Page 37 of Kept By The Agents

"Maybe," he cautioned. "It's been under renovation for over a year."

"Is that normal?" I asked.

"Could be, only this place still looks as dilapidated as the day they started these so-called repairs."

"Do you think they're using it as a headquarters? Or as a place to store the women they take?"

"Could be both. Or neither. We won't know until we check."

"Is this what the CIA does?" I asked, resting my chin on my hand.

He chuckled again. I smiled back at him. "Yeah, actually. You came in during the beginning of the action portion of this mission. It can take us months of planning and prepping before we ever go boots on the ground."

My brows shot up. "That seems…excessive."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew the way the agency works. One of our ops took seven months to plan."

"Wow. Do you like…specialize in a certain type of case?"

"No. We do whatever needs doing."

"Why do they send you?" The look he gave me was vaguely offended. "I mean, instead of the military, or…"

"We work with the military. But they send us in first to verify all the evidence and intel we've collected. Once we do, Brando sets up the final op and we pull in every resource we need to get the job done. Sometimes that's just us if it's a simple snatch and grab. Other times, it looks like a war zone."

"I take it this is going to be a war zone?"

"Only if we're able to locate the Raleka. But yeah. Once we do, everyone is going to want a piece of this."

"Won't going in, guns blazing, put finding the girls at risk?"

"Not if we do it right," he assured me. One dark brow shot up. "You ask a lot of questions."

My smile was bright. "Part of the job."

"This is all off the record."

"Spoilsport."

Shaking his head, he focused back on his work. "I've at least lined up enough leads to keep the other two busy for the next few days. Trust me, you don't want to be cooped up in a house with them when they have nothing to do."

I laughed as I thought back to before. "Oh, I remember how Suave is. The man can't hold still. He even thrashes around in his sleep."

"Tell me about it. He's fucking kicked me more than once out on assignment."

My grin turned devious. "You two do a lot of sleeping together, huh?"

"Not like that." He gave me an unamused look.

"Well, what am I supposed to think? Suave mentioned that the three of you live together. You work together. You-"

"Are just friends." His typing on the keyboard paused while he cocked his head. "More like family."

"I bet yours is missing you."

His eyes darkened and he averted his gaze. "Brandon and Darro are the only family I have."

My heart sank at the stricken look on his face. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize."

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