Page 82 of Backlash

“Don’t be jealous.”

“Oh, I’m not.” She holds up her wine glass. “I just can’t believe she liked you.”

“Women find me charming.”

“I thought she found you reckless, with a death wish,” she says.

“It was a very charming death wish,” I explain. “Anyway, she pulled some strings and got me transferred to a special forces unit. That’s where I met Jack and Luca.”

“What were they doing there? Neither seems the type,” she says thoughtfully.

She’s not wrong, but I’ve seen other sides to my best friends—sides I hope she never even glimpses. “Not my story to tell, Lucky.”

“It’s okay. Sorry I asked.”

“Luca might tell you if you flatter his ego enough,” I advise.

“I can only imagine how much flattery that will take given the size of his ego.”

“That’s the thing with egos—the big ones don’t take much to flatter.” I can’t help laughing at her astute observation. She’s got his number, alright. “So, we got sent to Afghanistan with a special forces unit. There were rumors the Taliban was running guns from an unknown source and we went in to find that source.”

“And then what were you supposed to do?” She’s stopped eating entirely.

“Kill them,” I say matter-of-factly, daring to look her in the eye.

“And did you?” From her tone, I’m not sure she wants the answer.

“Yes, and that’s where things went wrong.”

She frowns, carefully setting down her wine glass. “How?”

“Remember the guy at the hotel?” I ask.

She nods, licking her lips. It’s what she’s been waiting for, and I can only hope she looks at me the same way after she knows.

“He was also in my unit. He was our fourth. As close a friend as Jack and Luca. His name’s Noah Porter.”

“And you aren’t friends anymore,” she guesses.

“That would be an understatement. Noah’s FBI now.”

There’s a long pause. She knew this was coming. Adair is too smart not to see the truth that’s sitting in front of her. That I’m a bad guy. That my money came stained with blood. She might not know the details, but she gets the big picture. That’s not going to stop her from making me paint it for her, though.

“And why is that a problem? Why did you hide from him? Call Luca?”

“Because the FBI, or rather Noah, has been trying to nail our asses to the wall since Afghanistan, and he’s come damn close a few times. It’s his version of payback.” I search her eyes for a sign of how she’s taking all this.

“Why would he want revenge?”

“Because the other three of us got him hauled in front of a disciplinary committee. He probably would have been discharged like the rest of us if we hadn’t sworn he wasn’t involved.”

“Involved in what?” she asks slowly.

“We’d been there a couple of months, trying to avoid getting blown up, but getting no closer to figuring out where the guns were coming from. Every lead went nowhere. Then Jack overheard something, and we did a little digging. We kept it to ourselves and eventually brought Luca in on it.”

“What about Noah?”

“Let’s just say that Noah’s always been better at taking orders than thinking for himself. We knew that until we could prove anything, he wouldn’t believe us.”