Backlash

by Rachel Dylan

  “Shouldn’t the Agency be satisfied that she’s so good at her analyst job and leave her be?” They were already demanding so much from her. Had taken so much from her.

  Bryce cocked his head. “You’d think. If you want my opinion—and I assume you do, or you wouldn’t be here—Layla crossed someone and doesn’t even realize it. And now they’re out to get her.”

  “Quite an elaborate scheme for revenge, don’t you think?”

  Bryce leaned forward. “You might not understand just how cutthroat the intel community is. I still sleep with one eye open.”

  Hunter needed to push him again. “But you wouldn’t hold such a grudge?”

  “Of course I would, but it’s hard to dislike Layla. I was seething after she ratted me out, but I eventually got over it. She has principles, which isn’t something we see very often these days. I care about her and would never want something to happen to her. That’s how friendship works. You might blow a gasket, but at the end of the day, you move on because they’re your friend.”

  “But the two of you haven’t remained friends.”

  “Look, it has taken me a good long while to get over it. But I am now, and if she reached out, I think we could be friends again.”

  A shot of jealousy went through Hunter.

  “I’ll tell you this,” Bryce continued. “If you really want to get at the person who could’ve done this to her, you need to check out Nick. He had a lot of reasons to set her up.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about him before?” Hunter felt his temper starting to flare.

  “I’ve already said too much. You need to talk to Layla about Nick. It’s complicated. Very complicated. And the last thing I want to do is get in the middle of it.”

  Hunter realized Bryce wasn’t going to give him anything else, so he thanked him for his time and hightailed it out of the building. He wasn’t sure who this Nick character was, but he intended to find out.

  But first he had to get back to his work on who had stolen the cartel money.

  He made his way back to his office and booted up his computer. One thing he had discovered rather easily was that Zane Carter came from serious family money. It appeared that he might be estranged from his wealthy father, but that hadn’t changed the amount of money Zane received from the family empire. The interesting thing from the cash flow that Hunter examined was that it didn’t seem like Zane ever touched the money. It was spread out among multiple accounts with various banks, but the amounts only increased in time with interest—there were no withdrawals. He figured there was a deeper story there, but it wasn’t one he needed to jump into, because he’d found out what he needed: Zane was clean. He had more money than he seemed to know what to do with and no cash influxes from any other source. Hunter couldn’t be certain that Zane wasn’t the mole, but his gut told him no on that score.

  He’d finished rummaging around in Mason’s and Cass’s finances as well, and so far there was nothing tying anyone on the team to the missing money. Cass did have money troubles, it appeared, but he hadn’t yet found any evidence connecting her to the cartel money.

  He’d learned early on in his career as a PI that paper trails could be hidden, especially when dealing with offshore accounts. He intended to focus on the dark web and other means to ferret out the real thief. It wouldn’t be easy, but they needed answers.

  CHAPTER

  SIXTEEN

  That evening Layla sat in Hunter’s SUV in the driveway of the CIA safe house in Arlington. The two-story light blue colonial didn’t give any sign that it was an Agency property.

  “We have to assume there’s audio surveillance inside,” she said. “So we need to be careful what we say.”

  Hunter nodded. “I’m going to bring in my detection equipment to sweep for bugs so we can speak more freely inside.”

  “That’s a great idea. We can sweep daily to be on the safe side. How did it go with Bryce?”

  “He’s pointing the finger at some guy named Nick—and he said to talk to you about it because it’s complicated.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Who is Nick?”

  “Nick Foster’s one of the deputy chiefs in the DO. He’s about ten years older than me, but he’s on the fast track to be at the top. He reports directly to Riley Brown.”

  “You can’t be serious. How does Nick play into all of this?”

  “Nick has been the loudest advocate for getting me into the field. He’s been taught by Riley that the real top people at the Agency need to be in the field, not behind a desk.”

  “Okay. Well, at least this sounds like it may be a promising lead.”

  She looked away, dreading the conversation that was about to ensue. “It’s not so simple.”

  “What?”

  “It’s not good.”

  “Just tell me, and we’ll work through it. None of this is any good.”

  She prepared herself for a negative reaction from Hunter. “Nick and I were romantically involved.”

  Hunter’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t say a word. His face said it all.

  “Yeah. I told you it was bad. Let’s get out of here and take a walk, and I’ll explain.” They got out of the car and started down the neighborhood sidewalk.

  “It was an actual relationship?” Hunter asked.

  “Yeah, but we had to keep it under wraps, given the optics. We weren’t in the same chain of command, but still, I didn’t want anyone to know. That was part of the appeal, I guess. And he was so interested in me and my career, I kinda got wrapped up in all of that. When things got a bit too intense for me, I bailed, and it didn’t go well.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything earlier? He could be the one targeting you.”

  “Because I knew you’d think less of me.”

  He put his hand on her back. “Layla, that’s not possible. We’re human. So you dated this guy. It’s not the end of the world, but it could have a big impact on this investigation. Did others know?”

