“Extenuating circumstances can—”
She raised her finger, closed her eyes, and concentrated on breathing. Her sense of feeling trapped wasn’t these guys’ fault. They were only doing their jobs, and it was time she fell in line with the program and do whatever it took for everyone to come out alive on the other side.
“How’s Cat?” she asked, opening her eyes.
“Improving every day. Before long, she’ll be back out there giving the bad guys hell.”
“That’s good. Tell her I said hello.” Liz’s bluster had worn itself out. One day soon, she’d be able to move on with her life. OPAQUE agents only moved on to the next person needing their help. “By the way, Mitch asked me to tell you about my banking problem.”
Josh leaned forward, crossing his arms on the space in front of him with the expression of a man happy the subject had changed. “Give me what you’ve got.”
“The day I was fired, I went to get money from my bank, and my account was limited to a five-hundred-dollar withdrawal. They said I’d need to speak to someone at the main branch.”
“Did you?”
“No. Before I got there, the text from my dad came through. After that, I went straight home.” Saying that out loud made her really question why her account would be limited. “But I’ve got twenty or thirty thousand dollars saved in that bank. It better still be there.”
Frowning, Josh wrote something down. “So, you used your credit card to buy a ticket to Ft. Myers?”
“Barely. Ended up, even my credit cards were tied up. All except one that had a thousand-dollar cap applied.” It dawned on her that if she’d been interviewing someone for an article, she’d be doubting they knew what they were talking about. Maybe even lying, because that was all too coincidental. Too much of a setup. Why hadn’t that dawned on her during the past few days? “None of that makes sense, does it?”
Josh shook his head. “I’ve already got your account numbers and bank location, so let me see if I can dig a little deeper.”
Again, OPAQUE knowing something private about her didn’t surprise her one bit. “Did I hear someone say you recently married?”
“Macki and I just got back from our honeymoon in Europe before Drake called me in on this job.”
“Congratulations…on the wedding.”
“Thanks, now—”
“Does your wife know what you do? The danger?”
“Yes. Drake is her uncle.” Josh’s brow furrowed, and his expression morphed into what-the-hell-do-you-want-to-know. “Anything else?”
A million questions danced on the edge of Liz’s tongue. “Do you let your wife into your life? Into your thoughts?”
“Yes. I do.” He glanced down for a second then lifted his face toward hers. “Listen, Liz, if Mitch is too intense, and you’d rather Reese or me be your protector, then tell Mitch. He’ll understand.”
“No. I…I…I don’t want that. I’m fine with Mitch.” Feeling herself smile, she looked down at the keyboard. “I wish he’d let me into his world. Even if it’s only once, I’d like to make him feel…” She jerked her head back up. “That came out all wrong. Forget everything I said.”
Josh grinned as he cleared his throat. “When you’ve worked with these guys as long as I have, you learn to trust every one of them. They’ve got your back. You’ve got theirs. What goes on in an agent’s personal life is just that. Personal.” He leaned close enough to the screen that his face filled it entirely. “I trust every single member of my team. You should try some of that trust thing. Makes life easier.”
Maybe she should, but that’s not how her journalistic brain was hotwired. “Learning you’ve been part of the Witness Protection Program for all of your life, and that your parents kept it from you, is…is… Well, let’s say, I’m a little low on trust at the moment.”
“I understand. But you can trust Mitch. He’s not going to feed you a load of bull on something important. And, as far as him being compulsive on the responsibility aspect, he’s always been like that.”
“Why?”
“Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. That’s his to share.”
“What if he doesn’t ever share?”
“Then you’re not the one who should know.” Josh leaned back. “Hey there, Reese.”
She jerked her head around, and there he stood. Right behind her. She looked farther behind him, but didn’t see any sign of Mitch. How long had Reese been there? Had he heard their conversation? Pushing up from the chair, she could only hope he was alone.
“Excuse me, guys.” She swallowed what felt like a tennis ball. “I think I should go to bed now. Get some sleep. I seem to have lost all control of my mouth.”
