“Are you okay?” Adrian asked. “Was anyone hurt?” There should be ambulances here if anyone had been. Right?
Hank shook his head. “No, thank goodness. We dodged a bullet there. Literally.”
A sniper who had missed? Maybe deliberately. “Could be it was a distraction,” Adrian suggested.
“You think he pinned us down so El Cuervo could get away?”
Megan’s body snapped taut. “He got away?”
Hank nodded. “Slipped out a side exit while the agents were occupied by the sniper. There was nothing they could do, but they followed as soon as they could. Didn’t see a car, though. How’d you do with the sniper?”
Adrian glanced at Megan, letting her answer that question. Someone caught Hank’s attention, and he glanced over.
“He got away as well,” she said, her face blank.
Hank nodded. If Adrian hadn’t been watching and hadn’t caught her reaction, he might have bought it, too. But he’d seen the expression on Megan’s face.
“So we have nothing?” Hank turned back to them, lifted his hands and let them fall to his sides. He moved to the other agents then.
Adrian didn’t think they had nothing. What they had wasn’t much.
The question was, what Megan planned to do with it.
Chapter 13
Adrian knew. Maybe not exactly what she’d seen—though he figured she got a glimpse of the shooter. What he didn’t know, was who it was. He’d seen her surprise. He was a smart man. He’d either figure it out, or he would get her to tell him.
She trusted Adrian, but what she wanted right now was the time to process and plan. To figure out how she was going to manage this issue. If it came out the wrong way, this whole FBI investigation would tank. Or it would tangent in the wrong direction. They’d start looking at the wrong person.
And Double Down would be toast.
Hank strode away. She could feel Adrian’s attention on her. Not staring. That was awkward. But the man had this ability to just focus, and he’d decided to focus on her.
She bristled and glanced at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be finding Zimmerman?”
His eyebrows lifted, but he didn’t say anything. “Care to share any new information you have in your possession? Information that possibly might help the cause?”
“I really hate people who do that.” She blew out a breath and fought back the mad.
“Do what?”
“Flip everything back, so all of a sudden it’s your fault. I had an ex who used to do that, and it’s infuriating.” She pointed at him. “You’re the one not finding Zimmerman.”
He was still staring—focused.
And now she was blathering. “Eventually you’ll go back to your desk in DC, and you’ll get some other case. I’ll be a memory.”
“A good one.”
She narrowed her eyes. This whole conversation had veered into dangerous territory. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He lifted both hands, palms out. “Nothing, Megan.” He blew out a breath. “Will you chill?”
“Did you just tell me to chill?”
“Yes, and apparently it was the wrong thing to say.”
“You don’t tell—”
He cut her off. “Is that your phone?”
She belatedly realized her phone was ringing. She dug it out of her jacket pocket. “It’s the Double Down line.”
She’d have preferred it to be Remy with an answer, but she would accept any distraction from this dangerous conversation with Adrian. He probably thought she was unstable. Maybe she was.
Adrian said, “So it’s Steve?”
She stilled to keep from reacting and said, “Maybe.”
Unfortunately, the lack of reaction was a reaction of its own. She didn’t look up though. Didn’t check to see what he’d seen, or hadn’t. She swiped the screen. “Perkins.”
“It’s all over the police band that there was a shooting at your location involving a bunch of federal agents on an operation.”
“Mom, I told you to stop listening to the police band whenever I’m on an op.”
Adrian made a choking sound. When she glanced up she saw the humor in his eyes. Megan frowned at him, then focused back on her phone.
“…who knows where, and I have no idea what’s going on.”
“Did you GPS my phone?”
Adrian laughed out loud.
“Why else did we get on a family plan?”
Megan rolled her eyes. “Mom, I’m fine. Everyone’s fine.” She explained what had happened and how they’d chased the shooter, but he got away. It was mostly true.
“You’re leaving something out,” her mom said. “What is it?”
Megan didn’t know how to answer that without saying too much in front of Adrian. “I’ll email you the report.”
There was a second of pause, then her mom said, “It had better all be in there. I mean it.”
Megan nearly smiled, but didn’t. “Not a problem.” She figured if the blackmailer was in their system, then it didn’t matter. He already knew who the shooter was. Megan needed someone she could totally count on to be in on this with her. She had few allies, but her mom being part of Double Down was one.
“Those two days you were gone were the worst days of my life.”
Megan squeezed her eyes shut.
She felt Adrian step closer, and then his arm was around her waist and he hugged her into his warm body. Images from those days flashed in her mind. She managed to choke out, “I know.”
“I love you. I’m glad you’re all right,” her mom said. “I’m leaving for my conference in the morning, so I’ll be out of touch for a few hours.”
“Okay, text me when you leave and when your plane lands. I want to know when you’re at the hotel.”
Her mom chuckled. “You sound like your father.”
“Good.” Megan swiped at the moisture under her eyes and tried to step back. Adrian’s arm tightened a fraction, like he didn’t want to let her go. She didn’t fight it. He was warm and the night air was cold. That was all.
