Backlash

by Rachel Dylan

  “Fair enough.”

  “First, it appears Cass has had some major financial struggles. She took out three loans from two different banks and cleared out her savings account.”

  “How much are we talking?”

  “So far, from what I’ve been able to document, it totals over four hundred grand.”

  Layla’s shoulders slumped. “Okay. But it’s not a crime to have money problems.”

  “True, but that’s not all.”

  “What else?”

  This was where things started to get dicey. “Those transactions occurred a few months ago. But within the last month, there’s been an influx of cash. Not in her regular accounts, though.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Then where?”

  “It wasn’t easy, but I was finally able to track her financial activity to an offshore account.”

  “How much of an influx of cash are we talking?” Layla bit her bottom lip.

  He knew exactly why she seemed distressed. “About five hundred thousand.”

  She sucked in a breath. “That’s the amount they’re claiming was taken from the cartel money.”

  “Bingo.”

  Layla shook her head. “You’re telling me that Cass was able to steal five hundred thousand dollars right out from under all of us?”

  “It could’ve happened once the money was back in the States. Maybe she had access to the vault on the op. Could there be some weak links there?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know enough about DEA operations and how the transport and security works.”

  “Do you remember the denominations of the money?”

  “Yes. Everything I saw was in hundreds.”

  “Then she could easily fit five hundred thousand into a standard briefcase. Do you remember her ever being alone with the money?”

  Layla didn’t immediately respond. “I’m thinking.”

  “Take all the time you need.” For some reason, he couldn’t help himself and took her hand in his. When she smiled, he squeezed her fingers.

  “The answer is yes. Cass was alone with the money for a short time period while we were loading up the vehicles in Honduras. Only a few minutes, though.”

  “That is all it would take. I assume you all had standard gear, including large backpacks.”

  “Yes, but wouldn’t that be bold, to stash the money in her gear?”

  “Bold, yes, but given her stature on the team, maybe she thought no one would ever check. Although standard protocol for DEA on ops like this is a gear check back stateside.”

  “That didn’t happen. We got back, and there were no searches or anything like that. It was a bit hectic, and we did do immediate debriefings, but if my belongings were searched, I didn’t know it.”

  “Maybe she caught a break.”

  “This would rule her out as the mole, though, because I can tell you one thing, she wouldn’t be stealing from the cartel if she were working for them.”

  Hunter nodded. “It might just mean that she got in some trouble, became desperate, and decided to take the cash. However, if she’s vulnerable, that could make her a target for the cartel to blackmail into helping them.”

  “Yeah, but if she was on their payroll and stole from them, it would be over for her. What are you going to do with this?”

  “I have to take it to Mason ASAP.”

  Layla nodded. “I know. I just hate it. I wonder what kind of trouble she got into.”

  “It has to be pretty substantial to need that kind of cash.” He hated to say it, but he felt like he had to. “You know that if what I found pans out, she’s going to be done at the DEA and will probably face criminal charges.”

  “You don’t think there’ll be any lenience?” she asked.

  He doubted it. “I can’t imagine they’d ever trust her to go into the field again. If they put her on desk duty, it would be a huge gift, but I think the most likely thing is that they will terminate her.”

  Layla gasped. “But what about her safety? Would they pull her out of the safe house?”

  “I hope not, but I can’t guarantee it.”

  She took his other hand. “They would be signing her death warrant if they do.”

  Zane watched Cass as she poured them each a cup of coffee. He hated that there was still an uncomfortable tension between them, but he didn’t know what to do other than try to act normal even if she was skittish.

  What bothered him the most was losing their easy and open relationship. They had formed a strong bond over the past few years. He considered her one of his closest friends. And now he was going back over everything to try to determine when she had started having feelings for him, because he’d been oblivious to it.

  He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit he’d initially thought she was attractive, but once they were assigned as partners, he’d put up a mental wall that had been like a fortress, and it had worked. Until now.

  “Why are you scowling?” Cass asked him.

  He smiled. “I didn’t realize I was.”

  “Good, because a scowl doesn’t look good on you.” She sat beside him at the kitchen table.

  He couldn’t help but say something. “Cass, can we talk?”

  She sighed. “Yeah. I realize I was a bit of a jerk to you the other day. I won’t lie, you hurt my ego.”

  “How?”

  She laughed. “Isn’t that obvious? You rejected me.”

  “It’s so much more complicated than that, and you know it.” Against his better judgment, he placed his hand on top of hers.

  Her brown eyes locked onto his. “You can’t have it both ways, Zane.” She pulled away from him. “We’re either setting some hard and fast boundaries, or we’re going to explore if there’s something more between us.”

  “You think I’m sending mixed signals?” he asked.

  “Yes, and I’ve felt that way for a while.”

  He leaned back in his chair, trying to figure out how this had gone wrong. “Things have been crazy, and after you were attacked, I wanted nothing more than to protect you. If I made you think I was trying to make a move in the process, then I’m the one who needs to apologize.”

  “Oh, Zane. You’re one of the good guys.”

  “Didn’t you say just the opposite the other day?”

