“No, it hasn’t.” Savvy shook her head. “While my division is an off-the-books operation, we exist. Congress, the president, every branch of the military, and all the key players are involved. Black Ledger came about because someone decided we weren’t doing our jobs. When I first learned of it, we thought it was some kind of joke. But then I had a couple of agents say they’d received encrypted emails from anonymous sources inviting them in. If they said no, thank you, that was honestly the end of it.”
“And if they said yes?”
“I don’t know of anyone who did, at least not anyone who admitted it.”
“Do you know anyone who’s been killed in action after saying no?” Patch asked.
“Probably, but I haven’t put all that together. I wasn’t tasked with finding rogue agents until a few months ago, and the onlyone that had a name was Jenkins.” She sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “But we both think that was a setup.”
“And West put you on that?”
“West and Vance.” She nodded. “One of them, or both, has to be a part of all this, and I bet both those idiots in there know.”
“They might not.” Needing to feel her heart against his, Patch pulled her close to his chest. He kissed her temple. “Your organization runs on honor, trust, and blind loyalty. But the people in it know who they are loyal to—you, West, and Vance. Something running under the radar, whoever started it and is calling the shots with Black Ledger, might just be a voice in the dark. A text message. An email. An order. Gunner could be the face, but he’d also end up being the fall guy if the whole thing went to shit.”
She tilted her head, staring into his eyes with sheer determination… and something else. Something warm, kind, and loving. “I will enjoy taking Gunner down. I don’t care if that means he rots in a military prison or he no longer has a pulse. But he left the man I love to die behind enemy lines. I take that fucking personally.”
“Aw, you said you love me.”
“Don’t let that go to your head, Patch.”
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s too late for that.”
She glared.
“What?”
“If you ever strap on an alligator hide and decide to swim with those creatures again, I’ll chum the water just for fun.”
“Guess I know who’s playing bad cop.” He laced his fingers through hers and tugged. It was going to be one hell of a long day.
CHAPTER 11
Savvy saton the porch with Patch’s computer resting on her lap, staring at Darius’ handsome face once again while listening to Locke bitch about being shot and Patch having to stitch him up. Savvy wished Patch hadn’t given him any pain relief. The asshole deserved to suffer, but Patch was a medic and he’d taken an oath. Even if it had been Patch who pulled the trigger, he would have done whatever he could to make sure Locke was comfortable while he dug out the bullet and dressed the wound.
Part of her loved him for that quality—but a small part resented it.
Her brother and Riven continued to ask Mendoza questions. Their conversation was quieter, a little more civil, making it difficult to hear. But she trusted McGuire to extract the necessary intel, decipher out the bullshit, and report back. As much as she wanted to do the interrogation, it was best she let Patch and her brother deal with those two, especially Mendoza.
“So, it was Locke who requested the transfer out of Task Force Sentinel and again out of the 73,” Darius said.
“That wasn’t in the paperwork you sent over. That kind of thing is always redacted.” Quickly, she shifted to the tablet onthe steps, swiped the screen, and scanned some of the pages. “How’d you know that?”
“Believe it or not, I learned that from Vance.” Darius cocked a brow.
“You spoke to him?” The sound of a tail splashing echoed in the swamp. Patch was right, one did get used to that noise. She’d seen at least six gators since she’d been at this little cabin, not including Patch wearing an alligator skin, and so far, the worst that had happened was they eyed her with more caution as she’d returned the stare.
Darius nodded. “I’ve been doing deep dives on five cases for the Brotherhood Protectors. None of them have anything to do with you or any of this, but I took a risk, and it paid off in an unexpected way.”
“What’s that?”
“Mason, a man from my office, has been working a protection detail for the son of a high-ranking official in the Navy. The kid had gotten a threatening email, he’d been run off the road, and his dorm at college had been broken into. The dad thought it had to do with him, but Mason learned this kid witnessed something he shouldn’t have… by a serviceman… someone working with his father.”
“What did the boy see?”
“Exchange of documents for money,” Darius said.
“How does any of that tie back to Locke?”
