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.Then again, Clint didn’t have that with Jace, either.But Jace was beginning to want it the other way.Clint’s words had given him a hope he hadn’t had before this.“Rough night?”“Shit with Kenny.” Clint shot him a warning look, but Jace waved it off.“I had to bail him out.”“What did he do?”“Cage fighting.Again.”“Dammit.”“I just left him in the hospital.They’re hoping they don’t have to remove his spleen.He has no goddamned insurance.” Jace sank to the couch and ran his hands through his hair.“I can’t deal with this shit for much longer.”The first time, Kenny had miraculously won—Jace knew they probably put him up against someone easy to keep him lured in.But now, with the MC betting on him—or against him, if necessary—the fights would only get tougher.Kenny was big, yes, but he wasn’t a fight-until-you-die type.And Jace had a feeling he was going to have to become one to survive this.“Didn’t mean to ditch you tonight.”“It’s all right.I spent the evening catching up with Styx and his partners.”“Partners as in…CIA?”“Partners as in relationship.”“That sounds way more fun to talk about than dealing with Kenny.So they’re together—all three of them?” Jace asked.“How exactly does that work?”“Apparently, really well.Why, you looking to add a third?” Clint demanded.“Dude, I can barely handle you.”“Don’t flatter me, boy—or I’ll—”“Put me over your knee?” Jace asked slyly.“I’ve created a monster, haven’t I?” Clint asked.“Seriously, I’d like you to meet them.”Jace nodded.“I’d like that.”Big steps for them, Jace supposed.And it felt good.It was hours later when Clint dressed for his next mission and Jace waited and watched from the bed.It was 0300 and neither had slept, because sleep didn’t seem nearly as important as just being together.Yeah, Clint could do with this peaceful feeling all the damned time.Wondered how long it would remain once he left Jace, and got his answer before he even exited the boy’s house.His phone rang, and it was his handler and supervisor, Pete.He dealt with the MC stuff still, kept his hand in because of Jace, mainly, although to his supervisor, it looked like he simply cared about a mission he’d put everything he had into.“Are they ever going to move on the intel I gave them?” Clint asked Pete.“Over the next two weeks.They’re using the plants you provided to breathe things down among the ranks.”So there would be a bust in the MC gang soon.Clint figured it was a matter of time before the whole thing folded like a house of cards, and he knew how worried Jace was about his cousin.Telling Jace violated everything, but there was no way around it.And hell, if it meant keeping Jace safe, he didn’t give a damn.“You still there, Clint?”“Yeah, sorry.”“The DEA wants you to run a workshop for its newly promoted undercover agents,” Pete told him.“I signed you up.”Clint wanted to argue because he hated teaching.Sitting and talking was never anything like the real mission.Instead, he asked, “Keep me updated on the bust, all right?”“You’re never this interested in your cases once you’re done,” Pete pointed out.“Never did one that encompassed years of my life.I’d like to see some satisfaction,” Clint told him, and hell, that was the truth, for sure.Clint’s demeanor had changed after he’d gotten the call.Jace figured it had something to do with the MC and cursed inwardly.He hadn’t been able to find out more intel from Kenny about the gun-running operations he was on the periphery of, because his cousin was too scared to tell him much.And Jace hadn’t exactly had tons of time to hang around the MC, so his intel gathering was at a standstill.He’d hoped to put in some time there over the next few days before he reported back to base.“Hey.” Clint picked up his bag.“Don’t go near the club for the next few weeks.”“Why?”“Just fucking promise me, okay?” Clint growled, and Jace’s stomach dropped.Clint was warning him that the CIA was ready to move in and make a huge bust, and Kenny—fuck, Kenny would be taken away if Jace didn’t alert the Feds.He couldn’t betray Clint like that—the man had worked too hard, and Jace would fuck up everything, including Clint’s career and anything the men had between them.“Okay, yeah, I’ll stay away.”“You know what I’m risking, telling you this, right?”“I’d never fucking betray you.”“I know.It’s the only reason I’m sharing this intel.” Clint sighed.“Kenny’s going to be involved—there’s no way around it.”Jace knew—taking Kenny away now would look suspicious and could only happen if the Feds hid him.The MC would think Kenny was a rat, and they’d search for him, but he’d be well hidden.“I won’t say anything.”Clint just gave him a hard, one-armed hug, the other still holding his heavy bag of tricks.Jace buried his face in the man’s jacket, inhaling his scent as if it would let him track Clint across the globe.If only it were that easy.Clint tried again as he pulled away.“Please reconsider getting out.”“I want to, but I can’t leave Kenny alone in there.I know he was stupid to get involved.But I understand why he did it.He said that, for the first time, he felt important.Part of something bigger.He had power.Back-up.Kenny was pretty scrawny growing up.I kind of watched over him, fought some of his battles.Maybe I should’ve let him deal with more of it on his own.”“Jace, this isn’t your fault.”Jace didn’t believe that for a second.“Look, all I know is that I can’t leave him alone.He’s in real danger.He’s scared shitless, and they’re dragging him in deeper and deeper because they smell his fear.They’re worried he’ll talk—and they’ll kill him if they so much as suspect he’s thinking of leaving.”“They’re getting him into the drug trade,” Clint muttered.“And if your bust happens soon…well, he’s screwed.I have a small window to get him out.”“What are you going to do—fake his death?” Clint asked.“Everything you’re doing is putting your career—and more importantly, your life—in jeopardy.”“I’ll be careful, Clint.”Finally, Clint nodded and kissed him fiercely, and then he left, walking down the path without looking back, because it was, Jace understood, the only way to make the break.Jace did the same, closing the door so he couldn’t hear the car pull away, and he sat at the table with clenched fists for a long while before making any kind of move.Finally, an hour later, he picked up the phone and called Mike.“Jace, what’s going on?”“I don’t think I can do this anymore [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]