“No,” she says looking him square in the eye. “I will try, if andonlyif you clear Riley. But I cannot promise that the rest of the guys will listen. And I need to know why this is so important to you.”
“Hmm,” he says. Pursing his lips, he leans back in the chair, thinking over it. “I did not expect honesty out of you, Elizabeth. I suppose I can give you some in return. Matt is my nephew from a past marriage. He has always taken a shine to me, and I would like to give him his best chance at taking over for me some day, but Reaper has refused to teach him how a special operations unit runs.”
“Again, no promises, but you have my word that I will try to convince them. Do we have a deal?” she asks, glancing at the papers he made a show of bringing out.
Hope blooms in her chest, watching him scribble his name across the bottom and hand it to her. She quietly thanks him, and leaves his office, forgetting if she is supposed to wait to be dismissed or not.
Rushing back the way she came, Liz quickly makes it outside, breaking into a fast jog the moment her shoes hit the pavement.
The paranoia hits hard. Dressed in everyday workout clothes, Liz can’t help but feel like everyone she passes knows what she did.She double checks her pocket, feeling the drive still firmly in place. An invisible weight lifts when she reaches the main door of their building. The forty-minute mission felt like a lifetime.
Not bothering to knock, Liz enters the room, going straight to the table, and tossing her phone and flash drive to Tyler.
“What’s got you so spooked?” he says, eyeing her from behind his screens.
“The pictures on my phone almost made me vomit. Get them off, please,” she whispers.
“I think Matt is gone,” Mikey tells her from across the room. “You did amazing, darlin. Ty didn’t think you could fake it like that. You should go tell Ry you got him his job back. We can deal with this and debrief later.”
Liz stands, giving him a sad smile, mouthing thank you before dragging herself back to her room. She tries to put on a brave face to tell Riley the good news before she has to ruin it with everything else she found.
CHAPTER 22
Completely and utterly emotionally drained, the team sits around the table after having one of the hardest meetings they have ever had to endure. Tyler didn’t want to wait until he went through the files after he saw what Liz found hidden in their general’s desk, so he called an emergency meeting.
They spent the last few hours laying everything out, sitting in silence ever since. Liz wishes she could say something, anything to make it better, but she knows she has done enough damage agreeing to make sure Matt is included, making everything uncovered that much harder to face.
“Well, this sucks.” Mikey is the first to speak since they showed Riley the photos. “What do we even do with this? As far as we know, those are ransom notes, ignored ransom notes, but it doesn’t prove anything.”
“I won’t have proof of anything until I comb through the general’s computer and get those photos translated. Either way, he was hiding that he knew exactly where Riley was, but with his connection to the joke of a man that runs the country, he willnever face any consequences for it. He can justify it by saying it was to keep everyone else safe,” Tyler says.
“I’m sorry, guys. I panicked when he came in. I never should have agreed to anything he asked,” Liz says quietly. The hand that wraps around hers eases the guilt, but not nearly enough. She got Riley his position back, but it may have cost them everything. If they don’t follow through and let Matt be as involved as he wants, Scott will, without a doubt, punish Riley for it. If they do let him in, they will never be able to figure out what Scott is really doing.
“Don’t,” Riley orders. “Don’t do that to yourself. None of us knew what you would find, and that asshole was never supposed to show up. You did what you had to do and got the job done. I’m proud of you.”
A sharp knock echoes through the silence, drawing their attention away from their defeat. Whoever it might be is not welcome, forcing Liz to grumble her way to the door.
She glances over her shoulder in time to catch Riley sliding his black neck gaiter over his face, covering the bottom half. Mikey tosses a handful of paper menus into the center of the huddle, clearly no one is taking any chances.
The door swings open, and to absolutely no one’s surprise, she is left face to face with the last person she wants to see. Matt glances around her to the group of men watching them. His hazel eyes lock onto her, smiling wide enough to make his dimples pop.
“Can I please take you out to dinner?” he asks, more of a plea than a question.
Liz responds with a sigh, motioning for him to come into the apartment, beating back the urge to tell him to go to hell.
“We were just about to order something. Maybe next time,” she says, flashing a fake smile.
“That’s what you said last time. One date, and if you don’t have a good time, I will never ask again,” Matt pleads. Asatisfied smile tugs at his lips when Liz looks at Riley, only to find him browsing a pizza menu, paying her no mind.
“I really can’t. Ry had some things he needed my help with,” she starts.
“I can manage,” he says without looking up. “I think you should give him a shot.”
The remaining men exchange glances, sensing the tension beginning to build. The three of them simultaneously stand, scrambling for the door before anyone can stop them, leaving with nothing but the promise to return with food.
“Okay. Fine. Where are you taking me?” she says through a sigh.
“Just a little Italian spot I know. Nice, but not too fancy.”
