Backlash

by Rachel Dylan

  He raised an eyebrow. “You? Have doubts? No way. That’s not the Layla I remember.”

  “I hurt so badly after what happened with us that I truly wondered if God was there. I asked why He’d chosen to abandon me. What had happened to us? We were both people of faith. I never understood, and now I see I was wrong about all of it.”

  He sighed loudly. “The whole God-working-all-things-together-for-good thing doesn’t always pan out, does it?”

  “Do you really believe that?” she asked softly.

  “Honestly, Layla, I’m not sure what I believe anymore.”

  She couldn’t help herself as she placed her hand on his forearm. “God hasn’t left you, Hunter. I promise.”

  He shot her a glance. “Can you really make that promise?”

  “With every ounce of myself, I believe that. God’s there even when we think we can’t feel Him or hear Him. Sometimes it may just be a whisper in the wind or a beautiful sunrise, and that’s all it takes to remind me that the Lord is so much bigger than us. Than this earth. Than our lives. He is everything and everywhere, while at the same time He cares about each of us.”

  He looked over at her before focusing back on the road in front of him. “I do not doubt your conviction for a moment.”

  “What do you doubt, then?” she asked.

  “God’s ability to care about a man like me.”

  “Hunter, you’re a good man,” she responded quickly.

  He laughed. “You wouldn’t have said that a few weeks ago, would you?”

  She sat silently for a minute. “Actually, I would have. I thought you did something awful and that it never made sense, but that’s different. If you had done it, then it would’ve been a bad mistake, to say the least, but that doesn’t change who you are—and that’s a good man.”

  “Then, once again, Layla, you’re a better person than I’ll ever be. And maybe in that is where I find my answer.”

  She shook her head. “No, Hunter. God’s grace doesn’t work like that. It’s not a game board where He’s keeping score.”

  “I hope you’re right, because I’d be losing big-time right now.”

  “We all would be.” She struggled to find the right words to say to him and didn’t push the topic any further, but she couldn’t help but believe that this conversation was far from over.

  CHAPTER

  FIFTEEN

  Izzy sat next to Aiden on the couch while Jay sat across from them in one of the large chairs. She wanted to talk to both of them even though Piper told her she probably shouldn’t. But Izzy wasn’t focused on just the legal case. She wanted to make sure she was doing everything she could to protect the two men who meant so much to her.

  Jay had changed her life in immeasurable ways, and she’d never loved anyone like she loved Aiden. She didn’t know if it would be possible to love anyone else like that again.

  She had to get them up to speed. “Thanks for getting together tonight. Both of you know I had my second interview this morning with Arlington PD.”

  Aiden took her hand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you.”

  “It wouldn’t have worked, given the circumstances, but I know you always have my back. Both of you.” She breathed in deeply, considering her next words very carefully.

  “You know we do,” Jay added.

  “And that’s why we’re here. The line of questioning they went through made me think that either one or both of you could also be questioned by the police.”

  Neither man seemed surprised.

  “You expected that?” she asked.

  Jay nodded. “I did. Given my interaction with the sergeant, I figured they would check me out, and now, with your relationship with Aiden, he’s also in the mix. They wouldn’t be very good cops if they let all of that slide.”

  That wasn’t the way she was looking at it. Everyone was talking about how the sergeant deserved justice, but she still hadn’t accepted that and probably never would. She couldn’t have them wrongfully caught up in her mess. “Jay, I dragged you into this to begin with. Let me help you.”

  Jay smiled. “Izzy, you didn’t drag me anywhere, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about how I acted.”

  “Maybe we’re all just being paranoid,” Aiden said. “I haven’t been contacted by anyone yet.”

  Izzy looked at him. “It’s just a matter of time. There’s something else too.” She took a moment to gather her thoughts. She knew they were not going to like what she’d learned. “I found out that the sergeant had been following me. He had pictures of me at his house.”

  Aiden’s eyes flashed with anger. “No way.”

  “Unfortunately, yes,” she said softly.

  “Izzy, I hate to say this, but that only makes your situation more difficult,” Jay said.

  “You sound like my lawyer.”

  “The bigger question here is who did kill him,” Jay said. “We know it wasn’t one of us.”

  “He was an officer for many years. Probably made his fair share of enemies,” Izzy said. “But would that be enough for murder?”

  Aiden took her hand. “Let’s have a little more faith in Arlington PD here. Give them a chance to do their jobs. This is all very personal for us, but I want to believe that they will get this right, and the culprit will be brought to justice.”

  She didn’t share his sunny viewpoint on the topic. “You’re more optimistic about that than I am. Something about the way the detective scrutinized me gave me pause. Which brings me to my next point.”

  “Yes?” Aiden squeezed her hand.

  “I’m going to do some investigating of my own.”

  “Whoa. That can’t be a good idea.” Aiden turned toward his dad. “Talk some sense into her.”

  Jay let out a big sigh. “I agree with Aiden on this one, but I don’t think you’re going to listen to us, so if you do decide to start snooping around, you don’t need to do it alone. We don’t know exactly what’s going on here, and there’s no way to know whether it’s bigger than the sergeant’s death. I’m going to head home and leave you two to talk,” he said. “Izzy, you know you can call me at any time.”

