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Especially in the bedroom for me. Holy mother of all things . . . I sure as hell needed sleep if that’s where my mind went.
Gray gathered everyone around in the cabin. The space was packed tight with bodies and energy, and it felt awkward to be the only one sitting. As I stood, I nearly stumbled back, nervous about what new fresh hell was about to be dropped on us all.
“Gwen just let me know she was able to track the source of the blackmail emails sent to Alyona to the Georgetown area in D.C.,” Sydney spoke first. Hammer one of several I felt coming dropped.
Dallas finally stirred awake, apparently feeling the weight of that thud of news, too. He maneuvered around everyone in the aisle to get to me. He was a living, breathing, four-legged oxytocin booster.
“Not a VPN situation?” Mya asked. “Spoofing the?—”
“No,” Carter cut her off, grit to his tone that had my goose bumps returning in a less savory way. Not from desire, but fear. “Gwen’s sure.”
“Georgetown’s my mom’s neighborhood.” I swiped my fingers along my lips, unable to compute what was being shared. Dallas nudged me, reminding me he had my six, so I could pet him and feel better. Try, at least.
“There’s definitely an inside man on the project, no denying it now. Someone who knew I was sent to rescue you. Probably saw my personal security footage from Amsterdam as well. Even knew I planned to reach out to Alyona for help,” Carter quickly stated, and I barely registered what he’d said.
Personal security footage? Instead of tackling that question, I wound up regurgitating Oliver’s unpleasant words from before and mumbled, “Right, this traitor is the one fucking my dad.”
Carter’s eyes widened, his shock either at my use of the F bomb, or from the fact I’d alluded to that insider traitor hooking up with my dad.
“Sorry, that was all me there despite Diana being the one to talk,” Oliver said, quickly coming to my defense.
I could kiss him for the save, but decided to leave that for Mya and save Oliver from getting decked by Carter.
“Based on the listening devices planted at Joshua Mackenzie’s house, coupled with this new find,” Sydney went on despite my train wreck of a statement, “we believe the insider may be Senator Craig Paulsen.”
Hammer number two sent me back to the couch, but it did the opposite for Carter and propelled him forward and down the aisle. “Take it from here for me, I need a minute,” he said without even a passing glance my way.
That lack of eye contact and his quick departure was hammer three. I was, for all intents and purposes, effectively nailed to the couch. My attempts to stand and go to Carter were blocked when Griffin extended his arm in front of me, a plea to remain seated.
At the door thudding shut with enough force to send a volt of electricity through me, I opted to take Griffin’s silent request and stay right where I was.
“Give him a minute. He’s pissed. Not just at the situation, but at himself,” Gray was the one to verbalize the reason behind Griffin’s outstretched arm.
“Why?” I pretty much breathed out my question.
When Griffin lowered his arm, Dallas hopped up onto the couch alongside me.
“We’ve been looking into the backgrounds of everyone connected to the project since we were read into the operation a few days ago,” Sydney began. “From Pierce Quaid at The Barclay Group to the President himself. There was a photo that was meaningless to me, but when I showed it to Carter just now, it narrowed down our suspect list to potentially one main candidate.” She turned the iPad to let me see the screen, and given Carter’s words before jetting away, I assumed the senator would be there.
“That’s Craig Paulsen, but who’s the man with him?” The second guy resembled Brad Pitt. Clearly, it’s not, so who is it?
“His name is Andrew Cutter. He was a celebrity treasure hunter, but secretly an overlord of illegal trafficking routes,” Gray revealed.
I knew Craig was an asshole, but this went beyond that. Could he truly be capable of planning or assisting in what was happening with the lab attack? “You think he hired the Serbians since he has a connection to trafficking? You’re saying Andrew’s working with Craig?”
“No, Andrew Cutter isn’t tied to this. Carter and my brother-in-law helped take him out back in 2021.” Gray’s words pulled me to my feet as the dots connected. Carter hadn’t reacted as though he’d seen a ghost before taking off for the bedroom because he believed Craig was a traitor, but because . . .
“Andrew Cutter’s the man responsible for having Carter’s wife murdered, and now we know Craig Paulsen knew Andrew. We think Craig might have been the one to introduce the two of them, which ultimately means Craig may also be connected to Rebecca’s death.”
42
CARTER
“I know you want to be alone, but is there any way I can be alone with you?”
My fists were planted on the wall near the door, my heart thundering up into my ears so loudly I barely heard Diana’s soft voice outside the door. “You don’t want to be near me right now,” I warned.
“I both want and need to be with you.”