  “Bryce figured it out. That was another reason I was so hesitant to ever get involved with him. I’d been down that road once with someone at Langley, and I wasn’t doing it again. Beyond Bryce, I don’t know if Nick told anyone. If I had to guess, I’d say no. He liked to play things close to the vest in all aspects of life. It made him feel more powerful. I was naïve. He was so smooth, and I fell quickly.”

  “How long ago were you with Nick?”

  “About a year. I ended it. In total, we lasted about four months.”

  “Bryce thinks Nick could be out for revenge. Would Nick be aware of the IG investigation?”

  “Before I saw the content of it, I would’ve said no, but if they’re saying I’m working with Al-Nidal, I’d have to think that someone has briefed him or will brief him very soon on that, given his seniority level.”

  “I think you have to talk to him.”

  She groaned. “I can’t get into Langley.”

  “I assume you know of other ways to contact him?”

  “Yes.” Although that wasn’t what she wanted to do. Dealing with Nick was never a simple task. His complex nature was one of the many things that had drawn her to him, but that felt like a lifetime ago now.

  Hunter put his hand on her shoulder and turned her toward him. “Look, this isn’t easy, but if you want to keep your career at the Agency, I think this is the best path. You need to confront him.”

  Except, at this point, she wasn’t sure what she wanted anymore. Everything she’d thought she understood about her world had been turned upside down. But because of that, this wasn’t the time to make rash decisions. She needed to think logically.

  “You’re right.” She would have to buck up and figure out what, if anything, Nick had to do with this.

  “When’s the last time you talked to him?”

  “It was before the Honduras op. He had to give the ultimate sign-off for me to go, but it was a purely business conversation. No-nonsense. In fact, it’s been like that since the i
nitial explosion of anger after I broke it off.”

  “Then the sooner you can connect with him, the better.”

  “I know where he likes to hang out after work.”

  “Then we’ll check it out.”

  She shook her head. “I need to talk to him alone.”

  “That’s fine, but wherever you’re going, I’m going with you.”

  “All right.” She knew he had a point, but having him involved in the conversation would be a nonstarter.

  “Are we going to talk any more about the elephant in the room?” he asked.

  She’d wondered how long it would be before he brought that up. She looked at him. “I’m still in the processing phase.”

  “I don’t blame you. I know I can never say I’m sorry enough.”

  She’d tossed and turned last night, going over every bit of their conversation. Questions still loomed large in her mind. “Was the cheating thing really the only way you thought you could break up with me?”

  He rubbed a hand down his face. “I needed a deal breaker, and that’s the only thing I could come up with. I was a little worried you still might forgive me because that’s the type of loving person you are. That’s why I tried to make the story egregious and act like I wasn’t sorry. If I had shown true remorse, I thought that there might be a possibility you would want us to push through it.”

  She wondered if he was right. Would she have taken him back? “That confused me so much.” She’d cried herself to sleep so many nights because of his callous attitude. Knowing now that it was all a farce to try to give her what she had thought she wanted more than anything—the job at the Agency—tore her up.

  He took her hand and held it tightly. “The last thing I ever wanted was to hurt you—just the opposite. But I did hurt you, and it impacted you even more than I thought it would, and for that, again, I’m sorry.”

  There were some important things she needed to get off her chest. “I accept your apology, and from here on out, you don’t need to keep apologizing to me. I understand why you made the choice you did. I remember clearly that at that time all I did was talk about how excited I was to start my CIA career. And since I could only tell a select number of people, that meant you heard it even more. I don’t place blame on you, but I do place it on the Agency. They shouldn’t have thought so little of me that they had to play such ridiculous games. Games that ended up irreparably impacting my entire life.” She paused. “God has a larger plan at work in this, and that’s what I’m trying to focus on.”

  Hunter squeezed her hand. “I’m not so sure about God’s plan, but I am glad you were brought back into my life.” He took her other hand in his and held them both. “Layla, the timing of this isn’t ideal, but if we’re going to have total honesty between us, then I should tell you that I have never stopped loving you.”

  Her breath caught at his bold admission. She couldn’t find words. Her eyes started to fill with tears. There was so much emotion bubbling up inside her. After all these years, the dam was about to burst.

  Hunter pulled her into his arms. It was like he understood what she needed. And as he held her, so many memories came flooding back like a raging sea. How much she had loved him. Their plan for a life together. How the two of them just made sense. But now, over five years later, here they were again. A different time and place, and she’d gone through so much in life and lived to see many things that she’d never thought possible. She’d grown up in so many ways and was much more mature now than she had been back then. There had also been a number of mistakes and ups and downs that all led her to where they were standing.

  Her life now in danger, God had somehow worked His almighty plan to bring Hunter back to her, and she felt like maybe this was more than just Hunter walking with her through this trial. Maybe, just maybe, this could be more.

