The slight snorting sound coming from the mildly concussed woman eased some of the tension still holding his muscles hostage.
“The guy’s wife told police he was home all night with her and their son. They had dinner together as a family, and after their son fell asleep, they stayed up half the night watching movies from their couch. Security footage doesn’t show anyone going in or out of the residence, but you and I both know technology can be manipulated to fit whatever narrative a person wants to spin.”
“Okay, so going back to the working theory that Stanton was a dirty agent…” Bones straightened his spine. “If your wife somehow did find out whatever the guy was up to, killing her makes total sense.”
Piggybacking off of that, Falcon added, “It also explains why the guy wouldn’t want his time with the Agency exposed to the public. He’s already spent millions of his own money trying to smooth-talk his way into the Oval Office.”
“Nothing brings out the worst in people like a threat to their money and freedom,” Shadow glanced around the room. Clarity filled her gorgeous, tormented gaze when she turned her focus back onto Slade. “We need to go on the offensive. If we can find out what my mom had on Stanton, we can use it to take him down once and for all.”
“That sound’s all well and good…” Apollo rejoined the conversation. “But how do we do that when the prick’s history with the CIA has been completely erased?”
“We don’t need the CIA’s records. We just need to find the person who tried blowing us up. Andthatstarts with me checking out the feed from the hospital’s security cameras.”
“You think whoever put the explosives on Dig’s car was careless enough to get caught on camera?” Bones asked next.
Shadow merely shrugged, looking and sounding more and more like her old self with each second that passed.
“It’s worth a shot,” she told their team’s medic. “I mean, they were stupid enough to try to blow us up in broad daylight surrounded by witnesses, right? And as my father so astutely pointed out, whoever turned my motel room into Swiss cheese didn’t do so with the usual stealth of a government hitman.”
Not waiting for a response, she carefully pushed herself to her feet.
A renewed sense of rage toward the person who’d tried to kill her began to swirl around in Slade’s gut, but then he saw the strength and determination present in her fiery gaze. He couldn’t deny the sense of pride he felt knowing the two recent attempts on her life hadn’t broken her in the least.
If anything, the incredible woman seemed even more resolved in her pursuit of justice. And despite the fear that Stanton wouldn’t stop in his efforts to silence her forever, Shadow’s unwillingness to give up made him like her even more.
Easy, Garrison. You keep going down that path, you could end up doing a whole lot more than just liking her. If you’re not careful, you just might find yourself falling in?—
“We can do that from the safe house.” Slade cleared his throat and rose quickly to his feet, doing his damnedest to ignore the thought trying to drive itself into his head.
Her confused stare found him once again. “I thought you said we weren’t going back to the cabin.”
“You aren’t,” Owens answered for him. “I had your things taken to a different location. One here in the city.” The gray-haired man turned to his daughter, who was still standing beside her pushed-in chair. “I decided it was best to keep you closer. And now that we know he isn’t above using our relationship to his favor, you will remain in the new safe house until he’s either behind bars or dead.”
“That could take months, if it ever happens at all,” the man’s daughter argued. “I’m not going to let this guy dictate how I live my life.”
“And I’m not going to let himtakeyour life.” Emotion poured into Owens’ concerned gaze. “I already lost your mother to this son of a bitch. I’m not about to lose you, too.”
The room grew quiet as Shadow worked her throat with an audible swallow. “What about you?” she asked her father quietly. “Stanton may not have come after you this time, but that doesn’t mean he won’t.”
“The guys and I can stay with you, Boss,” Falcon offered. “Just in case.”
“Party at the boss’s house.” Bones grinned with a playful nod. “What could go wrong?”
In response to this, Owens countered with a serious, “Two of you can stay with me at the plantation, but I want one of you to watch over Ashley, as well. Stanton pulled her into this the second he used the likeness of her voice to trick Shadow into coming out of hiding. There’s no reason to think the bastard isn’t above actually going after Ashley.”
“Good idea.” Shadow nodded. “Oh, and Dig said you had our things brought here from the cabin?”
“Not here,” her father clarified. “It’s already at the new safe house.”
The tempting blonde turned Slade’s way next. “I say we get to wherever it is we’re going. Sooner we get there, the sooner I can get to work on the footage from the hospital.”
Just like that, she was back to being mission ready. As for Slade, he began to wonder if perhaps, deep down, he was a closeted masochist. Because a part of him—a big part, if he were being completely honest—was suddenly looking forward to it being just the two of them again.
CHAPTER10
Two hours later…
“I’m in.”Shadow blew out a breath of relief when the new window popped up on her laptop’s screen.