She said, “Love you, Mom,” and then hung up. “She worries.”
“Understandable.” His gaze shifted as he took in her face. Assessing, but in a nice way. “You okay?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not.”
“And now you just lied again,” he said.
Megan pressed her lips together. “Maybe it’s none of your business.” He saw entirely too much. “And you should just go find Zimmerman.”
“Run along. Is that it?” he asked. “You’ve decided you’re done with me, so I should go?”
She didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t be good if she did, and she figured she needed the practice at keeping her mouth shut sometimes. There was a whole lot of bizarre subtext happening here. She tried to figure out how it’d gotten so out of control.
“Dismissed.” He let go of her. “I guess I’m figuring out how this is going to go, then.”
“This—” She motioned between them with a flick of her finger back and forth. “—isn’t going anywhere.”
She couldn’t let it. Not after she’d watched Will die. She’d failed him, and she had to live with that fact. There was no way she would allow someone else into her orbit to suffer the same fate. Especially not when there were multiple enemies in play.
They were circling, like sharks around their prey. And that prey was bleeding.
She had been for years.
Sticking with Adrian wasn’t going to fix that. She couldn’t use him as a crutch forever, just so she could feel stronger. That wasn’t right. She needed to beat the fear over and over, every minute of every day. Choose bravery. Choose not to fear.
Choose life.
Adrian took a step back, his face blank in a way she hated. “Don’t go anywhere. I need to talk to Special Agent Cromwell.” He turned in the direction where Hank stood with a few of the local
agents.
Megan watched him walk away, just to appreciate the way he moved. Trying not to think of the ways he’d helped her. Been there for her. Stuck around the last few days, so she wouldn’t be alone.
She shook her head. That wasn’t what he’d been doing. This had been about work. Protecting her in a way that meant he’d kept track of her progress and where Double Down was at this whole time.
Maybe it was for the best that she’d hurt his feelings. Adrian shouldn’t get attached to her. This was a job.
Nothing more.
**
Adrian blew out a breath.
Hank said, “That bad?”
“She’s hiding the identity of the shooter,” he said. “She knows who it is.”
Hank shook his head slowly. “Stay on that. If she trusts you as you say she’s been starting to, then stick with it. It’ll eat at her, and she’ll need someone to confide in.”
Adrian didn’t like it. “I figure we’ll get an answer faster by getting into her email. She’s going to send her mom a report. If I was inclined to gamble, I would put money on the fact she’ll tell her mom who it was.”
“I agree.” Hank pulled out his own phone. “I’ll have that noted so we flag it when it comes through.”
If there was any kind of tracking software in the Double Down system, they’d likely attribute the breach to the blackmailer. Megan didn’t need to know the FBI was in there as well.
“There’s more, though.”
Adrian said, “What is it?”
“When El Cuervo slipped out of the restaurant, he left this behind.” Hank lifted an evidence bag. Inside was a cell phone. “No password protection.”
“So he didn’t think it would fall into the wrong hands,” Adrian said. “Or he doesn’t care if it does. He wants us to see whatever is in there.”
Hank said nothing.
“So what is in there?”
Hank shifted the phone, and the screen illuminated. “One thing.”
A picture of Megan flashed on the screen.
“She’s his target?” Adrian glanced back over his shoulder. Megan was typing on her phone, but he could tell she was aware of what was happening around her. She would never let herself get so distracted she’d be blindsided.
“Or they’re working together.”
“Megan and El Cuervo? That’s nuts, Hank. You can’t seriously believe that.”
Hank’s eyebrows lifted, but Adrian noticed there was a spark of something there.
“What I mean, sir,” Adrian emphasized the word, “is that Megan was destroyed by what happened to her in Mexico. You of all people know that. I can’t for one second believe she was part of it.”
“Do we really know?” Hank asked. “I didn’t get to this position by allowing my feelings to be blinded. Even by someone I’ve known over the years as well as Megan.”
“So you’ve kept her close to find the truth about whether or not she was involved with him?” A sick feeling settled in Adrian’s stomach. Had Hank just been using him all along? “Do you think she was in league with Zimmerman as well? He’s a victim of the blackmailer.”
“It’s too coincidental. The blackmailer targets Zimmerman, who is connected to El Cuervo. And standing in the middle is Megan Perkins.”
“If he turned her, she’s given him nothing. She doesn’t have access to privileged FBI information, so she can’t be a mole. It was you who made it so she kept her badge, sir.”
Hank said, “So you think she’s an innocent victim in all this? Targeted by El Cuervo, she manages to escape when her partner is conveniently killed. Now Zimmerman is using her as the recipient of his ‘message.’ One we also conveniently never received.”
Adrian folded his arms. “This isn’t about Megan. It’s about finding Zimmerman.”
“And you still don’t believe she’s the key to all of this?” Hank shook the phone in front of his face. “El Cuervo wants us to know he’s interested in her.”
