Page 57 of Tactically Acquired

“You mean, more than Michael turning for the sake of whatever he’s getting from The Syndicate?”

He nodded. “He’s not in it for the money.”

“You can’t be sure. Anyone can be turned for money.”

He shook his head. “Not him. And the way he fought for Isabelle…I can’t believe he would ever leave her on that island with Zavala unless there was something really big at stake.”

“Something bigger than her—than any of us,” I said, following his line of thinking.

“Something worth sacrificing his own kid for.”

“That would be one hell of a secret.”

There was something else on his mind, though. The way his eyes flicked to the door, watching for Craig and Alec, I knew there was something he wanted to say that he didn’t want anyone to hear.

“What are you thinking?”

His eyes came back to meet mine, and the darkness I saw in them sent a chill down my spine. “Cash wasn’t around when Kavanaugh’s dad was shot.”

I swallowed hard at the implication. “You can’t be serious,” I hissed.

“I don’t want to believe it, but that shot—it’s who he is. And now he’s off with Shadow—his father—going after whoever this is. How can we be certain that whatever’s going on, Michael didn’t get to Cash?”

“Because Cash can’t be turned.”

“How sure are you about that?”

I was about to tell him that I was one hundred percent sure, but a sliver of doubt crept into my mind. If the right circumstances were presented, it was possible anyone could be turned. Even me.

“Yeah, now you’re thinking the way I am. The one thing he cares about is protecting everyone he loves.”

“And Eva and the kids are his first priority,” I surmised.

“It wouldn’t take much for him to flip his entire life on its head to do whatever it took to keep them safe. And don’t doubt for a second that he would say or do anything to make them think the worst of him—to push them away—if it meant nothing touched them.”

He was right. After Rafe…after he shot Rafe, he was lost. No, he was fucking out of his mind with grief. How many times had he locked himself in his office and stayed in there for days? None of us knew what was going on. Hell, we all knew he was plotting in there. We just never suspected this.

My gaze snapped up to meet Thumper’s. “If he did take that shot?—”

Thumper nodded, his brows furrowed in thought. “Did he take the shot at Kavanaugh?”

“I can’t believe it,” I said, baffled at the idea.

“That was one hell of a shot,” Thumper said warily. “Do you know many people that could make a shot like that?”

I knew one person. It just never crossed my mind that it could be him.

“They had it out before Cash stormed out of here. It’s possible.”

“But to shoot?—”

“It’s not possible,” Rae snapped from behind us.

I spun to face Rae at the same time Thumper shoved his chair back and got to his feet. “Rae?—”

“I don’t want to hear it. All your theories are bullshit. Cash would never do something like that.”

Thumper tried this time. “Rae, you saw him?—”

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