A pause.Ghost scowls.“He’s not just calling.He’s watching, testing her nerves, seeing how much pressure she can take before she breaks."
"Or before she does something stupid like confront him directly," Sniper adds.
The possibility makes my stomach turn.Evangeline's strong, but she's also protective of those kids to a fault.If she thinks Morrison is threatening them, she'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe, even if it gets her killed.
"So what's the play?"Ghost asks, and I can hear the president in his voice now.Not my friend, not my brother, but the man who makes the hard decisions that keep us all alive.
“We eliminate the threat.”
“Morrison.”
Ghost folds his hands.“Quiet.No splash.No one links it to us.”
“Needs to look like internal fallout,” I add.“A mistake he couldn’t see coming.”
The simple statement hangs in the air between us.We all know what it means, what I'm asking for.
"This is personal for you," Ghost says."Too personal.Emotions compromise judgment."
"She's family now," I reply."We protect family."
"Not if protecting her means making mistakes that get us all killed."
"I won't make mistakes."
"Won't you?"Ghost's blue eyes are hard, calculating."Because from where I'm sitting, you're already compromised.You're in love with her, which means you're not thinking clearly."
The words hang there.My throat tightens.
I glance down, then back up.“Yeah, I am.But Morrison killed my sister.He's threatening the woman I love and five innocent kids.Compromised or not, I'm the right man for this job."
"Are you?Or are you the man most likely to fuck it up because you can't see past your own feelings?"
Before I can answer, Rogue speaks up."I was compromised when I went after Lochlann.Emotions, personal stakes, all of it.But you backed me up because it was the right thing to do."
"That was different."
"How?"
"Because Willow was already part of this world.She knew the risks, knew what she was getting into.Evangeline doesn't.She's a civilian who's been manipulated and lied to.When this comes out, it's going to destroy her."
The weight of that truth settles over me like a stone.Whatever we do to Morrison, however justified it is, Evangeline will learn that the man she almost married was a criminal who had her brother killed.She trusted him, and that’s what’ll hurt the most.
"Maybe," I say quietly."But if we don't move against him, she might die.And those kids will lose the only mother they have left."
"So you tell her," Sniper says."Lay out the evidence and let her decide how she wants to handle it."
"She'll want to go to the police."
"And?"
"Morrison has people in law enforcement.The case will disappear, evidence will get lost, witnesses will have accidents."I shake my head."She'll be signing her own death warrant."
"So what's your alternative?"Ghost asks."Kill Morrison without telling her why?Let her spend the rest of her life wondering what happened to him?"
The question cuts to the heart of the dilemma.Do I prioritize her safety or her right to know the truth?Her life or her peace of mind?
"I don't know," I admit."But I know I can't lose her the way I lost Calla."
