Page 99 of Forged in Secrets

To Ben’s surprise, the shaken Katie Fairman had volunteered to go with Gabe, allowing Asher to take a break from keeping the man who had abducted her alive. Apparently, she’d been a lifeguard for several years and had a lot of First Aid training.

Ben felt ashamed for just how much he’d underestimatedKatie. He hoped he’d get a chance to apologize when she returned to the states.

“Think Gorsky is gonna make it?” Asher asked from somewhere at his back, startling him.

“You scared me, man,” he muttered. “I’m gonna buy you a bell.”

Asher leaned on the railing beside him and stared out into the distance as the borrowed speedboat disappeared over the horizon. He shrugged, rubbing his short blonde beard with his fingertips. “I’m not scared of you. Grace has your gun, remember?”

He did. She was still at the bridge, keeping one eye on the yacht’s controls and one eye on Jade. As much as he wanted to debrief the case with her, however, he’d needed a few minutes to get some air after helping Gabe and Katie load Craig into the speedboat.

Ben offered his twin a muted punch on the arm. “I could break you in half, bro, gun or no gun. Be real.”

Asher said nothing, and for a moment, they just watched the white foam bubbling on the ship’s wake.

“He’s going to be fine,” Ben said at last. “And even if he isn’t, you can’t beat yourself up over this. You were doing the best you could in the heat of the moment. Sometimes you have to make a call, even if it ends up being wrong in hindsight.”

His words hung in the space between them, and immediately, he wished he could take them back. His twin always knew how to read the secrets he kept hiding in between the lines.

But if he knew that, why did he say anything at all?

“Have you ever considered taking your own advice?” Asher asked, giving him a pointed look.

“You know I told Josiah the same thing I’m tellingyou,” Ben growled back. “That thug was gonna kill us both, and he made the call. It just happened to be a bad one.”

Asher shook his head. “I’m not talking about your old partner. I’m talking about you.”

“I didn’t shoot the suspect.”

“No, you didn’t. But you’re the king of beating yourself up, anyway.”

It was true, and they both knew it. Ben hid his guilt, but it was always there. He hadn’t been able to shake it in the seven years since he’d left his job as a beat cop with the San Antonio police.

“I’m fine.”

He didn’t sound convincing even to himself.

“You gonna tell her?” Asher asked.

Ben sucked in a breath. Grace knew that something had happened to him on the job that had led to him leaving the force, and anyone with a functioning brain could see he had trust issues, but that was all. She didn’t know about the betrayal he’d endured.

“If you’re gonna be with her, she needs to know the whole truth,” Asher continued.

“I thought I was supposed to stop beating myself up.”

Asher chuckled. “Dad would say that we only get to stop reflecting on our sins once we tell God we’re sorry for committing them. I think telling the woman you love would fall into a similar category.”

“Fair enough.”

Asher pulled back from the railing and stretched his arms over his head. “I’ll take Jade downstairs and keep an eye on her. You should talk to Gracie. No time like the present.”

Ben didn’t argue, but he’d already pushed his regrets back down deep.

He would tell her. But not yet.

Alone again, he closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on his cheeks as he listened to the gentle shushing of the yacht moving through the water, heading steadily toward Texas.

Asher’s words repeated in his mind over and over.

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