Page 48 of Between Love and Honor

She had to make these feelings stop. The only way to do that was to pull up her knickers and begin her search.

With a resigned sigh, she set out on her task.

* * *

BEN STARED BLANKLY at the computer screen. He’d spent the past hour sifting through want-ads on the dark web, searching for anyone looking for a skilled coder who could hack into VOYEUR. Ronoff would need someone who could break through US Intelligence encryption. Most of those guys played for the wrong team, but if the money was right, an American would sell out his country in a heartbeat. So far, he hadn’t found an ad with that particular description or the right price tag. He hoped that meant Ronoff didn’t know what he had on the card. Because the alternative was that he already had someone with the math chops to break the code. In anticipation, he touched base with the operatives who monitored the cryptocurrency markets, but no one had heard anything about a run yet.

Now all he had to do was sit and wait. Too bad he wasn’t good at waiting. Especially when the world’s most exasperating woman was two floors below. A woman his body was still primed and ready for. A woman who made no sense. And that was the part that frustrated him more.

For starters, she was freakishly accurate with a gun. Not only that, but Ronoff, a guy she’d been associated with two days ago, had trashed his boat, stolen VOYEUR, and was now trying to kill him. His head was pounding just trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Except they didn’t fit at all.

He was swallowing two ibuprofen when his computer beeped with a FaceTime call. He tapped the button and Secretary Lyle appeared on the screen. Hopefully, she had some answers.

“You were injured?” She was never one for small talk.

“It’s just a scrape,” he lied. “I’ve had paper cuts that were worse.”

She actually rolled her eyes. “The woman is still with you?”

Quinn wasn’t exactly with him in the way his body wanted, but he thought it better not to let his boss know that particular detail. “Yeah, she’s here.”

“Were the two men dead when you arrived?”

Ben sat up a little straighter in his chair. “No.”

“I’m assuming it was you who put the bullets through their heads?”

Suddenly, he was very uncomfortable. He didn’t like that his natural reaction was to protect Quinn. Especially since he had no idea what he was protecting her from.

“No.”

“She shot them, then?”

“She shot the first guy while he was trying to strangle me.”

Her expression matched the awe in his voice before she sighed in exasperation.

Ben’s head was pounding now. “Would you mind telling me what’s going on, ma’am?”

“When I notified the consulate of her death, I promptly got a call from the ambassador. It seems the woman you pulled out of the Chesapeake Bay is with British Intelligence. MI6 to be precise.”

The breath caught in his lungs and he slumped back against his chair. Awe didn’t even come close to the maelstrom of emotions he was feeling right now, chief among them an unexplained feeling of relief. “That explains a lot.”

Except it didn’t explain everything.

“I’m going to have to call their director and tell him she’s alive. Especially since she killed two men on US soil.”

No! He jumped from his chair. It felt suspiciously like the director had tricked him. “Tell them I shot them, damn it.”

“It’s not that simple, Agent Segar. There’s a protocol here. Besides, if the scenario were reversed, the US intelligence community would want the same courtesy of knowing one of their own was alive.”

“Then give me twenty-four hours. She’s our only link to Ronoff. I’d really like to know why the hell the guy is trying to off me. Not to mention how he knew about VOYEUR.” And he tried to kill Quinn. “Besides, she’s safer with him believing she’s dead. Right now, the only shot at getting my AI back might be from intel she has.”

“Relax. I wasn’t planning on marching her up to the embassy tonight. I agree you should find out what she knows about Ronoff. Work together. I’m assuming you can handle teaming up with her?”

Ben’s mouth went dry just thinking about all the ways he’d like to team up with Quinn.

“Do what you have to in order to retrieve VOYEUR. And don’t forget about the Phoenix. I’m still chasing down leads here, but perhaps our British friend knows something. There’s a potential traitor out there somewhere and I want him or her exposed.”

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