Wicked and True (Wicked & Devoted 4)

Take a number, pal. “I’m sure she got away with it for this long because she thought everyone would overlook her.”

“And we did.”

“Yep.” Zy knew he was more guilty than most.

He’d somehow equated her being a single mother and the fact she’d needed help with her safety as being some sign that she was too sweet to sell them out. He should have flipped his thinking. Because she was raising a child alone, she needed more money than she made. And for her daughter, she would do whatever it took to make it.

“I want a timeline.”

Was he serious? “Sir, I think our time now would be better spent bringing Tessa in and questioning her—”

“I didn’t ask what you thought the better move was. If this was strictly my business, I’d probably agree. But I have two other partners, and I think Logan is going to need more convincing than your word, especially since our problems started when Tessa was on maternity leave. Start at the beginning and show me how she could have been our mole for months on end. And if you prove she compromised Valeria’s locations or had anything to do with Kimber’s abduction, then heaven help her. I might kill her myself.”

“You can’t touch her,” Zy snarled automatically.

“Are you fucking hearing yourself? Buddy, she just sold us all down the river, and you’re still willing to go toe-to-toe with me, risk your job and an ass-kicking—”

Zy snorted. “Never gonna happen.”

“For a woman who took money to compromise a mission likely to put you in a pine box?” Hunter finished as if Zy had never spoken. “Are you that fucking in love with her?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus, clean up your shit. I get that you’d give her your heart; we all do when we fall. But your spine needs to stay yours.”

Hunter was right, and that pissed Zy off even more. “Oh, dispense with the friendly advice. Have you ever worried whether Kata would serve you up to the enemy on a platter for a mere buck?”

“No.”

“Then you have no idea what I’m going through. So I’d appreciate it if you’d shut the fuck up.”

“All right, I’ll try—if you build me the timeline. I want to know every time she reached out, every action she took, and every way she flew under our radar. Then I’ll zip it. But fair warning: that isn’t my strong suit.”

Zy wasn’t at all surprised. “Fine. It will take a day or two, but—”

“No. You created this fictional mission. The enemy is all abuzz—pun intended—about your superstar solo mission. So you need to produce enough evidence to convince my brothers, so we can confront her and decide what to do next, before your supposed op.”

It was the middle of the night, and he didn’t really understand the nuts and bolts of how Tessa had betrayed them. Zy knew only that she had. “How the fuck am I going to do that?”

“That’s your issue. We hired operators who are problem solvers. Start solving. I’m over here trying like hell to rescue my sister and keep my wife from busting out of her safe house to help.”

“Do you have anything new on the Kimber front?”

“Not much.” Hunter sighed. “Matt is running down a few things. He’s proving to be a master of many trades, and we’ll probably hire him if he’s game when this is all said and done. But he hasn’t been in place long enough to put this puzzle together. We keep hoping.”

Zy didn’t blame him. It sounded like a shitty situation, and Matt seemed like a decent guy. “I hope it all comes together soon and you get your sister back.”

“Thanks. You have six hours to get me a preliminary timeline of Tessa’s double cross.”

Then the line went dead.

Thirty minutes later, Zy pulled up to Trees’s place. The big guy was waiting on the front porch, concern on his face and a shotgun in one hand.

Zy stepped off his bike and gestured to the firearm. “Is that your idea of a warm welcome? I can go if you’re that adamant about sleep.”

“Ha ha.” He relaxed his stance with the rifle. “Just being cautious, keeping out the riffraff, you know. But now that you’re here, maybe I should shoot you just for the hell of it.”

Go ahead and wound me, pal. You wouldn’t be the first one tonight…

“Pass.” He sighed. “Sorry. I’m all out of jokes.”

“Yeah. You look like someone shit all over your life. I was just trying to lighten your mood.”

“I appreciate that, but don’t.” It grated on his fucking nerves.

Maybe he was a stupid ass for wanting to wallow in his heartbreak. Maybe some stubborn part of him kept holding out hope that when they started putting this timeline together, they’d realize Tessa wasn’t guilty at all and find the real culprit. Maybe tonight’s information would prove to be nothing more than a crazy coincidence. Hell, maybe someone had even bugged her house and her communications. It was unlikely, but he couldn’t rule that out completely.