Page 54 of Avenging Angel

With that, Bennett leaves the cabin, the door slamming behind him.

As loath as I am to admit it, Bennett has a point. I came here with a vendetta that has been bubbling below the surface of my soul for two decades. Even though he doesn’t know that my heart has been filled with vengeance or why, my outward actions would lead anyone to believe that I’m capable of taking the shot to finally bury my past where it belongs.

Angel hangs his chin low. “We’ve all done things we regret under the guise of goodness and righteousness. You can’t be in our line of work and not toe the line; otherwise, you’ll be the one who ends up dead. It doesn’t make it right, but each of us can put ourselves in Bennett’s shoes and understand the dilemma he’s facing. He is weighing the good of the many versus the good of the one. The CIA has taught us that the many always take precedence.”

Vinny seems to agree. “We should start treating Bennett like a team member rather than an outsider; share what we know so that he’ll reciprocate. As long as we keep him on the outskirts, there’s no reason for him to trust us. I speak from experience when I say that life in the CIA is a lonely existence, and trust doesn’t come easily. Who knows where I would be if I didn’t have the love and support of the Conways? Bill was never afraid to pray with me or keep me grounded when my soul was getting pulled in the wrong direction, and Angel being a part of the organization gave me a purpose to stay the course as best as I could. I never wanted him to look at me and see a man who lost his way. And there were definitely times I was close.”

I fold up the itinerary and put it in my back pocket. “Are you asking me to be friends with Bennett?”

Jaxon looks mildly uncomfortable with what he’s about to say. “I think it goes beyond that, Daisy. If you shared your story, then Bennett would understand why this case means so much to you. We’ve seen the way he looks at you. It’s with a grudging respect and something else we can’t place.”

“Fondness,” Faith says. “Daisy’s tough and not your average woman.”

I shake my head and walk toward the door. “Regardless, I can’t share my story. I won’t go that far. But what I can do is share enough that he’ll believe I value our partnership. That’s about the best you’ll get out of me.”

Angel walks over to me and briefly presses his lips to mine, smiling as he does it. “Friendship with you is hard-earned but rewarding. Bennett will appreciate the gesture even if he won’t believe it for a second.”

“I’ll have you know, I’m a pretty good actress.”

“No, you’re not,” Owen says, hefting the rucksack onto his back. He grabs one of the modified rifles, points it toward the ground, and checks that a SMART simunition round is in the chamber. “I still have nightmares about your version of Rizzo in your junior high production of Grease.”

“I was a wonderful Rizzo.”

Owen snorts. “You were supposed to play Frenchie.”

Needing to pack a day bag, I open the door and prepare to leave. In my usual fashion, I can’t depart without having the last word. “The world would be a better place with two Rizzos. We need more people like her; the kind who aren’t afraid to say what they mean, fight for what they want, and love with their whole heart when someone is deemed worthy.”

I spread my fingers into a V and point them at the eyes of the people staring back at me. “You are all lucky that I deem you worthy to be part of my inner circle. You can tell Jeremy, Jack, and Grace that they’re also bona fide members of my secret club.”

“It’s a good thing the price of membership is free,” Owen grumbles. “Otherwise, I might ask for my money back.”

Coming from anyone else, I’d take offense. From my brother, it’s his way of saying he loves me. He only gets snarky with the people who mean something to him.

“I love you, too,” I tell him.

Owen steps out onto the front porch, then turns around. “Daisy, this world doesn’t need two Rizzos. It just needs you. Stay safe and don’t get yourself killed.”

Chapter twenty-two

Angel

“Bennett did not take your threat well,” I say to Owen as he, Scott, and I remove our rucksacks from the trunk and sling them over our shoulders.

“What threat was that?” Jeremy asks as he and Jack approach from their walk around the Stillwaters Campground.

Scott chuckles and points at the offender. “Owen threatened to go to Bennett’s daddy and tell on him.”

At the confused look on Jack’s face, I clarify. “Owen threatened to go to CIA Director Ludlow and explain how Bennett is refusing to cooperate. The cooperation we were promised by Ludlow isn’t what we’re getting from Bennett. His refusal to go to Colorado to track down a lead is only making matters worse.”

“But he’s going, right?” Jack asks.

I start walking toward the ATVs that Jeremy and Jack have ready for us. “Bennett had to make a phone call first, but yeah, he’s going. I guess he didn’t want to end up in the dungeon at HQ like me for disobeying an order. It would be career suicide.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t put up more of a fight to go with my sister,” Owen says to me. “You know that Scott and I are able to track a target through rough terrain on our own. Scott did it for two decades as Pararescue, and I did it for four years as a Ranger.”

“I don’t know Roger all that well, but I do know that he doesn’t do anything without purpose. Since Daisy is only going to visit an older couple for an hour or so, she shouldn’t be in any danger.”

“Except dying of boredom,” Owen quips. “I’d rather eat a scorpion than sit next to Bennett for three hours listening to him trying to convince me that the CIA is aboveboard. No offense, Angel.”