Page 42 of Relinquish

My shoulders sag, I don’t want to fight with him, but I want him to see me as an equal–someone he can trust to be on his team. I can’t screw this up.

“I won’t forget. Now, go. I have work to do.” The door snaps shut behind me. I grab a throw pillow from the sofa and toss it where he stood. Why does he have to be such a control freak? I can take care of myself.

Yeah, right. You were the one with the brilliant plan to break into someone’s house.

***

Cade

“Ripley, it’s me.” I’ve made it to my place but haven’t gotten out of the vehicle. Anxiety makes my stomach clench. I haven’t spoken to anyone from my past since my military discharge. I couldn’t handle the ‘It wasn’t your fault,’ ‘You did the best you could in the situation,’ ‘No one blames you.’ Well, I blame myself. I haven’t slept since without waking up in a cold sweat and screaming voices coming from all directions, so making this call isn’t easy.

“Hey, bud. How’s it hanging?”

“Low and to the left.” A half-smile curves up the corners of my lips.

“As I would expect.”

“How’s the family?” I haven’t seen Asher Ripley in years. We were in the SEALS together my first two years, and then he finished his military stint.

“The family is fantastic. The wife and kids are amazing. Ella is already learning to read.”

“That’s great, man.”

“Have you talked to the guys?”

“No.” Nausea rolls in my gut. Here we go–the reason I didn’t want to call.

“You should. They’re doing great.”

“That’s good.” Why in the hell would they want to talk to me? If I hadn’t made a selfish decision, they’d still be in the military, living their dreams. “Listen. I need your help on something.”

“Figured as much. It’s too much to expect for you to call a friend and want to hang out.”

I rub my hand over my face. “It isn’t like that.”

“Then, what is it? It feels like that from over here.”

“I’m to blame for the entire shitshow. I don’t deserve their forgiveness. If I had kept to the plan, everyone would’ve been okay.”

“That’s not true, and you know it.” Ripley’s voice is somber.

I swallow over the ball of dread in my throat. If I had kept to my original plan, would I still have nightmares? Yeah. Only they’d have been worse. It was a no-win situation. “I need some information.” I’ve already called in the fake police report as a backstory for Lola’s claim of a burglary attempt.

“What kind?”

“I need a layout of Randall Maitland’s estate, one of Congressman Edward Sutherland’s home, and schematics from both of their security systems. I also need information on what type of video feeds and monitoring systems they use. If they’re monitored live, I need to know how many people and whether Beck Security Force has an in with the company.” Ripley works for a similar security company on the East Coast.

Ripley whistles. “Welcome back to the land of the living. Breaking into Congressman Sutherland’s house. That takes some mighty big balls. Aren’t his sons FBI?”

“Yes, they are. And no, I’m not breaking in. I’ll have an invitation to his home. He’s having an annual charity event this weekend.”

“And Maitland?”

“I need to understand his security system in case my partner decides to do something stupid. I need to know how to get in and get out without being detected.” Sweat pools on my back. She’d better not do anything reckless.

“Why do you have a partner you’re worried is going to go rogue? Besides, I thought you weren’t in the field.”

“I’m not,” I growl. “I wasn’t. It’s complicated and involves a woman.”

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