Not like I could do anything else, unless I wanted to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life,he thought sourly as he sat with Maisie by his side, looking across the tableat Robb and James, both of whom were explaining what had gone wrong in turns.At least everyone seems to actually believe me this time.
And it was true – they did.
In fact, both JamesandRobb had been very willing to listen as Maisie and Rhys had laid out what had happened on Burr Island, from the moment they’d arrived to the minute Robb had sent the text message calling the agents off from the pursuit.
And now, they were explaining their side of the story.
“It seems Aaron Merrett has been quite busy,” James Eyre said, raising an eyebrow as he slid some printed-out emails across the table to Rhys and Maisie. Rhys only glanced at them, but he could recognize what they were right away – it was a chain of emails to the arms dealers Aaron had gone undercover to ensnare.
The case that had meant Rhys had been suspended from duty for trying to save him.
His stomach twisted as he tried to wrap his head around the whole thing. He’d wanted to believe that it was all a mistake, somehow – that there’d been a mix-up along the way, or they’d jumped the gun without enough evidence, and Aaron had somehow gotten caught up in something that made it onlyseemas if he was guilty.
But the evidence was right there in front of him, in stark black and white. And, whatever else Rhys could say about Michael, he trusted him completely when it came to the quality of his work. Michael hadwaytoo much pride to do a shoddy job of something like this.
He wouldn’t have sent them to me to pass on if he wasn’t sure,Rhys thought.So how can I argue with that? But still…
His hands clenched momentarily, before he forced them to relax, not wanting to give away any of his inner turmoil to James or Robb. But the feeling of betrayal cut deep. He hadn’t evenknown Aaron well, but he had trusted him implicitly, as he’d trusted all of his fellow agents.
He’d risked his own life to extract him from his undercover position when the situation had turned bad, and then been suspended from his job and was very nearly killed in the aftermath. His memory of that day was hazy even now, his first meeting with Maisie still a blur – andthatwas a kick in the guts.
He didn’t want to believe that Aaron had betrayed him, betrayed all of them – but it had to be true. And now he wasn’t sure if he could trust anybody anymore.
He looked at James, who was waiting expectantly for an answer. “Do you know why he did it?”
James shook his head. “We’re still trying to work that one out. Agent Merrett insists that he’s innocent, but that’s not exactly surprising. Unfortunately for him, the evidence says otherwise. We’re still questioning him, of course, but right now, the documents you gave us are as good as a confession.”
Rhys glanced over at Robb, who didn’t react in the slightest. He’d always been an inscrutable bastard, but now it was like his face was set in stone. Rhys had no idea what he was thinking.
“Then… everything he did was just to cover his own arse and try to set Rhys up?” Maisie asked. “Try to make him look like he was incompetent, to get the heat off himself?”
James nodded. “It certainly seems that way. That’s why those men came after Rhys when he was suspended.” He turned to Rhys. “It seems Agent Merrett was hoping you’d be easily corruptible, which would just add more grist to the mill. You were incompetent, corrupt – so it was your stuff-up that caused all of this, rather than his betrayal. Making your mate seem just as guilty as you was, I suppose, a cherry on top – he probably thought it would make it seem as if you were in league with each other by leaving a chain of evidence that Maisie was working undercover as your handler.”
Maisie let out a low, shaky laugh. “Well, that’s pretty much impossible, since I don’t even know what thatmeans. I’m a nurse, not a super-secret double agent. I don’t think I’d even pass the physical for Rhys’s line of work. I mean, I can’t even turn into anything.”
“Well, we know that now.” James smiled. “But italmostworked. Thankfully we tracked down the truth in the end, and the real culprit was brought to justice.”
“Yes,” was all Robb had to say to that.
Rhys nodded, but his griffin twitched a little. It was having an even harder time dealing with the sense of betrayal than Rhys was. Loyalty was paramount to a griffin – the idea of betraying one’s comrades was anathema to it, and now seeing Rhys’s superior acting in such a closed-off fashion was putting it on edge.
“Do you have any more questions?” James asked.
Rhys paused for a moment, before shaking his head. “Not at this point. I’d rather put this out of my mind for a bit, not think about it for a while.”
Though I’m pretty sure I’m going to be thinking about it a whole lot more, whether I like it or not.
“No, me neither,” Maisie concurred. “But yeah, like Rhys said… I feel like this is going to take a little more time to process.”
“Totally understandable,” James said. “Agent Richardson, I know your suspension has been rescinded, but we’re putting you on paid leave – not coming out of any of your regular leave balances, of course – so you can take some time to rest and recuperate. It’s been a hectic few days.”
“Thanks,” Rhys muttered, standing up. Part of him wanted to throw himself back into his work, but the more rational part of himself –whichdoesexist, Hec, shut up– could recognize that he needed a break.
And, more than that, he wanted to spend some time with Maisie. Preferably while neither of them were on the run for their lives.
He felt at a bit of a loss. Was that it, then? Should he just… wander off? It felt wrong.
“One other thing,” James said, and Rhys turned back from the door. “Rhys, I know you’re a shifter and you’ll heal up from pretty much everything anyone can throw at you. But your mate here isn’t. After everything, I think a medical checkup is in order, wouldn’t you say? After all, it was the Agency that is, in part, responsible for all this. I’d like to make sure you’re both looked after.”
