Page 76 of The FBI Agents Who Stole Me

My stomach knots so tight it hurts. “He was one of their chemists. I was trying to get him to give up the others. Anyone tied to what happened to Emily.”

Julian’s eyes lift from the screen to meet mine. The memory of that night moves across his face, shifting into something new.

“That’s why he was there?”

“He got loose before he gave me anything.”

Julian grabs my hand.

“Ettie, I’m so sorry I got in the way of information that could have helped. Please forgive me.”

My jaw drops, and I turn to him. Fuck, I love this man.

“Julian, I’m the one who fucked that whole thing up. I should have been honest. Thank you for continuing to love me.”

“There is nothing else I could possibly do besides love you, babydoll. We are inevitable.”

His eyes are glassy, and he leans over me and kisses me deep. With one last moan, he breaks our kiss and sits next to me again.

“That’s why you took him to the crematory. The fucker sold you out to Fuller, by the way. He’s on my list,” Elliot says, connecting the dots from all the files he’s read.

He’s right. I was a mess after that. I got sloppy, and I wanted the chemist buried. I don’t even know the funeral owner well, and I didn’t follow up because my breakup was too fresh.

“Damn him,” I curse.

The guys nod in agreement, and I press Play.

The video glitches again, distorting the last word so it almost doesn’t register.

But I hear it.

Her breathing turns ragged.

“If anything happens,” she says faintly, “it wasn’t an accident. Director Fuller is calling all the shots.”

A sound echoes somewhere off camera.

She flinches.

The feed cuts to black.

Julian’s hand tightens on my shoulder, but I barely feel it.

CHAPTER 23

Julian

“That’s enough for now, babydoll.” I keep my voice low and steady as I reach down and lift her out of the chair. Her body is rigid at first, then she folds into me like she’s been holding herself together by threads.

The video is still glowing on the monitor behind us, but I turn her away from it. She doesn’t need to see any more of her sister’s face twisted in pain right now. She’s in shock, grief’s slamming into her all over again, and I can feel the fine tremors running through her as she presses her face into my shoulder.

“I’m going to kill him. And anyone else that was part of the project,” she says. Her quiet words are a vow.

I tighten my arms around her and press a kiss to her head.

“I’ll help you, Lee.” Elliot’s voice comes from behind us, calm and certain. “He’s out of the country, but he comes back in four days. That gives us time to plan and release everything to the media.”

She’s shivering harder now. I don’t argue with Elliot’s declaration. I just carry her the few steps to the couch and set her down gently. Ettie is terrible about eating when she’s this upset. Her body gets small and tight, like she’s trying to disappear. I won’t let that happen.