Breach Of Trust. Jodie Bailey
off the engine, Tate sat and waited for Meghan to come out of the house. He had no doubt she’d heard him drive up and was probably armed to the teeth, ready to fire if she didn’t realize it was him. Better to sit and let her come to him. After all that had happened in the past day, she was probably on high alert, even when it came to him. Approaching the house with his hands raised would tip the advantage in her favor.
His hands. He stared at his fingers, expecting to see red. Despite the double layer of latex gloves he’d pulled on, the warmth of fresh blood had seeped through, a sensation he’d never been able to wash away easily. He’d checked each body for signs of life, even though the amount of blood made life impossible.
Isaac’s whole crew was dead.
Everyone except him.
He slammed a fist against the steering wheel. This was his fault. He’d lost control of the situation, let his guard slip when Meghan had gotten involved. He cleaned other people’s messes, stepped in when it was too hot for anyone else to handle. How had he become the one who needed someone to pick up the pieces behind him?
He’d ditched the house, reported in to Ethan and let the other man call the police. Now Tate was without a place to call home. Again. This time, it was his fault the mission was aborted because everything had gone sideways.
Every inroad he had to their hacker was gone, and they were thrust to the beginning, with no clear way to stop an attack that could cut the power to the entire nation, leaving the country wide-open to things only horror movies portrayed.
This failure undid everything. Phoenix was intimately familiar with every other member of their unit. Tate had managed to stay on the fringes, playing dead in order to do the job. Now, even though Phoenix might not realize Tate was working with his former unit, he was the lone survivor of Isaac’s crew, a loose end to be cut off. He wore a target on his back large enough to see from space.
No way was he sitting around waiting for Phoenix to make a slip. He’d get Meghan to talk, find out her connection and resume the pursuit. This did not end here. As far as Tate was concerned, he’d be the one to call the final shots, not a coward who hid behind a computer screen.
The light in the truck faded into shadow as someone passed between the morning sun and his passenger window.
The truck door eased open, and Meghan slid in. The scent of coffee and some kind of citrus soap drifted in with her. “You’re back already?”
Tate nodded, not trusting himself to keep the anger out of his voice if he spoke. He needed to be gentle and noncombative if he wanted answers.
“What happened?” Meghan McGuire never spoke softly. She definitely thought something was wrong if she was bringing out a soothing voice now.
Guess she wasn’t mad anymore. Hopefully she’d softened enough to talk.
Tate lifted his head to find her scanning his face, his chest, as though she was assessing him for wounds. Even though the action was utterly professional, her scrutiny made him warm in places he’d long thought cold, especially after what he’d seen this morning. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was definitely something he shouldn’t be feeling.
The familiar scent of her, the fact she hadn’t changed a bit since their last op together, settled the spinning thoughts that had refused to be grasped since he’d arrived at Isaac’s house hours ago. There had always been something about Meghan McGuire, and having her reappear in the midst of this current chaos was too much for him to hold his silence.
He caught her gaze and stopped her perusal of him. “Isaac’s crew is dead.”
She stiffened. “All of them?”
“Executed.” The word hit the air hot and violent, with all the anger he’d been trying to hide.
Beside him, she dug her fingers into the faded denim covering her knees, the only outward sign she was internalizing what had happened. After a long moment, she relaxed her hold. “Because I got away.”
“Because I let you go.” While there was nothing he could have done differently, the death of six men was still tough, even if those six men were morally bankrupt criminals.
Death was never easy. They’d both seen enough of it to know life was the most precious of commodities. It was doubly hard when Jesus wasn’t in the picture. No more second chances for the heart after it stopped.
The thought made his hands tingle, and he dragged them along the seat again, trying to wipe off the sensation. “It seems Phoenix wants you badly if he’s willing to execute the guys he thinks let you slip away.”
The silence between them was broken by the clicks and pops of the motor as it cooled in the early morning air. Tate let the silence settle, giving Meghan time to see the gravity of the situation and the need for her to lay out her story. He wanted to drag the information out of her, but he knew better.
“We’ve got to find out what he wants.” Meghan hit on the objective. “Because if we don’t, he’ll keep on coming after both of us.” She looked away, chewing her bottom lip.
Forget him. This was all about Meghan. This mission was no longer simply about tracking Phoenix and derailing his plans. It was about keeping the hacker from tracking Meghan. She was important to this shadow man for some reason, and he had to find out why. He just had to convince Ethan of it.
Actually, he didn’t. Since he wasn’t an official part of the team, he was technically free to do whatever he wanted. But Ethan wouldn’t let him go easily, not after all this time and not without backup.
“Tate? Your mind’s going a hundred miles an hour. Clue me in.”
He wanted to laugh, and probably would have if the situation hadn’t been so dire. Yep. She hadn’t changed. She was still his Meghan. Direct as ever. She’d long ago learned how to draw him out of his thoughts, and she’d push relentlessly until he talked.
She didn’t need to pressure him though. The tension kept building inside him, pushing against his skin and throbbing in his head. Talking it out with the woman who’d once tagged along on his every thought process would be a relief. Of course, he’d never tell her so. “I no longer have an in. I have no way of gaining access to our hacker. He’s assuming he killed everybody in Isaac’s gang. I waltz in and tell him I was part of his group and I’m alive, then I’ve signed a death warrant.” Especially after what he’d seen. “We were close.”
He clenched his fist, wanting to pound it on the dash until the pain made him forget everything else. “This hacker...he wants you specifically, and he’ll kill to get to you.” He turned in the seat, the vinyl squeaking a protest at the motion. More than anything, Tate wanted to ask her why, but that line of questioning was a delicate one he’d have to draw out over time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t time they had. “I think the best plan is to get you to Virginia, and then I can come here knowing you’re out of—”
“Absolutely not.” The denial was firm, brooking no argument. “I don’t run, and you know it.” Something in her expression shifted. She turned away, facing the windshield, then back to him. “I’m going to the school.”
“Absolutely not.” He hadn’t signed off on her going to the school. No way was she putting herself in the crosshairs.
“I’m going with or without you. If he’s been in my system, then the school’s computer is all you’ve got left to link to him.”
“Remote in.” Meghan was a computer genius, one of the best in the world. She could hack her own system remotely in the time it would take him to make scrambled eggs for breakfast. There was no need for her to step into the building.
“No.”
“I said you’re not going.” The situation was spinning even faster out of control, her tenacity wresting it from his grasp. Her stubborn nature was burned into his memory. She’d march into Phoenix’s lair unarmed and fight to the death before she’d go into hiding. Meghan wasn’t a coward, but Meghan