  “I do know. Thank you, Jay. For everything.” He’d been a source of strength and stability, and she thanked God for bringing him into her life. She stood and gave him a hug. A piece of her wondered if she’d be able to call him Dad one day, but she couldn’t get ahead of herself where Aiden was concerned.

  Once Jay had left, she focused on Aiden.

  “You know I just don’t want any more harm and pain to come to you, Izzy, but if you’re dead set on conducting your own operation, then you can count me in. Where do you want to start?” Aiden asked her.

  “I don’t think there’s a blueprint for this, but as much as I’d like not to, we start with the sergeant. We do a deep dive on social media, background, anything we can find.” The prospect of coming face-to-face with more of the sergeant’s secrets was disturbing but unavoidable. She needed to do this.

  “Which means we have to start asking questions,” Aiden said. “That could raise eyebrows. Are you really sure you want to do this?”

  She was, because there was no other choice in her mind. “If word hasn’t already gotten out that the detectives talked to me, believe me, it will. I can handle the heat. I came clean with Marco, and he was very supportive, including offering me any time off I needed to deal with this, which I accepted. My head isn’t in the work game at the moment. The truth is the most important thing to me right now, and making sure we’re all in the clear.”

  “Sounds like a good plan to me, but are you ready for what you might find?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What if the answers out there are difficult to handle?”

  “I don’t think we’re going to find evidence of the sergeant’s sterling reputation. In fact, I think it’s going to be just the opposite. He had an obsession with me, but I doubt I’m the first or only woman he fixated on. I bet there’s a lo
ng list of women out there.”

  And that fact scared her.

  “We’ll get through this,” Aiden said. “We’re a team, remember? We made that pact from day one. It’s one of the things that has made our relationship so solid.”

  She smiled. “Since you came into my life, I see things differently. I was in such a dark place before. The lack of trust, the pain and fear. But being with you has shown me another way.”

  He pulled her close to him. “I worry that this ordeal threatens to take you back to that very dark place, and I don’t want you to go there.”

  She sighed. “I don’t either, but if I’m forced to go, I know that you’ll be by my side this time.”

  “Always. If you’ll let me.”

  She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. She didn’t think he was making a real forever statement, but she did have hope that one day they would get there. As long as her past didn’t overtake her.

  After the ordeal at her house, Cass had welcomed the DEA safe house. Zane was pacing around the kitchen, trying to figure out their next move. The target still didn’t seem to be on his back, and his top priority was keeping Cass safe.

  He’d never seen real, true fear in her eyes until she was in the arms of her attacker. He hated that he’d had to kill the guy—one, because he never liked to take a life, and two, because that meant they had no leads. Zane felt pretty confident that he could’ve gotten some actionable intel out of the hit man, but if he had to go back and do it again, he would make the same decision. Cass’s life was paramount.

  His phone rang, and he saw it was Mason. “Hey.”

  “All secure on your end?” Mason asked.

  “Yeah. Cass is resting right now.”

  “Let me guess—you’re stewing.”

  “Wouldn’t you be?”

  “I always am. We’re alike in that way.” Mason chuckled. “But I have an update for you.”

  “Good.”

  “We got a hit on the perp who attacked Cass. His name is Rod Gaynor, and he’s a known mercenary. Works for the highest bidder and has cartel contacts.”

  “And you think the cartel hired him for this job?” Zane asked.

  “I can do you one better. We were able to trace a couple of his offshore bank accounts, and he was wired money from one of the Cayman banks that is a favorite of the cartel. It’s not conclusive evidence, but it points that way.”

  “That makes sense. All the more reason why it’s good Cass is in the safe house. They’ll just send someone else. We have to figure out how to get the kill order removed.”

  “If you have any ideas, I’m all ears,” Mason said.

  “Not yet, but as long as that order is out there, Cass is in danger. Layla too. Although there seems to be a lot of other stuff going on with Layla, and I’m not sure it’s all related to our op.”

  “I can’t be either, but I’m still willing to help her in any way I can. She’s been a real team player, and I appreciate that. We can’t always say that about Agency types.”

  “I want to help her too. I have no idea why Langley is giving her a hard time,” Zane said.

  “If we get to a point where you think you can’t trust her, for whatever reason, I need you to let me know.”

  “I doubt that’s going to happen, but I get the request.”

  “I’ll be in touch.”

  Mason ended the call, and Zane turned around as Cass walked into the kitchen. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and she wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup, but she still looked pretty.

  As that thought crossed his mind, he had to check himself. Since when did he look at Cass like that? All of this danger they were facing was messing with his head.

  “What is it?” Cass asked. “What’s wrong?”

  He quickly shook off those thoughts and tried to get his head back in the game. “Nothing. We got an ID on your attacker. Standard merc with financial ties to known cartel accounts.”

  She pulled her hair out of the ponytail, letting it loose on her shoulders. “It’s like whack-a-mole at this point.”

