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“It’s just Tom.”

They opened the door and pulled the man inside.

“Where is she?” Tom demanded, his eyes frantic as they scanned the entryway.

“In the kitchen. Take a minute and pull yourself together though before we go in there. Let Ripley catch you up on a few things,” Peter advised.

The four sat in Gage’s front room while Ripley gave yet another recap. When they were done ten minutes later, he was ready to see his daughter.

Back in the kitchen, Lola still sat at the island and she jumped up when she saw her dad. Carrie was standing and had moved closer to the stove. Her phone was to her ear. When she heard the commotion of the reunion, she offered Peter a small wave. Then he heard her say, “I’ll have to call you back, Gina. It’s not a good time to talk right now.” Peter felt his heart drop. Why was she talking to Gina? When she finished her call, she crossed the room to hug him.

“Why was Gina calling you?” he asked as his arms went around her waist.

Carrie shrugged. “Show stuff. I’ll tell you later.”

He fought the urge to push. They were supposed to trust each other, right? The group settled at the bar again so they could come up with a game plan after Ripley finished his story. Carrie put her phone on the counter beside her. When she bumped the screen with her elbow, her text app was open. Peter could feel his blood pressure rising as he saw the words on the screen.

I’ll give you all the names I have. This sort of thing shouldn’t be a secret.

He clenched his fists and blew out a breath. How could he be such a fool? She was a god damned journalist.

33

CARRIE felt the air around Peter change as he stared blankly at the table in front of him. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.

“I’ll tell you later,” he snapped. Sarcasm dripped from his tone. What had gotten into him? She made a mental note to check again when Ripley was done laying everything out for them.

“I can’t force any arrests because Upwood’s fingers are in too many pies and the people I report to are willing to look the other way. The only reason they haven’t cut me loose is because I’ve also been providing intel on another target that’s even more valuable than Diego. That’s why I started leaking information to Tom and ultimately Carrie. Everything Carrie has is enough to bring down Diego and force the U.S. government’s hands to make sure that Upwood goes down too. At the point that it gets picked up by every news outlet in the country, the bigwigs will have no choice but to act.”

“Just make sure you’re safe before it gets out man. You know how journalists are.” Peter’s voice was bitter. So, he still couldn’t get over her profession. Just hours ago, he was telling her how much he loved her. What the fuck was happening? Carrie tried not to glare at him. There would be time to get to the bottom of this later.

Tom’s phone began buzzing at the same time as Carrie’s. “Story just broke, four bodies found at a rest area outside of town,” Tom said, reading from his screen. “I take it that’s your handiwork?” He eyed each of the men sitting at the table.

Ripley nodded. “That means we don’t have much time. Peter you should get on the phone with Higgins and fill him in. I would lay it all on the line and tell him a reporter has everything and will be going to press with the story Monday. See if he can keep the FBI off of our tails. If he won’t, then he’s a bastard just like the rest of ‘em.”

Peter nodded grimly. “I’ll head back to my place and get started on that.”

“Should I come with you?”

Peter stared at her as if she’d grown a second head. “Why would you do that? You’ve got what you need.”

Carrie felt her stomach twist. Standing, she grabbed his hand and jerked him toward the front room.

“What the fuck is your problem?” she hissed when they were alone.

“I trusted a god damned journalist and I shouldn’t have. That’s what my problem is.

The ire that laced his words would have instilled fear in most people. It just pissed Carrie off.

“I don’t know what you think I’ve done, but you’re wrong and you need to get your head out of your ass.”

Peter pulled away from her and stalked to the door. “I saw the damn text Carrie. I heard you on the phone.”

Her heart shattered into a million pieces. He didn’t actually trust her at all. His disdain told her there was no way he ever loved her either. A tear slid down her cheek.

“I don’t know what you think you saw, but you’re wrong.”

Peter jerked the front door open. “I’ll send your stuff to your apartment.”

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