“Yes. That’s fact.”
“Good. Let’s stick with facts. The Collective is amassing power to sway votes, policy, and other important rules the rest of us will have to live with. And Rook seems to be behind a lot of what they’re doing.”
“Unless he or she is killing said Collective.”
Matthew rubbed his jaw. “It’s all conjecture. I hate not having more concrete proof.”
“Who knows about this besides you and me?”
“Jon Haversham. He and I have been working on this for months. He’s the only one I trust.” Matthew paused. “Aside from you.”
Warmth bloomed inside her. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Believing in me.”
He gave a weak chuckle. “Jane, you’re a lot of things. A pain in the ass, a trial for those of us wanting to color inside the lines. But you’re a straight shooter. I know you’d never do anything to compromise the integrity of the oaths you took when you became a federal agent and Marine.”
She blinked. “You know I served?”
“Of course. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Isn’t that what you jarheads say?”
Jane laughed. “Yeah. But we’re not all blockheads. Marines aren’t perfect. We’re made of a lot of people with agendas. But we value dedication to our country. I believe in the ideal of equality for all and that rules are meant to be followed.”
“Until they’re meant to be broken.” Matthew lifted his coffee cup and grimaced after a sip. “Ugh. Cold coffee.”
She grinned. “The worst.”
He grinned with her before sobering once more. “I need you to keep this quiet. I don’t know how much influence this Collective has on the Bureau. Jane, I don’t know if you realize it. But all the names you mentioned on that list total a net worth of over a billion dollars. Money and power go hand in hand. We need to find out what the Collective wants and what Rook is really after.”
“I’ll do my best. Right now, I know the Collective is real. I have seven more names to investigate. I also need to get my hands back on that book.”
Matthew started. “You don’t have it at the office?”
“No. I handed it to our code people.”
He swore. “I wouldn’t bet on you being able to find it when you try to retrieve the evidence.”
A hole opened in the pit of her stomach. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “I’d love to be wrong, but I’d bet you our next dinner that I’m not.”
It took her a moment. “Our next dinner?”
His smile was slow in coming, but it heated her from the inside. “Well, I fed you and entertained you, but we ended on a down note. After all that great food, the wine, the views, I had to ruin our good time with worries about the future.”
She huffed. “Oh please. We’ll always have worries about the future. That’s the job.”
“And that’s why you’re my favorite agent.”
Her cheeks felt hot. “Stop.” She realized the hour had grown later than she’d liked, and she normally went to sleep early on work nights. “I guess this is your way of telling me to get going.”
“Not at all.” He opened his mouth then closed it.
“What?”
“Well, I was going to say you could sleep here, but then I thought that might sound a little pushy. And I don’t want to offend.”
