“You learn to sum up people fast, like in thirty seconds,” she said. “It doesn’t always work?—”
“But it’s somethin’,” Greystone said. “It’s a starting point.”
“Exactly,” she replied. “I’m going to look into the terrorist’s aliases. Maybe someone got a job at one of the agencies.”
“I’m not finding a damn thing in any of these chat groups,” Teddy said, “but it’s usually something in plain sight that’s been written in code, like, ‘the squirrel is eating a red balloon.’”
“What about you, Grey?” Caroline asked. “What are you doing?”
“I’m reachin’ out to someone I worked with overseas,” Greystone replied before sending a text.
Need your help
When no response came, he jumped online and started reading the ALPHA file a member of the research team had put together on the mastermind behind the Day of Destruction.
“I’m reading the dossier on De Clerq again,” Greystone said. “There’s gotta be something here that helps break the damn case.”
BY LATE AFTERNOON,Greystone had gone from frustrated to downright pissed. De Clerq had been living two lives. He’d been a Director at ATF with a great rep. But his alias, Dante, had been obsessed with inflicting pain on the masses by blowing up large buildings, preferably with people in them. This monster had started something Greystone and his team couldn’t seem to stop.
For a man who needed control, and lived to hunt down evil, Greystone had nothing. There were no next steps, no discovery that led to the next.
Teddy packed up. “I know you wanted to make progress, but it’s a slow road to hell.”
Caroline chuckled. “Exactly.”
“Are you goin’ to the restaurant?” Greystone asked.
“Yeah, I gotta take care of something first, but I’ll be there. You?”
Their cousin, Willie Boy, was starting that evening, so Greystone had planned on meeting him there. “I hired someone to work a few nights a week so I could put in more time here. I’m headed there now.”
Teddy opened the conference room door. “We gotta keep the vibes positive. If not, these monsters will take us under with them.” He left, leaving the conference room door open.
Greystone shut it, sat beside Caroline. Ignoring him, she continued working.
“You ready to finish our convo?” he asked.
“I’m good, really,” she replied.
“You care about me.”
She flicked her gaze to him. A flicker of vulnerability shone in her eyes before she blinked it away. “I was your handler for three years. I cared about everyone I was protecting. It was my job.”
He spun her chair toward him. “I crossed a line when Iagreed to give you a birthday present. I coulda said no. Why do you think I said yes?”
“You were horny? Curious? Maybe you didn’t want to tell my sister no.”
He chuffed out a laugh. “Yeah, like I give a damn what someone thinks of me.” Then, he held her gaze for several seconds while the space between them sizzled. “Feel that?”
“I don’t feel anything.”
He flashed her a smile and a pinkish hue covered her cheeks. “You do, Austin. I’m not into drama, no games either. I’ve had a thing for you for a while now. Ask around, I don’t sleep with people I work with. I had sex with you because I’m crazy attracted to you. I told you that, so what’s going on with you?”
“I got jealous.”
“So you do care?”
She peered at him. “Yeah, I’m into you. Happy?”
