“Then why didn’t he have you arrested?” Jake asked. “Adam’s right. Weston was playing an angle. He was trying to turn you against us. What angle did he use?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Liam shot back. Now that he was forced to face it, he realized he wasn’t going to open his mouth until he’d talked to Ian. “I already talked to Eve. I’m taking Avery in tonight so this is all completely unnecessary, and if things go right tomorrow, we might be home in a day or two. Tell me something. Are we handing Nelson over to the Brits or has Ian got that worked out with the CIA, too?”
“Nelson has been disavowed. He’s an embarrassment to the Agency and a potential threat to everyone who works for Langley. What do you think we’re going to do?” Jake stared at him, his jaw a harsh line.
So tomorrow was assassination day. “And the MI6 mission?”
Adam shrugged. “Not our problem once we take out Nelson. We had a big sit-down last night with Damon. They believe Nelson is likely attempting to make a buy. At first they thought Molina was just taking kickbacks to allow the weapons shipments safe passage, but those meetings with Molina make me think he’s the middle man. He’s a dealer.”
“How does a borderline agoraphobic shut-in go from running a charity to arms dealing? Something’s wrong here.” It was a mystery, and he didn’t like it. It didn’t sit well with him. And if they took Nelson out, where did that leave Avery?
“No idea, but again that’s something for MI6 to deal with. We’re not going to take Nelson out in front of Molina. We’ve bugged the restaurant they’re meeting at. The Brits agreed to put an agent of theirs undercover as a waitress. We’re going to follow Nelson and take him out when it’s safe. Molina’s operation will continue, and MI6 can figure out just where the arms are coming from and we get to go home and get back to normal.” Jake turned, his eyes going a little cold. “Do you have an exit plan for that girl?”
“She’s not ‘that girl.’ Her name is Avery,” Liam all but snarled back.
Jake cursed and reached for his wallet. “Motherfucker. I’ve only got eighty. I’m going to owe you twenty.”
Adam smiled, all the tension leaving his face. “Told you.”
Liam got the serious feeling he was the butt of the joke. “What?”
Jake suddenly looked more like Jake and less like a disapproving big brother. “I’ve been a little worried about Avery. She’s a sweet girl. I don’t believe for a second she’s involved in this.”
“She isn’t. She has no idea what’s going on.” Though that fucker Weston had planted the seeds. It was up to him to make sure they didn’t come to fruition. And if everything was likely going down tomorrow, he had to find a way to stay. He had to convince MI6 to let him stay on.
“And she’s in love with you,” Adam said, his voice softening and taking on a nauseatingly sympathetic quality.
Liam backed away. “I am not doing this with you guys. Do you understand me? I am not going to sit in some fucking feeling circle and talk about love and babies. You two can screw yourselves.”
“But you have thought about love and babies with her,” Jake mused.
“No, I haven’t.” He hadn’t. It had been a fleeting thought. It didn’t mean anything. “She’s a nice girl, and I don’t want her hurt, that’s all.”
“So you’re going to leave her?” Jake asked. “I want my money back.”
“I didn’t say that.” Why couldn’t he leave it be? He left everything be. He hadn’t said a word about what Weston had showed him. Apart from sessions with Eve, he didn’t talk about his past or his brother. So why was he actually tempted to talk about this with Adam and Jake? He needed Sean. Sean would just pop open a beer and sit beside him. After a while, he’d slap Liam on the back and that would be their very manly discussion about feelings. Not a word said. Not a thing worked out because a real man didn’t ever really work that shit out. He just did what his wife told him to do.
Holy fucking shit. He’d just thought about marrying Avery.
“Get him a beer,” Jake said. “Li, sit down. I’m going to turn on the TV, and we’ll find some soccer.”
He slumped down into the sofa, the reality washing over him. He didn’t want to leave her and not just because he was worried she would get hurt. He liked her. He liked who he was when he was with her.