He chuckles. “Sit.” He motions to the chair in front of his large mahogany desk, which is meticulously organized.
Declan was hired as a CIA field agent around the same time as me, and we worked on a dozen assignments together. We became close friends during that time, but he was promoted to director six months ago, and I couldn’t help but feel slightly abandoned. Now, I’d just completely botched my first assignment without him. Andunderhis command. I not only doomed myself but may have also doomed him.
My stomach churns as I stare at his perfectly angular facial features. Features I’d memorized over the years.
“I know what you’re going to say,” I begin, trying to get ahead of what I know is inevitable. He is going to take me out of the field.
He raises a dark brow.
“I fucked up, Dec. I’m sorry. I miscalculated. I knew it was too public, but I didn’t want to lose the lead.”
Declan holds up a hand. “Stop, Nova.”
I shut my mouth, staring at the wrinkle between his brow. The one he always gets when he’s considering how to be logical and fair.
“The trial is six months from now. I don’t want to hear your excuses. I need you to gather your evidence and prepare your defense with the lawyer. Do exactly as they say.” Declan emphasizes the last part.
I nod.
He pauses and studies me for another minute. “In the meantime, I have an assignment for you.”
My eyes widen.
Declan laughs. “You didn’t think I’d let you mope around the office for six months, did you?”
“I thought…” I pause, stumbling over my words and my own thoughts. “I thought I’d be benched until the verdict.”
“You aren’t guilty until proven, so I will act like you’re innocent until someone tells me you aren’t. You’re my best agent, and this assignment requires your particular skill set.” He smirks at the last part.
I groan. That always means he needs my looks to help infiltrate the world of my target.
“This assignment is local, too, so you won’t have to go off-grid in some random country. You can stay in touch the whole time.”
“So you can babysit me?”
Declan chuckles. “Believe me, you don’t need babysitting. The location was a coincidence.”
“What’s the assignment?”
“A billionaire CEO is suspected of acquiring other billion-dollar companies and then murdering the CEOs of those companies.”
My mouth involuntarily falls open. “Excuse me?”
Declan smirks. “You heard me correctly.”
“What method of murder?”
Declan runs a hand through his short, brown hair, and the furrow between his brow is evident.
“You don’t know the method?” I ask, stunned.
“No, that’s not it. The three victims have all been found with traces of poison in their systems. The oddity is that they are all different compounds and in quantities that suggest that the poison might not have been the primary cause of death, which makes it hard to convict anyone. However, all three victims are billionaire CEOs of companies recently acquired by Regenerative Industries, which is run by Owen Mills. The timing is whatalerted the authorities. All three deaths occurred within a month of the acquisitions.”
“Owen Mills? The cocky bastard who claims he’s saving the world? The one that’s always on The Morning Show?”
“That’s the one.”
I sigh. “Great.”
