Page 34 of False Flag

Now, the morning after, she wasn’t sure what she regretted. All of it? None of it? Just the bolting part?

She’d stepped into the bathroom, thinking she might join him in the shower, but then she saw her clothes on the floor, and it hit her that she could grab them and leave. Not face his questions about her hot date the night before.

Not deal with the fact that she’d wanted him again, just moments after they’d had sex, and the fear that that little problem would only get worse the more time they spent together.

Not think about his beliefs versus hers and how there was no common ground.

So she’d grabbed her clothes and fled. Just like the coward he said she was.

She didn’t want to like Jake Burns. Didn’t want to crave his touch. Again.

Already.

Something had happened to her in that bedroom with him, and it wasn’t good. Not for her peace of mind, anyway.

All she’d known was that she had to get out before she screwed everything up.

Now she was back in her tiny apartment in Arlington, pacing the floor as she considered what to do. She could easily get Jake’s number. Call him and apologize.

But that would mess up what had been supposed to be a clean but brutal break.

Not that he’d take her call at this point. She closed her eyes and saw his bare ass in the moonlight as he walked away from her, the cocky swagger gone. In its place was a stiff-spined, angry stride.

She paced her living room, indecisive about everything that mattered.

She’d walked away from Jake because he’d been taken in by Campbell’s noxious fables, just like millions of others. Jake was a victim of a man who spewed lies with impunity.

But Jake also wasn’t like the millions of others. He’d spent twenty-five hundred dollars to sit near Campbell. And his motive couldn’t have been because he wanted on the team—as an active-duty SEAL, joining the expedition was impossible.

It wasn’t a small thing she could overlook, no matter how funny or appealing he was. She’d—unknowingly—made that mistake once already.

She couldn’t think about Jake. She needed to turn her focus to the millions of others who listened for the entertainment but didn’t see the underlying white supremacy. The ones who hadn’t yet joined the forums to plot violence.

Someone had to stop Campbell. His influence was growing, and with a billionaire and vice president as backers, he would do a lot of damage.

With this job offer, Staci had the chance to do something. If she ran scared now—if she was a coward—she would spend the rest of her life wondering if she could have stopped the violence that was certain to come.

If she acted now, men like Jake might escape the thrall. Might, in the future, not be someone to walk away from, but toward.

She picked up her phone and texted Gerard, asking him to email the employment contract, so she could have her attorney look it over. She then forwarded it to FMV’s attorney.

Two hours and three phone calls later, she’d accepted the job, given Double D her notice, and had a storage unit large enough to hold all her belongings lined up. She just needed to find a place to store her car and her cat for the next few months.

She stroked Fezzik’s head and back as he lay curled in a ball on her lap, purring loudly. He was a sweet fuzzball and would not be pleased with her absence. Yesterday, Vicki had said she was open to taking him as long as Staci paid the pet deposit for her apartment.

The contract included a signing bonus—not advance, thanks to FMV’s attorney—to cover moving expenses. Five thousand dollars would be deposited in her bank account tomorrow morning. She could pay not just the pet deposit, but also a hefty child support. Even better, she could finally buy the fancy robotic litter box of Fezzik’s—and her—dreams.

A few more phone calls and an internet order later, and Morgan had convinced Raptor’s facilities manager to agree to allow Staci to store her car on their Fairfax compound, Vicki was a proud cat foster mom, and the litterbox was ordered for delivery to Vicki’s address.

Her last call was to Freya, who Morgan would have told already, but they hadn’t talked in person yet.

Freya didn’t waste time with congratulations or gloating. No, Freya had been doing her own digging from the moment she got home. “I’ve been researching Casper Osborne. He’s been on my radar for a while, but now that we know he’s in league with Campbell and Daniels, he’s moved to the top of my list.”

“I’m glad we spoke on the bus yesterday morning, before I had the NDA I’m about to sign.”

They’d spoken very quietly in the back of the bus, Cal sitting alone in the seat in front of them, the rest of the group several rows away. It was the last time she could speak frankly with Freya unless she had a valid legal reason for violating the NDA.

“I have no doubt there’ll be valid reasons, but for now, we’ll play by the rules. My first and biggest concern is that you’ll be cut off from all communications on Osborne’s island. I’ve been looking up what I can about it, and it’s an absolute black hole for SIGINT.”