Chapter Twelve #3
The truth was enough to suck the oxygen from the room.
Sawyer didn’t disagree. But that didn’t change his mind about who should do what.
He rolled his lips together and stared at Jared.
Angela shouldn’t be involved. She was untrained and emotionally too close.
For the same reason a surgeon shouldn’t operate on their loved one, Angela shouldn’t search for a victim of the same abductor, even solely to gather intel.
“Spit it out, Sawyer,” Boss Man ordered. “You think I’m wrong? She’s wrong? Whatever you’ve got to say, say it so we can move forward.”
Sawyer glanced at Angela.
“Angela’s not going to bite,” Jared muttered.
Her eyes narrowed. “You don’t know that.”
Sawyer ran his hand over his face and into his hair again, where his knuckles tightened. “I don’t understand why you would let her do this.”
“Because I asked, Sawyer,” she said.
“I’ve asked for a hell of a lot of things over the years, and you,” he said to Jared, “didn’t bother entertaining any bullshit requests.” Sawyer raised his eyebrows. “And now something comes along that puts Angela in danger, and you’re all ‘let’s go see what happens’?”
“Her location has been compromised,” Jared pointed out. “She’s gotta go somewhere. Why not go somewhere that no one would expect?”
“Let’s not forget,” Angela added, “I want to do this. I asked to do this. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
“Yeah. You can.” The muscles in Sawyer’s jaw ticked. “What if shit hits the fan? What if we find Mylene surrounded by Pham’s ghouls? We’re unarmed. Unprepared.” He motioned to Angela. “Untrained.”
“We’ve talked about that,” Parker said.
“What?” Sawyer had walked into the conversation too late, powerless to the decisions made without his input.
“We mitigate the dangers. Prepare for the unexpected, arm you both appropriately, and provide training as needed.”
“Arm us both?” Sawyer repeated incredulously. Had he ever seen Angela hold a weapon?
“Sawyer,” she said. “I’m doing this with or without you.”
Jared didn’t dispute her words.
Frustrated, Sawyer pushed back into his chair.
He didn’t have a good understanding of the job requirements and wasn’t making a good argument.
No for no’s sake wouldn’t cut it. Suddenly, Sawyer was acutely aware that he was half-dressed.
No wonder he wasn’t convincing anyone. He looked like an idiot.
“Give me a chance, Sawyer,” Angela said.
He had a hundred reasons to say no, but damn when her voice pained him. On top of that, this investigation might happen without him. There was no one else he’d rather send in his place. Sawyer rubbed the back of his neck. “So, where would we go?”
Angela’s small smile hit him straight in the chest.
“Her last known location was in North Carolina,” Parker replied. “A little island off the coast called Emerald Isle.”
“That’s where she lived?” Sawyer said.
“No. That’s where Mylene’s husband and sister were murdered. She didn’t live too far from there, though.”
“What the hell are we going to find there?” Sawyer asked.
“Probably not much,” Parker answered. “But it’s a good starting point. From what we know about Pham, if he took Mylene, she wouldn’t be that far from her home base.”
Sawyer needed more convincing. “You’re blowing me away with all the intel.”
“Statistically speaking,” Parker continued, “this is our best bet. We start there. I’ll milk the system for what else the Feds might know but haven’t shared.
I’ll see what I can do to eavesdrop on Pham’s communication network.
You two will be working the ground game until I have something more for you to follow up on. ”
“Sounds like we’ll have nothing to do.” Sawyer chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Boring.”
“First, it’s too much, too dangerous.” Angela sighed. “Now it’s too boring.”
Sawyer didn’t know what his problem was. Angela’s involvement felt grossly unnecessary. Titan could move her to a different safe house, and Senator Sorenson could move heaven and earth so the Feds could follow up on the Mylene Hathaway lead.
Angela rolled her eyes. “Fine. Let’s ask someone else. Camden?”
“No.” He side-eyed her. “You’re not going anywhere—”
“Excuse me?”
“Not going anywhere with Camden.” Sawyer blew out a deep breath. “Don’t cut me off, Ange. You know that’s not what I meant.” Except that was what he meant.
She shrugged. “Camden is always looking for reasons to travel.”
“This isn’t ‘a reason to travel’. It’s putting yourself in danger—”
“Or boredom,” she quipped. “You never know.”
He rubbed his temples. “You’re driving me crazy.”
“Sawyer, look, man. She’s doing this.” Jared studied Sawyer. “You’re the one who’s kept her safe since the day she arrived.”
This week? Barely. Sawyer ground his molars again.
“So what’s it going to be?” Jared asked. “Are you gonna let someone else pick up your responsibilities?”
“I’m not his responsibility,” Angela said, though her voice sounded far away.
Anyone on their team would keep her safe. Sawyer trusted the ACES team with his life every damn time they left on a job. But did he trust them with her life? Yeah. Of course. But at the same time, he couldn’t imagine letting them step into a role that was his. “I’m in.”