Her face tightened with anger, and pained irritation crawled up her spine. Did they think Henry was behind this? “Something is clearly wrong. I’m worried about Henry. Please, what if terrorists—”
“Did you ever see Henry talking with anyone outside the lab? Does he have any known friends or acquaintances?” His brown eyes bore through Ava. He was relentless. “What was the last thing he said to you before you left the lab?”
Finally, a question she could answer. “To get drunk.” A smirk snuck to her lips at the memory, but he didn’t find her amusing. He managed to scowl at her without looking too ugly, an impressive feat. “I never go out. Ever. Kat—Katarina and Eddie take the time to let loose on the weekends, but I . . . wait, where are Kat and Eddie? Are they here? Are they okay?” Her thoughts began to scramble with concern for them, as well. Although if they hadn’t answered their phones because they were also being interrogated by this secret agency . . . well, that was better than being attacked by terrorists. Wasn’t it?
“We need to focus on Henry right now.”
“But—”
“Ava, I need to know—was the project complete? Did you solve the equation?”
“No.” She angled her chin up, crazy defiance shimmering in her eyes. “Who are you, again?”
The man scratched his short hair but never broke eye contact. “I’m the only one who can find Henry. To help him. That is who.”
“Find him? Or accuse him of something?”
Regardless of what they thought, Ava knew Henry was no traitor. He wanted the country to be safe, and he wanted to do the job Homeland Security had hired them to do—to keep America free from a chemical terrorist attack. The man was a patriot.
“Henry’s missing. The equation you were working on is gone. This is a serious matter, Miss Daniels.”
“That is why I’d like some answers. I’m worried terrorists have Henry and are torturing him for information.” The thought of Henry in captivity was one Ava couldn’t stomach. She battled a wave of nausea as she tried to focus. “Are you going to keep me here? Locked up?”
“If Henry is being tortured somewhere like you claim, aren’t you concerned about your safety?”
“Of course, which is why I need your help, but not the interrogation,” she snapped back.
“If the project you were working on fell into the wrong hands, the outcome could cause massive devastation to the U.S.” He took a second to clear his throat as he adjusted his bold red tie.
Was he kidding? “Which is kind of why we shouldn’t have been working on the project to begin with, don’t you think?” Shit. I didn’t mean to say that. Shit. Shit. Shit.
He stood up in one fast movement and was by her chair before she could blink. He placed his hand on her shoulder, and she swallowed as she looked up at him. “What is it that you’re not telling me?” he asked, his voice resonating with an unspoken warning.
“Nothing, I swear. I—I just think that our project was a dangerous one.”
“Did you voice your concerns to anyone?”
She shook her head with a reaffirming no. “Of course not.” She tried to remain calm, but she wanted to shout at him, to scream at the top of her lungs. “Henry’s not a traitor. Evidently you think he did something wrong, but that’s not the case. I promise. He loved . . . loves his country.”
Something shifted in the man’s mood. He took a step back and was silent for a few minutes. “If you hear anything from him, you must call us.”
“You’re letting me go?” she asked as her brows popped up in shock. “But you just said—”
“At the moment, we don’t think you are in danger.”
Oh God. What if terrorists are waiting at my apartment to snatch me up? “Henry is missing. The lab is empty. And I am not in danger? What is it that you aren’t telling me?”
“I can’t divulge any other information. I would like for you to take some time off from work until we rectify the situation. We’ll be in touch. Homeland will call you when they find a suitable job for you in Aberdeen. Consider your current assignment over.” He started for the door. “One of my agents will be in momentarily, and he’ll see that you get to your desired location.”
“But—” She watched the door close before she pressed her hands to her face. This has to be a nightmare, right?
Perhaps when she opened her eyes, she’d awake in her bed.
But instead, Ava was greeted by a black bag over her head—again.
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The Safe Bet Page 26