  He moved toward her. “Hey now. You can’t have a defeatist attitude. We’ll beat this thing. There will be a way.”

  “We’ve talked about this before. Once the cartel orders the hit, the only way you get off that hit list is if you’re dead. And before you even suggest it, no, there’s no way I’m going into WITSEC. That would require me to give up everything. The only real solution is to take down the Mejía cartel. Did Mason say anything about the traitor on the inside?”

  He shook his head. “No. I don’t think he’s at liberty to talk about any of that.”

  “If they can figure out who that is, maybe we have a fighting chance at beating them.”

  “We’ll push Mason if we need to. There’s got to be a way out of this, and we’ll find it together.”

  Her expression softened, and she moved closer and took his hand in hers. “I can’t thank you enough, Zane. I knew as my partner that you would be there for me, but you’ve stepped up in ways that go far beyond the call of duty.”

  He squeezed her hand. “You would do the same for me, and I want you to keep your head up. This could be a long battle.”

  She looked up at him with her big brown eyes, and he felt a punch of desire.

  “I can fight as long as you’re with me,” she said softly. Then she put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. Her hair smelled like flowers. She felt so small pressed against him, and his need to protect her only grew stronger.

  What was he supposed to do now? He figured this was likely just her wanting to be comforted. He was a jerk for thinking of anything romantic, but his brain didn’t appear to be winning that battle.

  She pulled back a little but still held on to him. “Sorry if I’m being needy. It’s totally not my style.”

  He smiled. “I know that.”

  Cass looked away, and he could’ve sworn that her cheeks reddened. He wasn’t sure what was going on here, but he needed to put a little distance between them. He let her go, reluctantly, and went to the refrigerator, pulled out two bottled waters, and gave her one.

  “Were you able to sleep at all?” he asked.

  “Only a few minutes, but maybe that means I’ll actually get some rest tonight.” She took a sip of water. “I want to go in to work tomorrow. I can’t just sit here all day. I’ll feel better if I can focus on something else.”

  “We’ll just have to be extremely careful getting back here to make sure we’re not tailed.”

  She grinned. “We’re pros. I think we can handle it.”

  “All right. We’ll go to the office in the morning.” He was glad she was joking around. It was better than the alternative. He could handle the lighthearted banter much better than those big brown eyes that seemed so fearful.

  “I’m starving. They said they stocked this place with groceries. I’m going to whip something up. You want in?” she asked.

  “You know I never turn down food.”

  “Isn’t that the truth? If you stay in here with me, though, I’m going to put you to work.”

  “Whatever you need, but you know I’m pretty incompetent in the kitchen.”

  Cass laughed. “Lucky for you, I’m not. C’mon. Wash up, and let’s get to work.”

  First thing Monday morning, Hunter showed up unannounced at Bryce’s office, but this time he’d come alone. He’d expected Layla to put up more of a fight, but she’d readily accepted him rolling solo.

  There was no doubt a shift had occurred between them once he’d told her the truth, but he still didn’t know if the damage was irreparable. He hoped it wasn’t. He even found himself praying it wasn’t, but he wasn’t sure that God was paying attention to his prayer attempts. Although he knew deep inside that he hadn’t made a true effort at reconnecting and most of his reaction was based purely on fear for Layla. If going back to God meant He would keep Layla safe, then Hunter would consider it.

&nb
sp; He’d opened up to Layla about his faith struggles, and true to form, she had pressed him to examine why he felt this way. He wasn’t an examine-his-feelings type of guy. He was more of the lock-it-away-and-try-not-to-think-about-it type.

  And that was exactly what he did as he was led back to Bryce’s office.

  Bryce stood. “I figured I’d hear from you again.”

  “Do you know why I’m here?”

  “I assume it’s still about the IG investigation into Layla.”

  Hunter’s instinct to come at Bryce a second time had been right. “So you do have more information.”

  Bryce motioned for him to sit before he did the same. “I hate to say this, but there are some nasty rumors that Layla is playing both sides of the fence.”

  “Rumors from who?”

  Bryce’s jaw twitched. “They’re coming from Agency sources, but I’m not going to name names. You should know this is very serious, though.”

  “Do you have any further insight into what, specifically, they are claiming she did?”

  Bryce ran his hand through his hair. “Not many specifics, but it had to do with her work regarding Al-Nidal.”

  This whole thing stank more and more by the minute. “Do you believe any of it?”

  Bryce laughed. “C’mon. Layla is great at many things, including being one of the best subject-matter experts that Langley has. She’s able to see the big picture and understand all the details. She speaks the language, she understands the culture. But a super spy? No way. She’s too honest. She doesn’t have the edge to work assets in the field—at least not yet. And to tell you the truth, I don’t think she wants to have those skills. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. Her heart is too big for subterfuge.”

  “Then why the push for her to be in the field?” That was a nagging question Hunter couldn’t answer.

  “Because the higher-ups believe they can take raw talent in any form and mold it into what they want, even with reluctant recruits. The problem is that Layla doesn’t want that kind of life and is set in her ways, and that’s where the tension lies.”