“Everyone?” Falcon frowned. “Who’s everyone?”
“Uh…pretty much the entire world,” she informed him.
“After her mother’s murder, I moved us from Ohio to Charlotte,” her father explained. “Anyone doing even a deep dive into me will find exactly what I want them to find. A man who worked his way up to the top of the insurance ladder, eventually opening what is known to the world as Travel Assurance Coverage Operations.” A name given to correspond with the team’s actual Tac-Ops nomenclature. “The leader in private travel insurance, as well as the other private policies you are all very familiar with.”
“But underneath, as you also know, is the truth,” Shadow jumped back in. “That the insurance company is a front for your team, making it possible for you to do what you do without media attention or political backlash.”
“Don’t you mean whatwedo?” Bones shot her a knowing glance. “You’re as much a part of this team as we are, darlin’. Don’t ever forget that.”
Warmth spread within her chest, and damn if she wasn’t fighting back another unexpected rush of tears. Lucky for her, her father regained control of the conversation, wrapping up the remaining pertinent facts.
“What Shadow is saying is that I chose to keep the fact that I have a daughter a secret because I felt the need to protect her from both the man who killed her mother and those who might wish her harm as a way of getting back at me.”
“How?” Apollo asked. “Wouldn’t a quick search show you once had a kid?”
“It would,” Shadow once again answered for her father. “It would also reveal that same child’s death a couple of years later.”
A deep growl sounded from behind her, drawing her attention to the man responsible. Her breath caught when she met Digger’s cold, hard stare. He looked angry, though she wasn’t sure why.
The poor man’s been shot at, forced to sleep on an uncomfortable hotel room pull-out, and now he’s been assigned as your twenty-four-hour babysitter. It’s no wonder he’s mad.
But there was something more in his dark brown gaze. It was a protector’s glare, and though the man looked far from happy, his expression—and mere presence—instantly made her feel safe.
“Between my father’s contacts within MI6 and the alphabet agencies”—she continued—“as well as my knowledge of computers and awesome hacking skills, we all but erased any trace of my existence after the age of eight.”
“Okay, I have to ask…” Bones sat up a bit straighter. “How’d you fake die?”
Another disapproving sound reached her ears, but Shadow ignored the surly team leader’s displeasure and answered the other man’s question. “Accidental drowning.”
Simple. Believable. And they had the falsified documentation to prove it.
Apollo’s broad shoulders huffed with a breathy chuckle. “Was there a funeral?”
“On paper, yes.” She nodded. “I even have my very own headstone in a small cemetery across town.”
She’d gone there once, a couple of years ago. The day had been rainy, the sky gray with a thick layer of clouds.
For obvious reasons, most people avoided visiting the cemetery in the rain. Which was precisely why she’d gone there that day. Less chance of being seen.
Shadow wasn’t sure what she’d expected to feel, seeing her name etched in the small stone like that. Truth be told, it was all very surreal.
“What about where you live?” Falcon asked next. “I’m assuming there’s a mortgage or lease with someone’s name that isn’t yours.”
“The lease to my apartment is under a well-vetted alias, as are my cell phone, bank account, and the few credit cards I own. I paid for my car in cash, so that’s a non-issue, and according to the IRS, I’m an independent contractor who does computer troubleshooting for several companies that don’t actually exist.”
“Damn.” Apollo dipped his chin with approval. “Sounds like you’ve covered all your bases and then some.”
“That’s what we thought, too,” her father chimed back in. “But then my headstrong daughter got the idea to traipse off on a solo path of vengeance, and while she was busy stalking Senator Stanton in Columbus, her cover was blown.”
“Blown?” Falcon looked to her, then Digger, before returning his attention to the man who signed their paychecks. “You sure?”
“Someone shot up her motel room last night,” Digger finally spoke for the first time since coming into the room. “So yeah. We’re pretty damn sure.”
“You were shot at?” Bones immediately looked her up and down as if checking for possible injuries. “Shit, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Shadow gave Digger a sideways glance. “We went out the back, through the bathroom window, and into some trees. The shooter took off, and we got the hell out of there.”
“We?” Bones eyed them both closely before locking his gaze on Digger’s. “You were there, too? In Shadow’s hotel room?”
