Page 56 of Every Last Breath

“And I’m a part of the team,” Cole said, “until this is done.”

His sloppy phrasing slapped her three different shades of wrong. “And then what? You run off? Fake your death again, only better this time so I can never find you?”

“Maddox.” He looked downright flustered, like he wasn’t sure what he planned to do.

“Well, somebody kind of had that coming,” Castle said.

Cole stepped in to face off with her brother.

She moved in between them. “Get on the helo. Now.”

Reece was the first to move, cutting the tension.

They boarded and put on headsets. Their helicopter was a fine piece of machinery but lacking luxurious amenities.

“Are comms open?” she asked through the microphone.

“Internal only.” Gideon piloted the helicopter into the air. “Do you want me to open a secure channel to the Gray Box?”

“No.” What she needed to say, she didn’t want anyone back at headquarters to hear. “My cover was blown.”

“Novak sounded like he suspected one of you was undercover.” Castle’s gaze bounced between her and Cole, seated beside her.

“He knew it was me,” Maddox said. “He knew my full name and expected me to be there.”

“What do you mean?” Reece pitched forward in his seat across from her.

“At first, I thought Cole might’ve said too much and Ilya got word here somehow.”

“I’d never.” Something cold and ugly snapped in Cole’s eyes. “I’m not the one who can’t keep a secret.”

A low blow she deserved, but she couldn’t get sidetracked again with their personal mess. “Castle, we may have a leak in our office.”

Her brother’s face twisted into a frown. “Not possible.”

“I can’t think of another explanation for what the Ghost knew.” As much as she wanted to come up with something. The thought they might have a mole made her sick.

“The chance the Gray Box is compromised is next to nil. There has to be another explanation.” Castle’s gaze wandered as if he was trying to think of one.

With the highly sensitive nature of their work and access to classified information from multiple agencies, the Gray Box had the most sophisticated security there was. And their operations facility was housed six stories below ground and had every safeguard imaginable to prevent interception of communication.

“We shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” Reece said. “What if there’s some next generation tech, some new spyware? Hackers come up with crazy things every day.”

“The bunker is shielded,” Gideon said. “No electromagnetic signals can get in or out. We can even take the hit of an EMP.”

Shielding from an electromagnetic pulse was no small thing. A high-energy EMP could drop a Boeing 747 from the sky.

Cole gave a low whistle like he was impressed. “No one is hacking into your sandbox.”

External spyware sounded farfetched to her too. Besides, Sanborn had only decided to send Maddox to the auction mere hours ago. There wouldn’t have been any digital record of a plan to send her in.

“Anything is possible,” she said, not wanting to believe one of their own was a traitor. A leak would mean they were screwed on so many levels that it scared her.

“But only one scenario sounds probable right now,” Cole said. “It might be a bitter pill to swallow, but it’s not so hard to believe. You’re a bunch of professional liars. Right?”

Maddox ignored the jab.

For a few, the Gray Box was a second chance, but for most, it was the end of the operative line. No other options. And for someone getting twitchy under the anvil of desperation, maybe treason was a different form of freedom. An alternative that outweighed loyalty or duty or honor. And the reality was they did lie and deceive for a living. They were all quite good at it.