Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(61)

“We’re not all cut out to be in for the long term.”

“Do you ever wonder if maybe this is a sign that you should get out?”

“And do what?” Ten asked.

“What the rest of us do. We work. We live. We have lives.”

And barbecues and picnics, and they all held hands and ran through fields of daisies. Yeah. “That’s not for me. I’m a lifer. I need a mission.”

O’Donnell’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve got a mission. Don’t think for a second that I don’t have a mission.”

“I’m not talking about temporary assignments. I’m talking about something to focus my life on.”

“So am I. Those temporary assignments, they aren’t missions. They’re work. Just work. My mission is something far greater, something I really would give me life for. My wife. My child and any more we’re blessed with. My friends. Protecting them, being good for them, that’s a mission worth taking.”

It didn’t compute. The words didn’t really make sense to Ten. They sounded like a wave of domesticity. What O’Donnell was talking about wasn’t a mission. It was retirement, and Ten couldn’t do it. Still, when the Irishman closed up his locker, Ten felt the need to keep him talking.

“She wouldn’t believe me.”

O’Donnell shoved his keys in his pocket. “You don’t know until you try.”

“That’s easy for you to say. If I f*ck this up, everything falls apart. This isn’t simply about revenge.”

“I know that, Tennessee. I also understand that it was hard for you not to take care of the situation the way you wanted to. Did you think about it?”

“Did I think about murdering the man in his sleep?” A bitter laugh huffed from his throat. “I managed to get into his hotel room. I distracted his bodyguard with a hooker. Those are hard to come by in Saudi. McDonald was staying in a four-star hotel with some of the best security you’ll find, but I got around all of it. I hid in a closet while he held a meeting with a Saudi company interested in buying roads in the US. They come in and turn public roads into tollways. Then the states can use the money for god knows what, the politicians get kickbacks, and taxpaying citizens pay four dollars to drive ten miles to work.”

“Shit, brother. Why is he still breathing?”

“I stood over him after he went to sleep and I slit his throat in my head about fifty times before I walked away because if I don’t find the name of the men he’s working with, then none of it matters.”

“And that’s why she’ll believe you.” O’Donnell put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re not a bad man, Tennessee. You have tunnel vision. I’m working on something in the senator’s background. Something that might bring her to your side.”

“What?” If he had something that could buy Faith’s loyalty, he would take it.

“I’ll send it to Erin when I’m done. It could be nothing, but I don’t think so. Something isn’t right with the investigation of his wife’s death. I don’t like it. I think she knew something and he killed her for it. Faith seems like the kind of woman who would want justice, too. She needs to hear this from you though. If she finds out from anyone else…well, I wish you luck.”

“If I tell her too soon, she’ll choose her father and I’ll lose my chance. I have to convince her to go out to the islands a little early. I want to be out of there before he makes it to the party.”

“Because he’ll kill you on sight?”

“I doubt that. He won’t want to dirty his hands, but he could cause me trouble with Faith.” Faith had become the wild card. “I don’t want her hurt.”

O’Donnell shook his head. “There’s no way she doesn’t get hurt. That girl’s in deep with you. It’s going to hurt, but she’ll forgive you more easily if you tell her yourself. Think about it. Don’t walk away from her. She could be good for you, and that’s about all a man can ask out of life.”

“What if I’m not good for her?” He wasn’t good for anyone.

“Then change. Be a man and be good for her. It’s your choice. I know in the past you haven’t had many of those, but this is very much something you decide. And I’m not stupid. You think your chances of actually getting your job back are next to none. You don’t think you’re going to survive this and you’re all right with that. That’s a choice, too, Ten, and you’re making the wrong one. Night.”

O’Donnell stepped out and brushed by Theo, who was walking in. They nodded at each other as they passed.

“Damn, he looked all kinds of serious,” Theo remarked. “Of course you’re probably going to look the same way when I tell you what I have to tell you.”

His blood went slightly cold. “What do you have to tell me?”

Theo pointed. “Yep. I was right. All kinds of serious.”

“I’m going to seriously set you on your ass if you don’t start talking.” Was it about Faith? Had they found something bad about Faith?

He didn’t want to hear it.

“Someone broke into my place tonight.”

He was oddly relieved. For a moment he’d had visions of Faith telling Erin she knew all about her dad’s plans and hey, wouldn’t she like to be a part of an evil army, too? Stupid, but he couldn’t help it. “Did you catch them?”