  “I was mad and hurt. I said a lot of things I didn’t mean.”

  He took her hand again. “Cass, I do care about you. More than is probably smart, but I also think we have a partnership that can’t be easily replaced. And a friendship I value beyond anything in my life.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “I hear all of that, Zane. I really do. But . . .”

  “But what?”

  She took a deep breath. “I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  Talk about a punch to the gut. Before he could respond, he heard commotion coming from the front door, and after a moment, Mason walked into the kitchen.

  “What is it?” Zane asked.

  “I need to talk to Cass alone.”

  She shook her head. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it in front of Zane.”

  Mason raised an eyebrow. “Are you certain about that?”

  “Yes,” she answered quickly.

  A wave of unease washed over Zane. Mason took a seat at the table with them, and Zane prepared for bad news, which seemed to be the only kind of news they heard lately.

  “What’s this all about?” Zane asked.

  Mason focused his attention completely on Cass. “There’s something we have to talk about.”

  “Spit it out, Mason.” There was no lightness in Cass’s words. She was all business.

  “As part of the ongoing investigation, some strange financial information about you has come to light.”

  Ah, Zane thought. Cass was going to have to give up her brother to explain those financial issues, but Zane was relieved that he already knew the truth.

  “What exactly did you find?” she asked.

  Zane didn’t blame h
er for trying to feel this out a bit before she opened up.

  Mason rubbed his chin. “Cass, it’s not good. We know all about the three loans and the amount of debt you’ve accumulated. You know you should’ve disclosed that financial distress to me immediately.”

  She nodded.

  “But it gets much worse than that. We have hard evidence of you depositing five hundred thousand dollars into an offshore account that you probably assumed was not traceable.”

  “What?” Zane asked. “That can’t be right. Cass, tell him the truth. Tell him what’s going on.” He looked at her, but her eyes darkened, and she didn’t immediately speak. “Cass? C’mon, tell him.”

  “Zane, what’s your role in all of this?” Mason demanded.

  “Zane doesn’t have anything to do with this,” Cass said. “Nothing.”

  “You both better start talking ASAP,” Mason said.

  Cass averted her eyes. “It’s complicated.”

  “Can I have a moment alone with Cass?” Zane felt like he needed to intervene before this went completely off the rails.

  Mason slammed his fist on the table. “Absolutely not. I don’t think the two of you realize how much trouble you’re in. I need some explanations right now before I have to call in reinforcements and haul you both off to a holding cell for a full interrogation.”

  Zane had never seen Mason lose his cool like this. “Let’s just calm down. There’s nothing criminal going on here.”

  “I beg to differ,” Mason said.

  “Enough!” Cass shouted.

  Her words shut up both of the men.

  “As I said before, Zane isn’t involved in this.” She turned from Mason and looked directly at him. “Zane, I’m sorry about everything.”

  “What are you talking about, Cass?” Zane asked.

  Cass gripped her coffee cup. “I told you that my brother had a gambling problem and that is why I got into some dire financial trouble, because I was helping him. But that wasn’t the extent of the problem.”

  “What else is there?”

  “A lot.” Her voice cracked.

  Mason cleared his throat. “As touching as this moment is between the two of you, I need you to tell me the complete truth right now.”

  Cass didn’t seem fazed by Mason’s words. Instead, she put her hand on Zane’s arm. “My brother got into even deeper trouble. Massive. They were threatening to kill him if he didn’t pay up. He owed a lot of money. I feared they were actually going to carry out their threats.”

  Zane couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t want to pull anyone else into this.”

  “So the five hundred thousand was to help bail out your brother?” Mason asked.

  “Don’t answer that,” Zane said.

  Cass’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say a word.

  “Cass needs a lawyer,” Zane insisted. “You’re talking about some serious charges here.”

  Mason turned to him. “I’m trying to help her by not making this official yet.”

  “And I appreciate that, but you and I both know that if she admits to anything now, it can and will be used against her with both of us as potential witnesses, and I’m not going to stand by and let that happen.”

  “Don’t I get a say in this?” Cass asked.

  “Cass, please,” Zane insisted.

  Silence filled the room for a minute before she straightened in her chair. “I want a lawyer.”

  Zane blew out a sigh of relief.

  Mason stood. “Fine. But this has now moved from informal to official. I’ll give you two a minute, but then I’m taking you into custody, Cass. You’ll be able to get an attorney, and we’ll move on from there. Understood?”

  She nodded, and Mason walked out of the room.

  After a moment, Cass broke the silence. “I know you must hate me for keeping you in the dark.”

  “Of course I don’t hate you.”

  “Things just got out of control. One thing led to another, and the next thing you know, my brother is in a dark, black hole that he can’t get out of, and I was right there with him—I had to save him. He’s the only family I have left. You know both my parents are gone. It’s just me and him. He lost his way, and I felt this was my only option to help him.”

  “Is he in the clear now?”

