Page 50 of Rebel Protector
And he was. Too deep to walk away from this without feeling like he was leaving a part of himself behind.
But tomorrow would come. And when it did, she’d be gone, and he would go back to being who he was before her—a man built for survival, not love.
He just wished it didn’t hurt so damn much.
When Beccafinally drifted into a deep sleep, Ghost slipped out of bed as quietly as a shadow. Her soft breathing filled the room, chestnut hair spilling across the pillow, peaceful and completely unaware of the storm churning inside him.
For a second, he stood there, just looking at her. God, he didn’t deserve her. Not with what was about to go down. But that was his world, wasn’t it? Smoke and mirrors. Lies on top of lies. He clenched his jaw and forced himself to move.
Ghost crept across the room to the wardrobe, where he kept his military backpack stashed. His hands moved swiftly, silently, like second nature. Hidden in the lining, he found what he was looking for—the burner phone. The one that no one else knew about, not even Becca. He glanced back to make sure she hadn’t stirred. Still sleeping. Still beautiful.
He slid out the door and tiptoed downstairs, keeping his movements light. Outside, the night air hit him, cool and salty. He crouched by the back deck and quickly tapped out a message to Pat, sending a pin-drop a little farther down the beach, outside the hacienda’s boundaries. It wasn’t ideal, but if they were going to meet, it had to be far enough away to avoid suspicion. Especially with the heat they were dealing with right now.
He knew it’d take Pat a while to get here. The guy was lounging in a cushy four-star hotel back in Panama City. Meanwhile, Ghost was neck-deep in enemy territory, trying to juggle a half-dozen lies without getting them all shot.
Again.
An hour later, his phone buzzed—Pat’s reply.
Ghost checked on Becca one last time, making sure she was still dead to the world, then set off down the beach. He stuck to the shadows, hugging the line where the forest met the sand. His mind was running a mile a minute, but his movements stayed sharp, practiced. He couldn’t afford to slip up, not now. Not this close to the endgame.
Twenty-five minutes later, he reached the meeting spot. The only sound was the ocean, quiet and rhythmic. He scanned the area, listening, watching, until a low whistle cut through thenight. Ghost whistled back, and Pat stepped out of the trees, blending in like he was part of the damn scenery.
Ghost grinned, despite himself. “Still got it, huh?”
Pat smirked, extending a hand. “Old habits, brother.”
They shook hands, and Ghost gestured for them to sit on a fallen tree. They positioned themselves so they could watch each other’s backs. It was second nature now—always watching, always expecting a threat. Hell, after everything they’d seen, they’d be fools not to.
“What’s going on?” Pat asked, his tone casual, but Ghost could hear the edge underneath. He wasn’t a fan of surprises. None of them were.
He got straight to the point. “There was an ambush. We’ve got a leak. Someone’s feeding intel, and it’s screwing with the operation.”
Pat frowned, eyes narrowing. “Any idea who?”
Ghost shook his head. “Been running through every name. No one makes sense. But someone’s talking.”
“The Panamanians?”
Ghost exhaled through his nose. “Can’t trust them. Too risky to ask questions that’d raise flags. We keep digging, we’ll tip our hand. There is... one other possibility, though.”
Pat’s eyebrow shot up. “I’m listening.”
“Ramirez’s wife. They’ve been having problems for months. She called Becca the other night—really upset. We think she may have been the leak.”
“Can we confirm it?”
Ghost’s jaw tightened. “No. She’s dead. Freak car accident yesterday—on her way to the airport.”
Pat didn’t miss a beat. “That’s convenient.”
“Too convenient.”
Pat drummed his fingers on his thigh, thinking. “I’ll check it out. We’ve got contacts who can run her phone records, see if anything stands out.”
“Do it. But at this point, it’s secondary. The shipment’s already with my contact on the Colombian side. He’s holding it until we give the green light.”
“When’s the drop?”