“Wait . . . if he’s a bad guy and he’s the one who tried to kill me . . . that means, Mel is danger!”
She’s visibly shaking. Her hand reaches up to cover her mouth, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Hey, hey. He would have no reason to hurt her.” I reach out a hand to cup her shoulder. “He clearly used her to get closer to you. Was he ever in the apartment?”
She nods, a tear beginning to trail down her cheek.
“Okay...so we need to get rid of all your electronics. He’s hacked them, and he has no doubt heard anything we’ve said near them.”
“Everything is still at Mel’s apartment. I didn’t grab any of it. I was unconscious when you...carried me out.”
The realization dawns on me that the attempt on her life truly was because of me.
“Kate, what exactly did I say to you while I was drunk? When we were back at the bungalow?” I reach out to her, caressing the soft skin on the inside of her forearm.
Her blue eyes focus on me. “You said... … ‘The Lion was the mole.’”
I confided in her about Reid’s death when I was drunk and angry with Garrison. The failed mission in Dubai was an attempt to kill Tycos, but it went south. Reid was killed, and the team scattered. We were all put under investigation when it became apparent that a SEAL had murdered my best friend and betrayed us. Years of work, trying to take down the Russian mob boss, was thwarted.
The SEAL who put the bullet through Reid’s skull was Garrison. That was when everything in my life exploded, and the debris has been raining down on me ever since. I’ve been trying to prove it, but when the FBI and the Russian Mafia are stalking my every move, waiting for me to screw up, it’s not easy.
And now, Kate has a bone-deep stab wound because of it. They went after her because of the information I’d shared about Steelhart. My anger and hatred for Garrison rises up yet again.
It’s time I dealt with him once and for all.
CHAPTER 29
KATE
“I’m sosorry I missed out on our plans. We...had an unexpected business trip come up. I would’ve told you, but I accidentally left my phone at home.”
Becky is sitting across from me at lunch, eyes wide in disbelief. Luke is three tables down in a booth across from Jackson, gaze rarely straying from me.
“You don’t mean...oh dear, are you”—she glances over at our boss, leaning closer—“sleeping with him?”
A fleeting thought of lying goes through my brain, but I dismiss it. At this point, I genuinely don’t think she’s going to spill, and she has dug up quite a bit of dirt for me.
“Well . . . now that you’ve asked up front?—”
She claps her hands together. “Oh dear! I just knew it! When he looks in your direction, it’s like the entire office temp jumps up a hundred degrees! Young love...ahh...”
I shift nervously as her eyes grow distant.
“I don’t . . . I don’t really know what you mean.”
She dismissively waves a hand, a smile curving up her cheeks. “You know what I mean! Don’t tell me you’re actually oblivious to how much that man wants you. I’d bet my vintage Pyrex collection on it. He’smadfor you, Katie girl.Mad.”
The way she keeps emphasizing the wordmadgives me concern. I nervously toss my hair behind my shoulder, picking at the Alfredo noodles on my plate with my fork.
“I—I think he mostly sees me as a temporary thing.”
It’s nerve-racking, confessing your fears to someone you barely know, but in some ways, it’s almost easier. She doesn’t know me well enough to dive in deeper and get to the root of the problem.
“What makes you say that, honey?”
I shrug. “He’s never once mentioned anything more. No dates, no usual couple stuff, like movies and dinner. Certainly hasn’t said anything about the future. It’s been really...odd, I guess.”
I can’t exactly confide in Becky about the wedding, the stabbing, the trip to his farm, or what happened under the waterfall. Since then, we haven’t repeated it. He set me up in one of his five guest rooms and insisted on driving me to lunch with Becky and everywhere else in the name of safety. Other than his lingering glances, I feel like he wants me close...but still an arm’s length away.
