang around now that he’s getting married and has a baby on the way? How’d you like to be short two more? That would leave you with a team of zero. Good luck running a business with that.”

“Yes,” Joaquin said. “When you come back, we’ll listen.”

Hunter and Logan both turned to him with identical scowls. “What the fuck?”

“This isn’t the battle we should be fighting right now. We have bigger problems than junior’s love life. If he wants to bang the secretary—”

“Shut up and don’t be so fucking disrespectful! I’ve never touched Tessa, not once in the ten months I’ve known her, and it’s been hell. I did that because you fucking made me. I’ve asked you to bend a little, but you just keep putting my balls in a vise and don’t seem to give two shits about either of us.”

Hunter let out a deep breath. “All right. I get it. You go to Comfort with Trees, and we’ll find a workable solution to your problem. Once everything is calm in Texas, you come back here and we’ll negotiate.”