  He lifted her chin, and they looked into each other’s eyes. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but she couldn’t. Not just yet. But he knew her well enough to know that she still had feelings for him. There was no doubt. The chemistry between them still burned brighter than the summer sun.

  She held her breath, waiting to see if he was going to lean in and kiss her, but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled her closer and tightened his grip around her.

  In that moment, she felt content for the first time in years. Even though there was so much havoc surrounding her, she was ready for a new chapter in her life. And she prayed that Hunter might be a part of it.

  CHAPTER

  SEVENTEEN

  On Tuesday, Zane and Cass spent a long day at the DEA office, trying to get some work done. They still had other active files and investigations that needed their attention, and Zane was glad for a distraction from the looming threats to the team.

  But the bottom line was that they were still targets—or at least everyone else was.

  “You look deep in thought,” Cass said.

  “Yeah.” There were too many things clouding his mind.

  She nodded. “I can guess what about.”

  Before he could confirm what she already knew, the door to the conference room opened, and Mason walked in.

  “Zane, I need to talk to you alone for a minute,” Mason said flatly.

  Cass stood. “I’ll head to the break room so you guys can talk.”

  Zane wasn’t sure why Mason was kicking Cass out, but once it was the two of them, he watched as Mason frowned. “I recognize that face. What’s the problem now? Because I can’t deal with many more of them.”

  Mason stuffed his hands in his pockets. “The team working on the investigation into the mole thinks they have intercepts between you and a member of the cartel.”

  “What?” Zane felt his jaw go slack. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. Combine that with the fact that you’re the only member of a four-person team who has not been targeted directly, and those running the investigation believe you need to be questioned.”

  Zane muttered some words that he probably shouldn’t say. “This is insane.”

  “I know. I don’t think for one minute you’re dirty.”

  “Then help me get out of this mess.” His voice got louder with every word.

  Mason crossed his arms. “That’s my plan, but you have to talk to the team leading the charge. My hands are tied on that, but I already planted the seed with them that you’re not the problem here. If they look deep enough, they’ll figure that out.”

  Thoughts started to race through Zane’s mind. “Maybe this was the plan the entire time.”

  “How so?” Mason leaned against the table.

  “They frame me to take the fall by purposely not attacking me. I’m painted as the traitor, and the real culprit keeps working for the cartel on the inside.”

  Mason drummed his fingers on the table. “Sounds plausible to me. We have to figure out what those intercepts are they claim they have on you, though.”

  “There’s nothing legit there. I can promise you that.” Zane hoped Mason would see the truth here.

  “Okay. Defend yourself vigorously, and we’ll get through this. I don’t think the team really thinks you’re the mole, either, but they wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t run this thing down.”

  “The mole isn’t me, but it is someone who has skills and is dangerous. We all need to watch our backs.”

  Mason nodded before pausing. “How is Cass holding up?”

  Zane wasn’t going to reveal just how vulnerable he thought Cass had become, because as much as he trusted Mason, it just wasn’t something he thought he should say. Cass needed time to get her head on straight, and she had earned that time without his color commentary on her mental state. “She’s solid. It’s been a lot to take in, but she’ll be fine.”

  “Cass is a great agent, but she hasn’t seen combat like you and me. I just want to make sure she’s emotionally okay. Do you think she’d be open to counseling?”

  Zane hesitated. “I don’t know.”

  “Your
face says it all. I didn’t think she’d want to do it either, because she’d be afraid it would make her seem weak, when that’s completely not the case. Do me a favor and ask her about it. I’d prefer she agree to it as opposed to it being an order coming from me.”

  “Understood.” Zane would see what he could do.

  Mason left him alone, and in a few minutes Cass returned with two cups in her hands.

  “Coffee for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  She sat down, and he did the same. “What was that all about?” she asked. “Mason seemed even more serious than his normal self.”

  Best to just lay it out on the table. “He was giving me a heads-up that I’m going to be looked at.”

  Her eyebrows went up. “Looked at for what?”

  “As being the inside man.”

  She let out a loud laugh. “Wow. This really is amateur hour around here if that’s what’s happening. Is this just because no one has directly come after you?”

  He shook his head. “No. That’s just an add-on. They claim they have evidence on me. If there is any supposed evidence, then someone wants me to take the fall for this.”

  She grabbed his arm. “We can’t let that happen. Just let me know how I can help.”

  He was acutely aware of her hand lingering on his arm. “Will do. Right now, I just wait until I talk face-to-face to the investigation team.” He placed his hand over hers and turned toward her. “There is one more thing.”

  “Uh-oh. I don’t like the sound of this.”

  “Mason wants you to go to some counseling sessions.”

  She broke the contact between them and pulled away. “I hope you told him that would be completely unnecessary and a waste of time.”

  “I told him I thought you were doing well and that I felt you’d resist this.”

  “And you were right!”

  “But he asked me to try to sweet-talk you into it because, Cass, he’s going to make it mandatory if you don’t go willingly.”