“Speaking of serious topics.” She stared hard at Dillan. “What happened to Agent Maddox? Or…Wilkes, right? That’s his real name?”
The last thing she remembered was Britt falling to his knees beside her, his face a mask of misery and shock as he pressed his hands against her chest to stop the flow of blood. His words barely made it through his iron-clenched jaw when he’d said,“Easy. You’re okay. Hang in there. You’re going to be okay.”And then? Lights out.
“You don’t remember asking me about this five days ago?” Dillan lifted an eyebrow.
She racked her brain and came up blank. “I don’t know if you know this, but they had me on some pretty intense narcotics. I can hardly remember what I had for breakfast this morning, much less what we talked about five days ago.”
He nodded. “Youwereslurring your words quite a bit. And half the time your eyes were closed.”
“Well, mybrainmust have been closed the entire time.” She made a rolling motion with her hand. “So spill. Tell me everything I’ve missed.”
He took a deep breath before giving her the sordid tale of Jordan Ray Wilkes. Apparently, the man they’d known as Agent Maddox had been the stepson of one of the cartel’s major players. When he turned eighteen, the cartel set him up with a new identity and sent him off to college with one directive and one directive only.Get an education. Get accepted into the FBI training program at Quantico. And get a job as an agent so the drug trafficking organization stays privy to any investigations, busts, and stings.
“Holy shit,” Julia breathed when Dillan was done. “I can’t believe his false identity held up under the background check. The bureau is scrupulous.”
“Get this, therewasa JD Maddox. He actuallylookeda little like Wilkes. But he died in a car crash at eighteen. The cartel managed to scrub the kid’s death from the internet, though. It was easy to have Wilkes pick up where the real Maddox left off.”
“You think the cartel had therealMaddox murdered?” Her lip curled at the thought of such unabashed cruelty.
Dillan shrugged. “I mean, it seems awfully coincidental if they didn’t. But we’ll never know. The kid’s car went off the Cooper River Bridge. It was listed as an accident, so no autopsy was done. And the vehicle has long since been dragged out of the bay and crushed, so there’s no way to go back and check for foul play.”
“Holy shit,” she breathed again, her mind racing in a million directions. “He fooled me. I’m usually better at reading people. But he fooled me.”
“Don’t feel too bad. He fooledeveryone.”
She remembered her initial question. “So what’s happening with him?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is he trying to cut a deal or?—”
“He’s dead. Agent Keplar blew a hole right through him a split second after that idiot guard blew a hole through you.”
“Notthrough.” She grimaced. “I’m told that’s why there was so much bleeding. The round entered and bounced around for a bit.”
Dillan’s face paled. He replaced his hand on her arm, squeezing it. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay.”
She saw the sincerity in his eyes and figured now was the time to lighten the mood. “Who are you, and what have you done with my partner?”
“What can I say?” He lifted his hands. “Watching you take a round to the shoulder put things in perspective.”
“Well, I prefer it when things areoutof perspective. It won’t be any fun bossing you around if my bossing you around doesn’t annoy the ever-living hell out of you.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that. Once you’re back up and running on all cylinders, guaranteed I will find you as annoying as ever. Probablymoreso since your ego will be overinflated because you’ve been shot. I’m sure the bureau has a commendation lined up for you.”
“You think it’ll be a star?” She smiled evilly, alluding to one of the four medals the FBI bestowed on its agents for injury, bravery, achievement, or valor. “I’ll put it in one of those fancy plastic cases and sit it on my desk. You’ll have to look at it every day and remember I’m a bigger badass than you are.”
“See?” He feigned a frown. “I’m annoyed already.”
“Good. Then, all is right with the world.”
He laughed before sobering. “In all seriousness, I wanted to murder that damned front desk guard.”
She tried to be mad at the man who’d shot her, but she didn’t have the strength for vitriol. “What’s going to happen to him?”
“He’s currently on paid leave.” Dillan made a face. “I think the bureau is sending him out for more training.”
“I’m glad they didn’t fire him.” She took a deep breath that hurt more than she let on. “None of us knows how we’ll handle a situation like that until we’re in it. Then, if we’re not cut out for it, it’s too late.”
