Page 167 of What Started In Deception

“Thank you, Ty. This was as big as you said it would be. Bigger now that we’ve got Giordano, too.”

He wanted to hang up before Mason said something to give him away. “We’ll talk later.”

“Okay, bye.”

Will stopped pacing. “So, it’s over?”

Ty nodded. “Yeah, mostly. You should probably prepare for questions about being a contact in Richard Russo’s cell phone, but there’s nothing that ties you to tonight’s operation, so you’re in the clear there.”

Will sighed as he nodded. “Luckily, there shouldn’t be much to work with in the texts that he and I have sent. I’m a lawyer and a politician’s son, so I know how to be careful when I put words in writing.”

Ty nodded. “I can imagine.”

Will wiped at his forehead with his sleeve. “We’ll spin the contact if it turns into an issue—say something about attorney/client privilege.”

Ty nodded again. “I’m sure you’ve got it under control.”

Will jerked his shoulders. “I still owe him twenty-five grand, so that’s not great.”

Ty raised his brow at him. “Richard Russo has much bigger problems than your twenty-five grand. He’s looking at decades in prison, even if he takes a plea deal.”

Will nodded as he sat down again. “I really don’t know how to thank you, Ty. You went way above and beyond.”

He shrugged. “I like you. I like your family. You’re good people. I hope you’re going to talk to your parents—tell them about your problem and get some help. Hopefully, you can fix things with Mac.”

Will nodded again. “I’m going to take a couple of days and head down to DC, then stop in Connecticut. Telling my mom and dad is going to suck. Telling Mac is going to be worse.”

Ty nodded because Will spoke the absolute truth.

Will sighed as he shook his head. “It scares the hell out of me to think that I’ve ruined everything. Because there’s a good chance that I have.”

He couldn’t help but see the parallels between his and Will’s situations when it came to the women in their lives. “You’ll have to see how it all plays out.”

“Yeah,” Will said on another sigh. “I’m sorry again that things didn’t work out for you and Lydia. You’re a good man, Ty. You two seemed really good together.”

He rubbed at his chin, thinking of the text that she’d sent him, still trying to grasp that he and Lydia were truly over. “I’m heading to the airport in a couple of hours. I’m going to head over to Lyd’s and make sure I didn’t forget anything.”

Will nodded. “Yeah, sure. You’re flying into Reagan?”

Ty nodded. “Yeah. I take off at eight thirty.”

“I might see if there’s a seat available on your flight. We could share a car to Logan.”

Ty nodded. “Sounds good.” Getting up, he headed outside and down the path to the pool house, punching in the code.

He stepped into the dark, clenching his jaw as he breathed in Lydia’s floral and vanilla scent melding with his aftershave.

Flipping on the light, he glanced around the pretty space that felt different without her in it. Heading upstairs, he quickly checked the bathroom, then paused to stare at the bed where they’d slept and made love.

Moving back downstairs, his gaze stopped on the couch where they’d snuggled so many times, including yesterday morning before everything changed.

But that was over now. Lydia wasn’t his anymore. She wasn’t here anymore, and he didn’t want to be either. Nothing was the same without her.

Looking around one last time, he shut off the lights, then left the place that he undoubtedly wouldn’t see again.

It was time to get the hell out of there and get back to DC.

Chapter Thirty-Seven