“Probably to unnerve her. He’ll know we’re working with her.” It could all be a ploy to make them think she was working for the other side. But he knew Megan. She would never betray her friends, or her family, or the memory of her partner that way. Not even if she was being blackmailed. “If he’s here to get her because she slipped out of his hands before, then it’s more important now than ever that we make sure she stays safe.”
Hank saw it. Adrian hadn’t tried to hide it. He cared about Megan, and that wasn’t going to be a secret. Not now. Not ever. He needed as much truth between them as possible.
And if Hank thought he could implicate her, he was going to have a fight on his hands.
“Either way,” Adrian said, “I will be sticking with her.”
“We’re closing in on Zimmerman. The sighting of him headed for Chicago was legit.”
“And now?” The think tank had been destroyed, and two people killed the last time he’d been seen.
“He was seen in Des Moines. We think he’s headed west,” Hank said. “As far as we can tell, we’re about four hours behind him at this point.”
“Good,” Adrian said. It bothered him not to be on the front lines of the search. Local agents in each city were taking care of the leg work. “Keep me posted.”
“Where will you take her?”
“We’ll head northwest. That will at least get her out of the same city as El Cuervo.”
Yes, he was essentially stringing her along. His intention was to be there to take Zimmerman down when the time came. But his orders were to stick with Megan. It had become personal, but the reality was that if he wanted to get ahead at the FBI, then he needed to follow them.
Now that they knew for sure she had a connection to the blackmailer, it was more important than ever that he stick with her. Get this done. Figure out Megan’s connection to the blackmailer and the reason why she’d been repeatedly pulled in.
They needed to close the case. Preferably before he lost all focus because he’d spent far too much time with Megan.
After that, who knew?
Hank lifted his chin and then walked away. Adrian had been dismissed. Again.
He couldn’t help feeling like the underling, which was exactly what he was. Hank acted one way with his staff, and a completely different way with Megan. And yet, under the surface, he was suspicious of her.
Adrian didn’t know what to think. He knew what his gut said and what his heart wanted to believe. But following that could cost him the next step of his career—everything he’d been working on for years.
Long before Megan came into his life.
“Adrian!”
He turned to see her stride toward him, and called out, “What is it?”
“Phone.” She waved for him to meet her, and they got into the SUV. Front seats this time. The keys were in the ignition.
“Okay, Remy,” she said. “Tell Adrian what you just told me.”
“I ran some calculations. Looked for links between everyone involved so far and tried to figure out the likelihood that all this was as a result of those connections. Then based on what I found, I did some digging. The kind an FBI agent isn’t going to look past.”
“I won’t arrest you,” he said. “Not if it gets us a result.”
He wasn’t about to lose the chance to get through this without it all going badly. They needed to find Zimmerman and the blackmailer, and he needed Megan to stick with him long enough for law enforcement to find El Cuervo. For whatever reason, the Venezuelan was interested in her.
“Oh, goodie.”
“Remy.” Megan said her name as a chastisement.
“Sorry. I’m just having trouble finding Shadrach and it’s bothering me a lot. But this was a good distraction.”
Adrian frowned at the idea that she thought this was some kind of intellectual exercise. They were talking about people’s lives—and a potential terrorist threat.
Megan shook her head.
Remy said, “So the highest probability for a c
onnection is that El Cuervo is linked to Zimmerman, which you know from his computer. What you don’t know is that I found a link between the Venezuelan and Senator Sadler. And Bradley and Rachel’s parents. And Megan’s father. And a scientist named Brent Caulder, and Steve Preston. There are more people on the list, but those are the ones you know.”
Megan stiffened at the mention of her boss. Hitting too close to home?
“It goes back to the eighties and a military operation in Venezuela.”
“Was the FBI involved?”
“Yep. And the state department,” Remy said. “I have a whole list of people who were part of this. Top of the list is General Eric Thomas, US Army retired.”
“Sounds familiar,” Adrian said.
Megan nodded. “The dead General from the think tank.”
Remy continued, “So much of this stuff is redacted. It’s going to take a whole lot more digging to get to the details of what actually happened. But what I know so far is that everyone who’s been targeted by the blackmailer is linked by one common denominator. That operation in Venezuela.”
Chapter 14
Megan could hardly believe Remy had found it—the answer they’d been looking for all along. She gripped the phone so hard it seemed like it would shatter in her hand at any moment.
Even Adrian looked like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening.
Remy continued, “What I can tell you right now was that it was a black ops mission, and the signature on the authorization page is the general who died at that think tank bombing a couple of days ago.” She paused. “It’s connected, right?”
“Yes,” Adrian told her. “It wasn’t a bombing, despite the information that was released. It was a sonic weapon.”
“I figured as much from the damage,” Remy said. “It doesn’t even look close to the kind of destruction an explosion would do.”
He said, “Anyone else on there we should know about?”
Megan’s stomach rolled over for the millionth time in the past few days. Remy said, “If we’re looking at possible targets for who might be next, I have a couple of names as suggestions that I’ll send over to Megan’s phone. I’ll list them in order of probability, as well as last known location.”
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