Chapter 8 #3
“You’re suddenly very tense.”
She let out a short huff. “I’m fine, thanks.” She went back to looking out the window, and I turned around in my seat.
I caught Bash in the side mirror studying her, and that horrible knot formed in my stomach.
I hated the feeling of jealousy, especially when I had no right to be.
I had it for years with Talya and Grim, even though I knew she didn’t love him.
She loved me. The fact that I had been keeping a secret about who I was then, and now I was doing it again, made my insides twist.
We parked and thanked the young driver. He would look after getting our belongings to the hotel.
“It’s understandable to feel nervous, Nicole,” Bash said gently as we were about to enter the building.
“Anxiety can come out of nowhere. Remember you’re a badass.
” He winked, she smiled, and I fought not to roll my eyes then felt like an asshole.
I wasn’t good verbally, so I showed my support physically.
Again, another roadblock, thanks to my past.
“Thanks, Bash. Good luck with your meetings.” He waved and smiled at us as we walked away.
“Paul?” Nicole pulled me from my frustration, and I looked up and saw she was waiting for me. “You coming?”
I nodded once, and we walked inside together. Once we stepped from the elevator and headed down the hall, Cole suddenly popped out of a doorway.
“Logan!” I coughed. “Logan.” I was happy to see one of my bothers and felt instant relief.
The stress of the situation and the fact that our Washington headquarters had never been my favorite place had made me overreact at the sight of him.
I saw him raise a brow. “I thought you were in New York,” I covered in a normal tone.
“I was, but I had a hunch I’d be needed here more.” His lips pressed into a firm line, and I knew he was just as uncomfortable with General Bruce as I was. “Let’s see what shitstorm comes our way this time,” he added quietly.
“Cole,” Nicole stepped forward, “if I am being stripped of my position, does that mean I need to show—"
General Bruce stepped out of his office, and Nicole’s words faded away. “Please, come in. Ms. Winter, it’s nice to see you again.”
“You too, sir,” she said quickly then stepped up to do as he’d asked. “Let’s get this over with.”
I wanted to pull her aside and hear the rest of her question, but it wasn’t the time. Cole and I exchanged a worried look as we followed them inside.
General Bruce kept his office freezing, which I welcomed because I always ran hot. I figured he did that to keep people from staying too long. Smart tactic.
“Please take a seat.” Bruce stood at the head of the table and then to my utter discomfort and annoyance the door opened, and Dr. Bash suddenly appeared with an apologetic smile at Nicole.
What the hell? He took a seat at the back.
I glanced at Frank, who entered next. I shifted my gaze to Bash then back at him, but he just lowered his head and dropped the files he carried on the table.
“Doc Roberts thought it would be best for Dr. Bash to join us,” General Bruce offered as an explanation.
What was I missing here? I glanced at Dr. Bash, who kept his facial expression neutral.
“Nicole, I’m going to just jump right into this.
” General Bruce pointed the remote at the TV and brought up a photo of Bruno.
“First, I want to let the record show that your assistance in helping Blackstone retrieve the young boy has not gone unnoticed. I know what you sacrificed to do so.” He cleared his throat.
“I also know exactly what else it cost you.” Nicole tilted her chin like she was about to brace for impact.
“Normally, I wouldn’t disclose such a secret—”
“Secret?” fell from my mouth.
“Yes, secret.” I could tell he didn’t like my interruption. “Ms. Winter, maybe it’s best for you to introduce our guest?” The door opened, and before I saw who it was, I had my gaze trained on Nicole, who had paled to the point of looking translucent.
“I wish I could say it was nice to meet you all, but frankly, I’m pissed to even be here.
” The man dressed in jeans and a polo entered the room with his eyes shooting a death glare at Nicole.
He waited for her to speak, and when she didn’t, he rolled his eyes.
“I’m Glen Digby, and I work for the DEA, and Ms. Winter,” he pointed to Nicole, “is my CI.”
“What?” Cole and I said at the same time. I did not see that coming. I whirled around to look at Frank. He was the one man who knew all our secrets, and I knew he’d take them to the grave no matter how much they cost us.
He raised his hands, and his face mirrored our shock. “I had no clue.” I believed him.
“No one did.” Nicole’s voice cut the silence.
“I was approached years ago by the DEA and knew I had an opportunity to make a dent in the drug world. I was assigned to Agent Digby.” She looked at me, and I immediately made the connection to the person who kept calling her.
“I’d been working with him on the side.” She addressed the room with confidence.
I was impressed in spite of my instant annoyance that she’d told us nothing of this.
“At that time, not even General Bruce knew. That came later.”
“Later, as in the past forty-eight hours,” General Bruce added rather bitterly.
Cole tapped his fingers on the table. “How long were you working as a CI?”
“I signed on my second year in Mexico.”
“Jesus.” Frank adjusted his glasses as he digested that.
“Was Digby the only agent you worked with?” Cole continued.
“Yes,” Glen answered for her, and Nicole sent him a nasty glare. Something told me he was difficult to work with.
“He’s a dick,” Cole barked boldly to me in Dari from across the table. “I’m surprised she lasted that long with him. You ever worry about a man in her life, it sure as hell wouldn’t be that one.”
“English, please.” Frank cleared his throat as everyone stared at us.
Cole looked at Glen. “I’ve heard of you, Agent Digby, and you’ve got a reputation for pushing limits and getting your way.”
