Free Redemption by Will Jordan Page B

people would have passed it up, but you took it on. You practically begged me to come on board despite our history. Why?’
    Drake shrugged. ‘Someone had to do it.’
    ‘Bullshit.’ The word was delivered with such conviction and finality that it reminded Drake of a judge passing sentence. ‘They offered you something, didn’t they? That’s why you’re so desperate to get this done. What was it? A promotion? Another step up the ladder?’
    ‘I don’t have time to listen to this—’
    ‘Then make time,’ Dietrich cut in. ‘Because I’m not risking my life just so you can move into a bigger fucking office. You already killed my career on your way up. Are you trying to finish the job now?’
    Drake had heard enough. ‘If you weren’t such an arrogant fuck-up, you’d still be a team leader,’ he snapped. ‘What? You think I did what I did just so I could take your job? Grow up. You almost got two people killed because you wanted all the glory for yourself. I wonder how many other lives you risked over the years.’
    Far from rising to the bait, Dietrich merely sat there regarding him with a look of mild amusement. ‘You know, when I first met you, you were just a shit-headed kid straight out of the military. And now look at you.’ He gestured around the cluttered office. ‘King of your own little hill. But if you think this is the start of something bigger and better, you’re wrong. Men like Cain will tell you whatever you want to hear – anything to make you do what they want. And when they have no more use for you, they’ll throw you away like a piece of trash.’
    Drake clenched his jaw and looked away from the older man’s probing gaze. ‘Thanks for the moral lesson,’ he said at last. ‘Now piss off and let me get on with my work.’
    Dietrich rose from his seat but didn’t leave. Resting his hands on the desk, he leaned forward a little and locked eyes with Drake.
    ‘Whatever they promised you, I hope it was worth it.’
    Pushing himself away from the desk, he turned and marched out of the office.

Chapter 12
    BREATHING HARD, DRAKE circled the heavy punchbag and laid into it with a flurry of lefts and rights. His T-shirt was soaked with sweat, his dark hair plastered to his head. The impacts jarred his arms, sending shock waves through bone and sinew, but still he kept on with grim determination.
    Dietrich’s words echoed in his ears.
    But if you think this is the start of something bigger and better, you’re wrong. Men like Cain will tell you whatever you want to hear – anything to make you do what they want
.
    He gritted his teeth as his fists slammed into the padded leather again and again. The heavy bag, patched and gaffer taped in places, lurched and swayed with the impacts.
    And when they have no more use for you, they’ll throw you away like a piece of trash
.
    His heart was pounding and his breath coming in gasps as he circled the bag, muscles burning and legs heavy. Still the anger burned inside him, unquenched by his punishing workout.
    His knuckles ached from the punishment, blood seeping from the torn flesh to soak the tape and bandages around his hands, but he ignored it. He was like a man possessed, laying into the bag again and again.
    Dietrich was an arsehole; an arrogant, bitter, jealous bastard . But none of those things could change the fact that he was absolutely right about what he’d said.
    With an exhausted sigh, he landed one final blow before leaning in against the bag, struggling to draw ragged, pained breaths.
    His right hand ached, pulses of pain racing up millions of nerve endings to his brain. He’d broken it in a boxing match years earlier when he’d still entertained the idea of being a professional fighter, needing surgery to mend the shattered bones. The old injury still gave him problems from time to time.
    All day he’d tried to find justification for his decision to accept Cain’s offer. He’d tried to tell himself that if he hadn’t taken on