  She sighed. “For now, yes. Obviously, it was a big price to pay—both financially and emotionally, but he’s trying his hardest to get his life back on track. I have to keep close tabs on him to make sure he doesn’t fall back into bad habits.” She swallowed. “Which will be a lot harder if I’m locked up. Anyway, I didn’t want to drag you into my family mess.”

  And that was what hurt him the most, that Cass thought he wasn’t to be trusted. That she couldn’t come to him with her biggest and darkest secrets. “You could’ve told me.”

  “Could I, really? Zane, you’re beyond reproach, and everyone knows it. A rule follower. I knew you would not approve of my actions even if they were to help my brother.”

  Was that really how she saw him? Yeah, she made jokes about him being too by the book, but this went much deeper. “I’d like to think, after all these years, that you’d see me as more complex than that.”

  She sighed. “You are. I’m not trying to argue with you. I’m just telling you how I felt. I didn’t think I could tell you.”

  “Cass, you could’ve told me anything. You still can.”

  She hung her head. “I know that now, but at the time, I made the decision I thought was best in a difficult circumstance. I wasn’t sure how I was going to help him, given I’d already maxed out everything I had. Then we went on the op. . . .”

  He gripped her hand. “Don’t tell me anything about the op, okay? Nothing. We’ll get you an attorney and figure this out. But I can’t be a witness here. Not against you. I care too much.”

  As tears started to roll down her cheeks, he couldn’t help himself. He pulled her out of her seat and into his arms. The problem was that he wasn’t just feeling the need to protect her. At that moment, he wondered if he’d fallen in love with her too.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-FOUR

  On Saturday morning, Izzy prepared to meet Ann Marie Martinez, one of the other women the PI had identified from the sergeant’s social media. Ann Marie had initially rebuffed her, but after Izzy pushed, she said that they could meet briefly at a downtown Arlington coffee shop.

  Izzy walked into the shop and immediately saw her sitting by herself in the corner, working on her laptop with a deep frown on her face.

  “Ann Marie?”

  She looked up from her computer. “You must be Izzy.”

  It wasn’t lost on Izzy that while she couldn’t tell Ann Marie’s exact height, she was definitely on the petite side, with dark hair. The pattern was holding. “That’s me. Can I sit?”

  “Yes, but as I said, I don’t have long. I’m on deadline.”

  “You’re a writer?”

  “Yes, freelance,” she said flatly.

  So far so good. Given the time limitations and the frosty reception, Izzy went for it. “I’ll be as fast as I can, and I so appreciate the time. I wanted to talk to you about Sergeant Henry Tybee.”

  Ann Marie’s expression remained neutral. “What about him?”

  “You dated him?”

  “Briefly.”

  “How did he treat you?’

  Ann Marie arched an eyebrow. “Is that really any of your business?”

  Maybe Izzy had pushed too hard. She needed to get information, not the stiff arm. This woman didn’t know her at all. She needed to adjust her approach. “I’m sorry if this seems intrusive. I have a good reason for asking. The sergeant was murdered. Did you know that?”

  Ann Marie’s eyes widened. “No. What happened?”

  “That’s what the police are trying to find out. But in the meantime, I’m trying to determine if he had a pattern of abusive history with women.”
r />   Ann Marie leaned back. “Not with me.”

  “He treated you well?”

  She nodded. “Yes, but we decided we weren’t compatible, and that was that.”

  “Just like that? No hard feelings?”

  Ann Marie shrugged. “None. I haven’t really given him a second thought. I moved on with my life, and my focus is on my career.”

  Izzy might not have decades of experience under her belt, but she didn’t need it to know Ann Marie wasn’t telling her everything. “So no signs of abusive tendencies?”

  “No. He was actually a bit too old and boring for my tastes. Too straight-laced.”

  Now Izzy really knew Ann Marie wasn’t being forthcoming, but there was nothing more she could do about it right now. “Well, thank you for your time. I’ll let you get back to work.”

  Ann Marie set down her tea. “You think he hurt other women?”

  “I do.”

  “Well, obviously I’m sorry about that, but I don’t have anything I can add from my personal experience.”

  “Understood.” Izzy rose and thanked her again. As she walked away, she wondered what Ann Marie might be hiding.

  Layla awoke with a start. She must have been dreaming. There had been gunshots. But now, sitting up in bed, she didn’t hear anything. The safe house seemed completely silent, as it should be in the middle of the night. Letting out a sigh of relief, she lay back down for a second.

  A loud crash erupted nearby. She jumped out of bed and started to go for her gun on the nightstand, but she was tackled to the ground by a huge mass of a man. The breath was knocked out of her, but she willed herself to focus. She was under attack and had no idea where Hunter or the CIA security detail was. Then an awful thought struck her—what if they were all dead? What if those gunshots had killed them?

  Those thoughts only made her angry, and she fought harder against the man pinning her to the floor. She was able to knee him in the groin, and he rolled off of her, groaning and muttering in a different language. Maybe Russian or something similar? She tried to get to her feet, but he caught her ankle in his large, meaty hand and pulled her back down to the floor. She hit with a thud and started kicking to try to break free, but he had regained his composure, and he punched her in the stomach.