My brain scans through what I may have done with those files, but it comes up blank. They should be there.
I shake my head.
“What does that mean?” Ella asks both of us.
Eagan’s gaze falls on Ella. “It means whoever sent the evidence against Owen also deleted the evidence against the companies.”
“But why?” Ella cries.
“Can we get it back?” I interrupt, and Eagan focuses on me again.
“I backed up all the evidence I sent you, so that isn’t the problem. The problem is: whoever got into your account clearly doesn’t want this evidence out there. Do you know anyone who might have reason to delete this folder?”
I shake my head again.
“Dec desperately wants that case dropped against you,” Ella whispers as if she’s afraid to speak. “And he’s the only other person with access besides me.”
I shake my head a third time. “He wouldn’t do that. He knows my past. He knows how badly I want to take out the assholes in those crime circles.”
“Perhaps he’s doing it so you have a career long enough to actually take them out?” Ella suggests, though she doesn’t sound convinced.
Standing, I pace back and forth. It doesn’t make sense for Declan to do that, and yet, he’s always been super protective of me, and if he found the evidence—other than the whistleblower—he might have been pissed I didn’t tell him.
But he didn’t seem pissed when he took Owen. He seemed devastated.
“This isn’t adding up,” I say, stopping my incessant movement. “Dec wants my case dismissed, but he also knows why I joined the CIA in the first place. He wouldn’t delete the evidence. He’d arrest Owen, but he’d leave the other evidence for later.”
Ella eyes me wearily. “Are you sure?”
No, I’m not, and suddenly I’m going over every interaction I’ve had with Declan over the last few weeks.
“Peyton said there’s a rat. Someone who has been feeding information to whoever is after Owen. Could it be the same person who deleted the evidence against the companies? Or are these two separate incidents?” I ask them, trying to sort through the tangled web of what I know.
“Let’s map it out. Put what we know into each scenario. One where they are connected, and one where they are separate,” Ella suggests.
“If the rat is somehow connected to the evidence leakandthe proof of the companies disappearing, then it can’t be Dec,” I offer.
“And if they aren’t related?” Ella asks.
I inhale deeply. “Then Dec is our number one suspect.”
“I’ll try to trace who sent the evidence to Dec’s computer and where they sent it from,” Eagan offers.
“And I’ll pry information out of Peyton, one way or another,” I say.
Ella gives me a concerned look. “What if the rat, or whoever is after Owen, is now after you? With that evidence, they will know you’re involved.”
“This isn’t the first time my mark has turned to targeting me. Remember that assignment in Russia a few years ago?”
Ella shakes her head.
“Well, I not only put the target behind bars but took out theentire operation.”
Ella huffs. “You like to conveniently leave out the parts where you almost die.”
“But I didn’t.” I wink at her.
She tries to laugh, but it sounds desperate. “Nova, don’t leave me out of this, please. Tell me how I can help, because I’m going to, whether you give me something to do or not.”
