Page 26 of Engaging his Enemy
“Jesus Christ,” said Moto.
Ben shook his head. “It gets worse. DeRegina said their first shipment is arriving tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” barked Razorback.
“He said it was supposed to dock in Georgia, but there was a problem and it’s been sitting out at sea.” Ben’s face crumpled. “He told me I did a good job getting the closing on the warehouse moved up. I was sitting there bleeding, and the dickhead told me I did a good job.”
Moto was already moving. “First things first. We need to set up a perimeter and get those motherfuckers away from Davina’s house. Then we make a plan for tomorrow.” His Sig Sauer was holstered at his side, but he took two more firearms from a stock of weapons HERO Force had on the sideboard. He shot a look at Laney and did a double take. She was crouching by Ben’s side, touching his face and talking quietly.
“Ben?” His brother looked up. There was fear in his eyes, fear and something darker Moto couldn’t name. “You come to the house tonight, too. I don’t want you fending for yourself on this one.”
Ben nodded.
Of course he would come. Their family was being threatened. Ben had every right to be there, maybe more right than Moto himself.
Razorback was barking orders. “…need them safe. We can’t have them in a vulnerable position when shit goes down at the warehouse. I’ll call the feds. With DeRegina here, this could be our chance to nail him. We’ll meet you at the house. Moto, get Davina on the phone.”
“Already on it.” He held it to his ear. “Come on, pick up.” It rang several times before going to voicemail. He hung up and cursed under his breath. “No answer.” He turned to Ben. “Did he imply they were in imminent danger?”
“Not exactly.” Ben sobbed once, the stress clearly getting to him. “He said if I loved them, I should be careful.”
“Jesus Christ. Let’s go.” Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he led the way to the parking lot beneath the building.
Ben got in the passenger seat. “This is all my fault.”
Moto zipped around the curves of the parking garage, anxious to get onto the open road. “What is?”
“Everything. All of it. Mom and Dad died because of me.”
“For fuck’s sake, don’t do this now.” He paid the toll and headed for the expressway.
“I knew this job was too good to be true. I knew it wasn’t on the up-and-up. But I fucking did it anyway because I wanted the money. I wanted to be somebody.”
“There’ll be plenty of time later to beat yourself up. Right now, we’ve got to focus on protecting Davina and Wyatt.”
“I wanted her for myself. I could have told you about the baby. I could have told you she wasn’t doing well and needed help. But I wanted to play the knight in shining armor. I wanted her to depend on me.”
“Fine. You’re a terrible person. Now shut up and let me concentrate.”
“And you! You always had to be in control. You saw your opportunity to get out and you took it. You didn’t listen to Davina’s explanation of what happened between us because you wanted an excuse to leave. You were a selfish, arrogant fuck. You still are.”
Moto couldn’t believe this ridiculous conversation. “What the fuck was I supposed to do?”
“Did you love her?”
“Hell yes.” The knee-jerk response and the depth of emotion that filled him were a shock to his system. He had loved her, goddamn it. She’d been everything to him. But the moment he turned his back on her and went away, he began telling himself a lie—a lie he could see now he’d never really believed.
“Then you were supposed to take her with you.”
Moto stared at the road whizzing by as the pieces clicked into place. The truth in his brother’s words was striking, a long-needed explanation of what had gone horribly wrong in his life. He had left here to save himself, just as surely as he’d left Davina behind, pregnant with his child.
All of Ben’s accusations—that Moto was a selfish jerk who cared only for himself—had been true. He’d convinced himself Davina had been unfaithful, when he had barely believed it himself.
The younger version of himself stood right before him, full of fault and horror at what he had done, and he longed to forgive the boy he had been, tell him everything would be okay. Warn him not to walk away from the people he’d loved.
Moto exited the expressway and turned toward Davina’s street. If he was going to get past this, there was one thing he needed to know. “Are you in love with her?”
“I was.”
