Ah, shit.
* * * *
Hugh finished gathering his notes just as the rest of the Brigade filed into the conference room for introductions.
“Hugh? Meet Ivan Milleroff, who’s our intelligence specialist,” Deke said, pulling out a chair at the head of the table.
Ivan had dark eyes, short brown hair, and a veiled stare. If one wasn’t looking closely, his eyes would appear blank. They weren’t. He was tall and lean, every movement economical. There was no doubt the guy was a threat. A serious one. They shook hands.
Another man, this one a black man well over six feet tall, strode into the room. He wore jeans and a leather jacket with a gun strapped to his thigh and a knife to his calf. “I’m Connor Lewis.” His voice was deep and rich, and his handshake firm.
Hugh released him and settled back in his seat. Tension rolled through the small space. What was happening? “What do you do around here?”
“I bury the bodies,” Connor said easily, pulling out a chair. “Better hope you’re not one of them.”
Ah. Alrighty then. Hugh watched Ellie out of the corner of his eye. She appeared calm and unflappable as she straightened her papers into a neat stack. “Have all of you worked together long?” he asked.
“Some,” Deke said as the rest of the gang secured chairs. “Different jobs, different locations. Nothing as important as right here and right now.” His Scottish brogue remained just under the surface, a hint of the complexity of the leader. “We do have a question for you, Hugh.”
Yeah. He’d kind of gotten that feeling. “Hey. You asked me to the dance here.” It wasn’t like he’d wanted to leave his vacation. Whatever the tension was in the room was starting to tick him off.
Ellie leaned forward. “What’s happening?”
Deke took the remote control and pointed it at the screen, bringing up a very familiar face. “This is Gregor Valentino, who’s a known gun runner with ties to several terrorist organizations. And this—” he clicked again and brought up a picture of Hugh meeting with Gregor “—is you.”
Hugh leaned back. “Impressive. Where did you find that?” Who the hell had managed to take that picture?
“FBI buddy,” Deke said easily, taking out a Glock to place on the table.
“Hey—” Ellie said, rolling her chair toward Hugh.
Towardhim. That one movement dug right past his irritation and planted in his heart. He wanted to mess with McDougall a little, but Ellie had gone pale. Oh well. He knew how to do his job. “I don’t know that guy. However, a picture like that showed up at my office with a demand for money. A lot of it.”
Deke studied him. “You’re saying somebody doctored this picture and then tried to blackmail you?”
“Yep,” Hugh lied. “Took it to my boss, and they opened a file and contacted the FBI to create a case. Tried to track the guy down but no luck so far.” He smiled. “That’s all I can tell you.” Which was the absolute truth.
Deke nodded at Ellie. “If you’re telling the truth, she’ll be able to discover that with her handy old computer.”
If she was that good, she was damn impressive. Hugh shot her a smile. “Go for it.”
She glanced at Deke and then drew her laptop out of her bag, quickly typing. “Whoa,” she breathed. “I have top clearance all of a sudden. I mean, the top of the top.” Her eyes sparkled. “I didn’t even have to hack.” Her lips turned down.
Hugh barely kept from barking out a laugh. The woman was disappointed that she didn’t get to hack?
Ellie breathed out. “I’m running into roadblocks about this Gregor person.” Then she frowned again. “The records containing your report haven’t been added to the server yet. They must still be on your supervisor’s computer.”
“Wonderful,” Hugh said. Deep cover meant deep cover, damn it. “If you’re that good of a hacker, you should be able to get in there, right?”
Ellie read her screen. “Maybe. I need to go to the FBI if they have this picture.”
Deke blew out air. “Fine. I’ll make a call, and if anybody is still staffing at the FBI, we should have the files by tonight.”
It was beyond sweet that she believed him so easily, even when he wasn’t telling the truth. Hugh’s chest hurt, and he thought briefly about breaking cover. But he’d taken an oath. “I’m telling the truth.”
Ellie stared at Deke. “Even if you don’t trust him yet, I’m asking you to trust me. He’s innocent.”
Hugh tried not to blanch.
