“No way.” Nick walked around the table so he was on the same side as Bryce. He yanked Bryce up out of his chair and threw him against the wall. His hands closed around Bryce’s throat.

Nick was going to kill him. Layla jumped up from her seat, but Monty touched her arm and pulled her back.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “They’ll be okay. We have to let this play out.”

Much to her surprise, Frank didn’t do a single thing to try to stop Nick. Thankfully, after a few moments, Nick dropped Bryce from his viselike grip. “Tell me what you did.”

“I used a friend here who owed me big-time to get Layla’s safe house location, and then I reached out to an old cartel source and gave him the info.”

Nick muttered some curses that made Layla’s skin crawl. She really feared what would happen to Bryce, even if he had almost gotten her killed. She stared at Bryce. This cold, unwavering shell of a man was not the friend she’d once had. She didn’t even recognize the person he’d become.

Nick’s jaw twitched. “Because of what you did, a hit man killed two members of an Agency security detail and almost killed Layla. Their blood is on your hands.”

Bryce looked defiantly at Nick, not showing any remorse. “I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

Nick walked out of the room and a moment later entered the surveillance room where she sat. “Can I talk to Layla alone?”

Monty nodded and exited.

“I thought you were going to hurt him,” she said.

Nick groaned. “He deserves that and a lot more. What a sorry excuse for a man. I could’ve strangled him.”

“You kind of did. Now what?”

“We’ll get you completely cleared on the IG side of things, but the cartel is still seeking payback.” He took her hand. “I’m sorry about all of this, but we’ll get you through this and back to work. I give you my word.”

“Thank you, Nick. Thanks for stepping up to the plate and fighting for me. What’s going to happen to Bryce?”

Nick let out a low whistle. “I’ll have to get the Agency lawyers involved, but if it were up to me, he’d be locked away in a cage for the rest of his miserable life.”

“He does have rights.”

“He sure didn’t care about yours, did he? He gave you up, Layla. Even if he wasn’t the one pulling the trigger, he killed those men on your security detail and tried to kill you.”

She nodded. She knew he was speaking the truth.

“Hang tight in here for a few more minutes while we sort some things out.”

Her heart broke at Bryce’s betrayal, but she feared that all of this was far from over.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN