Backlash

by Rachel Dylan

  Hunter wasn’t with her but was back at the safe house, working on the DEA investigation. He had been more than understanding about being left behind, given all the internal political issues this situation would cause within the Agency.

  So now she found herself at Langley, watching from the surveillance room as Bryce’s questioning began. Was she finally going to get answers to many of the questions that had been plaguing her?

  True to his word, Nick appeared to be taking the lead and doing the questioning, along with Frank Gibson. In the surveillance room with her was the other, more junior investigator, Monty Hicks.

  Bryce looked beaten down. He was normally completely put together, but tonight his hair was disheveled and his navy dress shirt was wrinkled.

  Nick cleared his throat. “Bryce, this will go a lot easier if you don’t play any games. We already know a lot. Your being forthcoming with us will go a long way in determining how this situation is going to be treated. If we feel like you’re holding back or lying to us, I can personally guarantee we will push for the harshest penalty possible. Am I clear?”

  Bryce didn’t respond but didn’t break eye contact with Nick either.

  Layla’s nerves were frayed as she waited to see how this was going to play out. She had no idea what Bryce was going to say.

  Frank opened the thick manila folder sitting in front of him. “We want to talk to you about Layla Karam. You worked very closely with Layla while at the Agency, correct?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “How would you describe your relationship?” Frank asked.

  “Before she betrayed me, you mean?” Bryce’s nostrils flared.

  This was going to be harder to watch than she’d expected. Bryce clearly held more animosity against her than she’d ever imagined.

  “Let’s start there,” Frank said.

  “Layla initially reported to me, but then she was promoted quickly. Way more quickly than anyone else I’d ever seen, by the way. We became peers and worked together on multiple projects, even though I’m a good ten years her senior. She was my go-to analyst and helped me get prepped for multiple missions.”

  Frank looked down at the papers in front of him. “I wasn’t the person running the investigation that took place into your behavior and ultimately resulted in your expulsion from the Agency, but as I understand it, Layla, your friend, was the one who went to our office about what she believed you were doing. Am I right?”

  “Yes.” Bryce ran his hands through his hair, only making it messier.

  Nick leaned forward. “Why don’t we cut right to the chase, then? Did you retaliate against Layla because you were angry with her?”

  Bryce averted his eyes and then reconnected. “You better believe I did.”

  Layla gasped at Bryce’s forthright admission. He must have realized that they had him over a barrel, and he wanted to get out his version of the story. This could get really ugly. Fast.

  “Tell us about it,” Nick said.

  “Layla was my friend. We had each other’s backs. I watched out for her when people got mad about her climbing the ladder so fast. I could tell she was gifted, and I tried to show her the ropes. I stood up for her time and time again.” His voice started to get loud. “And what did I get in return? A big, sharp knife right into my back.”

  She held her breath, waiting to hear what he was going to say next.

  “Go on,” Nick said. “What did you do, Bryce?”

  Bryce straightened up in his seat. “I came up with a strategy to get Layla investigated. I wanted her to feel the heat just like I did. I wanted her to feel that kind of pain.” Then he called her an awful name that made her sick.

  “So you created these photos of Layla with Omar Assad?” Frank slid some photographs from the folder in front of Bryce.

  He studied them for a moment. “Technically, I didn’t create them, but I hired someone to. I’m good with photo manipulation but not nearly good enough to make it look completely legit like these do.”

  “So you wanted to get Layla in trouble?” Frank asked. “Really bad trouble, right? Because you would have known the consequences for this type of activity. If these pictures were true, then it could’ve been catastrophic. Much worse than the consequences for your conduct.”

  “After all she did to me? How she destroyed my CIA career? Absolutely.”

  “But that’s not the worst of it, is it?” Nick asked. “It gets much worse than that, doesn’t it?”

  Bryce shifted in his seat. “When Layla came to me, asking if I was involved in the IG investigation, everything came flooding back. Her betrayal and the end of my Agency career. All those years of blood, sweat, and tears that I spent building up my reputation. And she just threw it all away like I was trash because of some moral high ground she thought she had. So, yeah, when she told me about the cartel attack, I thought I might have a golden opportunity.”

  “An opportunity to take her out. Kill her, you mean?” Nick asked.

  Bryce’s face turned bright red. “You’re right. I wish the cartel had killed her.”

  Nick stood so quickly that his chair was knocked backward across the room. Layla sucked in a breath. She’d never seen Nick this angry.

  “Maybe we should take a brief break,” Frank said.

  “No way.” Nick walked around the table so he was on the same side as Bryce. He yanked Bryce up out of his chair and threw him against the wall. His hands closed around Bryce’s throat.

  Nick was going to kill him. Layla jumped up from her seat, but Monty touched her arm and pulled her back.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “They’ll be okay. We have to let this play out.”

  Much to her surprise, Frank didn’t do a single thing to try to stop Nick. Thankfully, after a few moments, Nick dropped Bryce from his viselike grip. “Tell me what you did.”

  “I used a friend here who owed me big-time to get Layla’s safe house location, and then I reached out to an old cartel source and gave him the info.”

  Nick muttered some curses that made Layla’s skin crawl. She really feared what would happen to Bryce, even if he had almost gotten her killed. She stared at Bryce. This cold, unwavering shell of a man was not the friend she’d once had. She didn’t even recognize the person he’d become.

  Nick’s jaw twitched. “Because of what you did, a hit man killed two members of an Agency security detail and almost killed Layla. Their blood is on your hands.”

  Bryce looked defiantly at Nick, not showing any remorse. “I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

  Nick walked out of the room and a moment later entered the surveillance room where she sat. “Can I talk to Layla alone?”

  Monty nodded and exited.

  “I thought you were going to hurt him,” she said.

  Nick groaned. “He deserves that and a lot more. What a sorry excuse for a man. I could’ve strangled him.”

  “You kind of did. Now what?”

  “We’ll get you completely cleared on the IG side of things, but the cartel is still seeking payback.” He took her hand. “I’m sorry about all of this, but we’ll get you through this and back to work. I give you my word.”

  “Thank you, Nick. Thanks for stepping up to the plate and fighting for me. What’s going to happen to Bryce?”

  Nick let out a low whistle. “I’ll have to get the Agency lawyers involved, but if it were up to me, he’d be locked away in a cage for the rest of his miserable life.”

  “He does have rights.”

  “He sure didn’t care about yours, did he? He gave you up, Layla. Even if he wasn’t the one pulling the trigger, he killed those men on your security detail and tried to kill you.”

  She nodded. She knew he was speaking the truth.

  “Hang tight in here for a few more minutes while we sort some things out.”

  Her heart broke at Bryce’s betrayal, but she feared that all of this was far from over.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-SEVEN


  While Layla was at the Agency, Hunter was spending his time on the DEA investigation. He had decided to take a different approach, so with DEA intel plus the help of one of his hacker friends, he had gotten into the texts of some of the actual cartel members.

  If they found out he was messing around with their stuff, he’d be as good as dead. But he was confident in the firewall and all the extra protections they’d set up, thanks to an additional level of security from the CIA.

  He didn’t have Diego’s or Roberto’s texts, but he had messages from a variety of guys below them, and he was reading and trying to synthesize as fast as he could.

  Currently, he was reviewing texts from Mateo Lopez. From everything he had gathered, Lopez was one of the direct reports to Diego. Most of the texts were operational in nature, and he had the feeling that if he stuck with it, he might get enough intel to provide the DEA with more leads on how to find Diego.

  As he was reading the next string of messages, the tone suddenly changed. These weren’t business texts. They were romantic. And very steamy, at that. He almost stopped reading because he didn’t feel like it was right to invade these highly personal conversations. But the next word he saw on the screen made him freeze.

  “What?” he said out loud. “No way.”

  He read the words again. Scarlett, mi amor.

  His mind went into overdrive, and a sick feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. He was far from an expert on Latin America, but he felt fairly certain that Scarlett was not a common name in the region.

  Could Layla’s friend and mentor be working with a cartel deputy? He hadn’t even considered the possibility that the mole could be at the State Department. But hadn’t Layla said that Scarlett had worked at the DEA for years?

  He scoured through the other texts, searching for references to Scarlett, but came up empty. It was highly possible that the one message had been a slipup. They probably never referenced each other by name for this exact reason.

  How in the world was he going to break this news to Layla? She’d already been betrayed by Bryce, and now this. He had to be sure before he took this to her, but how could he be?

  Immediately, he started researching Scarlett. He called his hacker friend and explained that he needed anything he could get on Scarlett ASAP.

  Two hours later, he still didn’t have a rock-solid case, but he had enough puzzle pieces that he couldn’t hide this from Layla. There was far too much riding on this.

  He had called her cell multiple times with no answer. It was so hard to be patient, but he knew that she would be safe as long as she was at the Agency.

  He would just have to wait, and so he kept digging.

  Layla was on autopilot. There was too much hurt and betrayal for her to deal with her roller coaster of emotions. Bryce had not only threatened her career, he had wanted to take her life.

  When Scarlett walked into the Agency conference room, Layla gave her a big hug.

  “Man, I’m glad to see you,” Layla said. “I’m sorry to have called you, but I needed to talk.”

  “I got a partial download from Nick.” Scarlett squeezed her hand. “I am so sorry.”

  “Thanks.” Layla held back the tears. “Can we get out of here?”

  “Absolutely. Let’s go to my place. We can get your security detail to follow us.”

  “Thank you.”

  Layla’s hands were still shaking as they made the quick trip to Scarlett’s house in McLean. She saw she’d missed calls from Hunter, but she’d call him back after she got done with Scarlett. She sent him a quick text telling him where she was going and then put her phone in her purse.

  “Here we are,” Scarlett said.

  Layla had been to Scarlett’s ranch home many times. She loved the house and felt comfortable there. Layla needed a place where she could decompress for a few minutes and shed some tears in a no-judgment zone.

  She thanked the two-man security detail standing guard on the premises. Knowing she had them and Scarlett, who was a highly trained operative, beside her, she felt safe—or as safe as she was going to feel.

  They walked inside the house, and Layla let out a huge breath.

  “Go put your feet up in the living room. I’ll bring in some tea,” Scarlett said.

  “Thanks.” Her phone buzzed in her purse, and she pulled it out. Hunter was being persistent in his texting. As she started reading his words, her heart dropped.

  Scarlett is the mole. Be careful. I’m on my way and have called in reinforcements. I’m so sorry.

  She read the message again, but her brain didn’t compute. This couldn’t be right. Hunter had to be mistaken. Bryce was a traitor, but not Scarlett. Scarlett was her friend.

  Scarlett walked in with the tea. “Layla, you’re pale.”

  Layla put her phone back in her purse and looked up. “Yeah, I’m feeling a bit weak right now.”

  Scarlett sat down next to her and handed her the tea.

  Layla picked up the cup but stopped short of taking a sip. She looked into Scarlett’s eyes. “Do you have a weapon on you?”

  “Not on me, but my gun is right over there on the table.” Scarlett inclined her head in that direction.

  “Do you mind if I take it? I’d feel safer with it.”

  “I don’t know that you should be holding on to a firearm right now. Let’s get you calmed down first. We have the Agency detail right outside the door, and I’m in here with you. You’ll be fine. I promise.”

  As long as Scarlett didn’t have the gun either, Layla was in good shape. She could block Scarlett’s path if need be. It also occurred to her that there could be something in the tea. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she couldn’t risk it.

  Layla placed the tea on the coffee table. “I think I’m in shock.”

  “What did Bryce say?”

  “He was the one who set me up with the IG investigation. He also sold me out to the cartel by providing information on the safe house location. Can you imagine what that type of betrayal feels like? He was one of my friends.” She purposely said that to gauge Scarlett’s reaction. But there was nothing to show that Scarlett was flustered by it.

  “I knew he was bad news, but good grief. He served you up to the cartel. I hope he’s en route to a black site right now where he’ll rot for years.”

  Layla shook her head. “No. They’re doing this by the book. Lawyers and all.” She paused. “I just didn’t realize someone’s thirst for revenge could be so great.”

  Scarlett took her hand, and it took all her willpower not to yank it away. “I’ve told you before, Layla, it’s a harsh world out there. People you think are on your side can stab you in the back.”

  She squeezed Scarlett’s hand before dropping it. “You’d know something about that, wouldn’t you?”

  Scarlett raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

  Layla jumped up and ran over to the table where the gun was. She picked it up and pointed it toward Scarlett. She wasn’t messing around.

  “Layla, what are you doing?” Scarlett asked.

  “You betrayed me, Scarlett. You betrayed the DEA team. I want to know why. I deserve answers. You owe me that, at least.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Put the gun down and let’s talk about this.” Scarlett took a step forward.

  “Don’t move a single inch, or I will shoot.”

  “No, you won’t. That’s not your style.”

  “Oh, my style has changed greatly over the past twenty-four hours. Stinging betrayal has a way of putting things in a whole different light. So we’re going to do this again. How long have you been working for the cartel?”

  Scarlett’s face reddened, and Layla knew, after looking into her eyes, that Hunter had been right. There was not going to be an innocent explanation.

  “How did you find out?” Scarlett’s voice wavered.

  “That doesn’t matter.” She wasn’t about to drag Hunter into this. “Talk to me. I need to know why.”<
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  Scarlett averted her eyes. “It has absolutely nothing to do with you. I tried to protect you.”

  “How is that possible?” Layla’s voice rose. “The bombing, all the attacks? That’s what you call protection?”

  Scarlett looked back at her. “I had no choice but to give you up. It was my life or yours, and that was the only choice I could make. Diego saw you on the tape and demanded your name. I am responsible for making sure those tourists sat in your normal spot. I saved you, Layla. I did, whether you want to believe it or not.”

  “And you purposely tried to frame Zane to take the fall for your actions.”

  Scarlett nodded. “It was the most logical play I could make at the time.”

  “And Keith Hammond? What about him?”

  Scarlett blew out a breath. “Keith was collateral damage. You brought him into it, and once I knew you were going to talk to him, I had to out him to the cartel as an Agency operative because I knew the cartel would be watching, and if I didn’t give him up, then it would’ve come back on me. That was enough to get him killed, given how much of a warpath Diego is on.”

  The burning question was still there. “You still haven’t told me why.”

  “When I was a field agent for the DEA, I started working a cartel member named Mateo Lopez. I was convinced he was going to become a top asset.” She took a breath. “I thought I had him turned, but as we spent more and more time together, I ended up falling for him. And instead of me working him, he was working me.”

  “So you’re not together?” She needed to get the facts.

  “Not anymore. He played me. I thought it was real, but I was the stupid one. He might have cared about me at some point, but his aspirations got bigger than his feelings, and he had me locked in. I had no choice but to do their bidding, or they were going to expose the fact that I was once in a relationship with a top deputy in the cartel. My career would’ve been over. They had far too much leverage on me.”

  “What happened with the Honduras op?”