Page 61 of His Forbidden Alliance

I pulled the phone away for a second and took a breath. “What do you mean, no?”

“You found the mole. You can make a plan and present it. Everything will be fine.”

“I have to protect him.”

“You protect all your casual hookups?”

“No. I mean, yeah. Maybe not like this.”

More laughter. “I didn’t think so.”

“I don’t know how to tell Remington or my brothers. They aren’t going to like the deal I made, but I have to convince them. They need to understand why I did it.”

“I believe in you.”

“Xavier, please⁠—”

“You want to prove yourself to them. Now go do it.”

He ended the call, and I stood there staring at the phone for several seconds before finally shoving it back in my pocket. What the fuck was I going to do now?

“He won’t help?” Zach asked.

“Not with telling my family. He will look into LeBlanc.”

“You called him Xavier.”

Fuck. “You didn’t hear that.”

“Tell me you weren’t talking to the man I think you were talking to.”

“Um… I have no idea what you mean.”

“Shit.”

I pressed a hand to my forehead and massaged it, trying to prevent the headache I felt coming on. “He’s a friend.”

Zach snorted. “Of course he is.”

“I mean, he’s your friend too. He vouched for you.”

“That’s… good. I guess.” Zach looked confused. “I’ve never met him, and I don’t need to change that.”

“He says I don’t need help with my family. He says this is a chance to prove I can handle things on my own.”

Zach nodded. “It is.” He stepped closer and placed his hands on my waist. “You’re tense.”

“Fuck yes, I’m tense. I have no idea how to pull this off, and I really don’t want my family to kill you.”

“Or me to kill them.”

“You—”

“Don’t underestimate me.”

“Fine. I don’t want any of that.”

“No, but I think I know what you do want, what you need right now. Did you forget about your reward?”