“He does and tried.” Nicole’s voice held a sharp tone as she looked at the belligerent man.
“But my moral compass can’t be broken. When Glen told me to ditch that poor child at the border so as not to compromise my position,” she glanced quickly at me, “I couldn’t believe it. And, of course, I ignored him.”
“Amateur,” Glen snapped at her. “A professional would have known better. We all have to make sacrifices if we ever want to win the war against the Cartels.”
Nicole raised her hand. “I’d never sacrifice a child.
I told you no and kept my word to you, Paul.
” She gave me a hard look. “Chase is just a baby. He never asked to be in that position. He can’t help that he was born into a world with Cartel blood in his veins and a monster for a father.
” I felt the pain in my gut like a knife.
“And look where it got you.” His voice dripped with contempt, and I could barely hold myself back. I wanted my hands around that bastard’s throat. The guy had a death wish, and I hoped to make it come true.
“I know there was some question about you using the child for professional gain.” Frank glanced at me, ignoring Glen. Nicole suddenly stood, and all eyes went to her. She made a show of pulling out her GoPro.
“Yes, there was,” her tone was angry, “and as I said before, I would never do that but in case there are any lingering concerns, I can prove that my only motive was to get the child to safety.” She removed the cord from the laptop at the center of the table and stuck it in the side of the device.
A moment later, her footage popped up on the TV.
We all watched in horror as my son’s red face came into focus.
He clung to Nicole’s shirt, his mouth open as he screamed in fear.
My fingers dug into my thighs as we continued to watch her footage, and when Bruno put his hands on her and Chase, we could see she fought him with everything she had.
The look of pure shock on Bruno’s face when she shot him made my entire year.
We all listened to her conversation with Glen telling her she should ditch the child and get back to work.
“The fuck,” I growled and glared at Glen with pure hatred. He simply shook his head.
“Easy,” Cole softly warned.
I tried to breathe as I tuned in to the conversation with her Washington Post friend, Jack.
Then I heard her desperate public plea to find help to get Chase across the border.
Nicole’s face was filled with pure terror and desperation.
As I watched the entire situation unfold, it made me see it was the only move she had left.
Not once did she show his face on camera when she was on air with the viewers.
She never divulged anything about him, not his sex or name.
“Holy shit,” I whispered at how wrong I had been.
Then I spotted Chili in the background in one shot.
I appreciated that he had my back enough to risk being seen at all.
I breathed a sigh of relief as if I was there in that moment when she weighed her options and decided to step into the back of his truck.
I felt myself relax a little as Chili closed the door on them.
“That clears things up,” Frank said, very matter of fact, as if the footage had no effect on him. It bothered me that Frank, in his older age, was becoming almost robotic. He seemed to care more about the job and less about the people. Had he always been that way?
“You guys got your mark, but I potentially lost my eyes and ears out there. A lot of work and time goes into these things. You must know that,” Glen said.
The guy had no idea how close he was to having his throat ripped out.
The fact that he even had the balls to try to explain himself astounded me.
Nicole looked at my expression then at Cole’s, then turned to Glen.
“Glen, if you want to live to see another day, I’d suggest you shut the fuck up.” His eyes bugged out at her words, but he did close his mouth.
I saw Cole shoot Frank a look. Then he turned to Nicole. “Smart of you to wear your camera.” I could see the wheels turned in his head, and my own were at full speed. “Glen, where does this leave you? How do you see your and Nicole’s working relationship from this point?”
I was stunned. What kind of a question was that?
“I thought for sure I was fired,” Nicole held his gaze, “but then—”
“I think we can do damage control,” Glen cut her off, “get Nicole back in the field. There’s a direction we can go where I think we can expose something within the next six months.”
“What the hell?” My blood boiled; he was crazy! “There’s no fixing this. Plus, Bruno knows she was working for us. If Nicole goes back, she’ll be as good as dead.”
“Given the level of intel, it outweighs the risks.” The bastard. I jumped to my feet, unsure I could control my actions at that point. Cole stood and kept himself between us. Glen looked at Nicole. “She thinks there’s a chance. You didn’t say no. Did you?”
“What? How could you ever consider this?” She really was reckless and crazy and…
“Because Glen knows what I know.” Nicole bit her lip as the tension in the room grew.
“All right, all right.” General Bruce banged on the table then held up his hand.
“We can play ‘who knows what and who goes where’ later. But I will not have a brawl in my office this morning. So, with all that’s come out, Ms. Winter, it goes without saying that you’ve been compromised.
You’ll certainly not be returning to Mexico as a US war correspondent. What you do with the DEA is up to you.”
“I understand, sir, but I think that might be a mistake.” Nicole set her bag on the table. “I have some serious intel that—”
“Do you have more intel than what you gave me?” Glen dared to speak again.
“Glen,” she sighed heavily, “I have more information than you can even imagine.”
He stepped toward her then, and I made my move, but this time Frank grabbed my shoulder.
“Enough!” General Bruce’s phone rang, and he ripped it from his pocket and murmured into it. “Shit,” he growled. He shot Nicole an unimpressed look. “All right, everyone out but Ms. Winter and Agent Glen.”
“Nicole.” I stood and made a move toward her, but Frank stepped in my way.
“Paul,” he held up a file, “we need to talk, now.”
I watched as she tucked her GoPro camera away in her bag, avoiding eye contact with the rest of us. “Can it wait?”
“No, Paul, it can’t.”