AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Ethan’s in place to feed us intel on Rouxier and Mitchell, a couple more days and we’ve got ex-fil in place.”
“What’s that?” I asked, feeling about as stupid as a civilian can feel in a room full of military guys.
Nik left his chair and crouched down next to me. “It’s his exit plan. He’ll be home in two days. Okay?”
I glanced past Nik to the screens, to see Ethan stare directly at the camera and smile subtly. It was as if he knew I was here watching and I found myself smiling back.
“He’s coming home?” I asked Nik.
“Two days. That’s all.”
Two days.
That wasexactlytwo days too long.
ChapterThirty
Ethan
The worst thingabout being undercover was the absolute paranoia that consumed me. I felt as if every breath I took was being recorded, and I found myself second-guessing the things I was thinking as if people could look inside my brain.
It was bad that I felt it was dangerous to consider time with Josh, impossible to focus on missing Ben, and imperative I never recalled Oreo who did nothing but climb me was as if I were a scratching post. If I thought too hard on any of this, about how I should have tried harder to spend more time with Ben, or to give Oreo belly rubs, or hell, kissed Josh, then I’d go out of my fricking mind.
Mitchell had deposited me, blindfolded in the car, into an old prefab office at a construction site before he removed the blindfold. Where it was I don’t know, but from the level of noise outside it sounded as if I was in the city. All I could hope was that Sanctuary had caught me after I turned on the tracker back at the barn to let them know where Danvers was. I’d had to leave the tracker, but if they had satellite images… I had no idea of the level of intel Sanctuary could gather, but they seemed to have access to a lot more than was necessarily legal.
The door opened, Mitchell stepping in; his gaze was fixed on me, two armed men flanking him, and he frowned.
“Here!” he threw me a can of soda and I caught it. “Nice reflexes,” he added with a smirk.
I tapped the lid and pulled the tab, taking a healthy swallow and giving myself time to get over the fact that Aubrey Mitchell was in the hut throwing me cans. He was obsessed with staring at me, closed-off, manic, and I still remember the second he pulled the trigger to put Danvers down. I don’t grieve Danvers’ death, but I regret not having him account for his actions, and the fact he’d gotten away with a quick end instead of spending time behind bars didn’t sit well.
“With the compromises from Danvers fucking up, we need intel from your FBI buddies, and it falls on you.” Mitchell placed a thumb drive onto the table between us before sitting opposite me. He unholstered his weapon, the Sig in his right hand resting loose in his lap.
“The FBI is too hot,” I said, placing my soda on the table and picking up the drive. What Ireallywanted to do was go for my gun.
“It’s always hot.” He glanced back at the two men who’d come in with him and frowned. He seemed almost hesitant, maybe even nervous? What did he have to be nervous about?
I paused a moment. “You killed Danvers, he’ll be declared missing, and they’ll look internally as well as external. I’ll be in the crosshairs, so like I said, too hot.”
“That’s why you get paid the big bucks.” Mitchell laughed, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes. If anything, his expression was baffling, because from that spark of a joke he turned serious before he relaxed back in his seat, and grinned as if he didn’t have a care in the world. I guessed that was what it was like to be the one calling the shots. “I got a question for you. The big bucksyouget, Danvers’ money as well, for betraying your oath, and your FBIfamily. How does that sit with you?”
“The FBI isn’t myfamily,” I rolled my eyes like the idea was so preposterous I didn’t give it brain space. “What I do is for money.”
Mitchell sat forward, alert, temper flashing in his eyes. “Deceit is a poison… ” he paused. “People like us, it’s actually all about the winning, and what’s more evidence of winning than money in the bank, eh? Fuck everything else.”
I thought I detected a slip in his tone, a hint of emotion, even a touch of an accent, but it was happened so fast I had to have imagined it.
“Yeah,” I lied. “Always the money.”
“What’s the worst thing you’ve done for someone else?” Mitchell asked out of the blue.
I wanted to look around for a camera as that had to be the only reason he was asking me that.
“You were an Army Ranger. Did you kill many people when you were at war? People that meant something to you. Friends?”
“Fuck you,” I kept my tone even, although my chest tightened. I wasn’t acting a part when I said that; no one asked me about my time in the Rangers and got to judge me for anything I’d had to do when I was enlisted. I had regrets but the worst one by far was losing a team member, and Trey would always have a place in my sorrows.
“Fuck you right back,” Mitchell huffed. “I killed a man for being a fucking waste of space,” Mitchell said, and that damn smile was back. “Danvers deserved it, and hell, I got some brownie points for taking him out.”
