“Sure, yeah. I can do that.”
“And then I need you to work with her.” Kiley was sounding stronger now. More in control. “To get this second item done faster.”
“I don’t know. My in-laws are coming to dinner.” His whiney tone when so many people were counting on them grated on Evan.
“I appreciate that you want to be there, but your countryneeds you, Ulrich. Needs you desperately. So many lives are depending on this.” Her impassioned plea brought a long silence.
“I don’t know,” Ulrich finally said. “My wife will kill me if I bail.”
“This is your chance to be a hero,” Kiley rushed on, sounding patriotic. “Your chance to stop a terrible thing from happening. To save lives. So many lives. Please. For your country.”
After her emotion-filled plea, Evan would do anything she needed to have done, but would Ulrich?
“Okay. Fine. But I might need you to talk to her and smooth things over.”
“I can do that. And thank you, Ulrich. You’re already a hero in my eyes.” She ended the call.
Evan went to her and took her hands in his. “See. This is a perfect example of why you’re doing an excellent job leading the investigation. You got him to buy in and do his very best. Take confidence in your abilities. You’ve got this, and we will stop this attack. Together. You and me.”
She looked down at their hands and then met his gaze. “Thank you for being there for me. For being my cheerleader. I needed a pep talk. Needed it badly.”
“Rah, rah,” he laughed, wanting to lighten the mood.
But instead of laughing, she looked deep into his eyes. “You’re a good man, Evan. A very good man, and I’m sorry I blamed you all this time for Olin. You weren’t responsible for his death. I needed someone to blame, and you were the only person there.”
“It’s okay, really. I blame myself and deserved it.”
She pulled a hand free and gently cupped the side of his face. “You made an honest mistake, and you have no reason to feel guilty. Let it go. Please. Promise me you will.”
The gentle touch of her warm fingers on his skin nearly had him losing his concentration, but he worked hard to keep his focus. “I’ll do my best if you promise me you’ll give us a chance.”
“I’ll try.”
He pulled her to him, tight against his body. He thought he cared for her before, but man, the rush of emotions flooding him now were beyond anything he’d ever felt, and he would do anything to make sure she stayed safe. That her family stayed safe. That the country stayed safe.
He released her and stepped back. “As much as I want to kiss you right now, I think it would be a good idea for us to put whatever this is going on between us on the back burner.”
“So we can focus on the investigation,” she said, readily agreeing with him.
Evan nodded and would do his best to honor the agreement. He knew she needed to succeed so she never had to live with the guilt of failing to stop the most deadly terrorist attack ever perpetrated on American soil.
CHAPTER 27
KILEY’S PHONE RANGwith a call from Veronica Jennings as the conference room door opened and Special Agent in Charge Charles Kagan poked his head in. Kiley assumed he’d come to update her on his agents who’d taken over for Sean and Mack. But right now, Jennings’s call took precedence, so Kiley gestured at Kagan to hold on as she took the call.
He stepped into the room, pausing just inside the door and running a hand over his short black hair.
Kiley ignored him and turned her attention to Jennings. “I take it you got Nasim Waleed’s DNA.”
“Yeah.” Jennings sounded pumped. “It’s a match. A one hundred percent match. Every allele.”
Kiley shot to her feet. “You’re sure? He touched the slugs or casing?”
“Positive for both. This guy’s DNA was all over them.”
“Thank you, Jennings. Email me the official report.” Kiley disconnected, and with Kagan watching her, she couldn’t take the time to savor the fact that this meant they had Nasim for murder. But—a huge but—she had Nasim right where she wanted him. Under surveillance by this man’s team.
She forced herself to calm down and look at Kagan. “I need your agents to move on Nasim Waleed and take him into custody for the murder of my confidential informant.”
