Page 64 of Between Love and Honor

“Hold on,” he reassured her while he punched a few keys on the keyboard.

The screen came to life again with a Phoenix rising from the ashes. When the image disappeared, a single file name remained. Phoenix Operatives. He glanced over at her, his finger hovering over the enter key.

“You ready?”

All she could do was nod, but her fingers gripped his thigh with a bit more force. He pressed the key and the short list of names appeared on the screen. They weren’t in any particular order and it took her a moment to find her mother’s name. She gasped when she saw it.

His hand quickly found hers. “Shit,” he said.

Reading the list again, her eyes darted to a name at the bottom. One she never expected to see. The room began to spin. “Ben!” she cried.

His grip on her hand squeezed tighter. “Yeah, I see it. We need to get out of here.”

CHAPTER 14

“LET ME SEE if I can get this straight.”

Ben tried not to wince at President Manning’s sharp tone. The president and his chief of staff were both pacing the West Sitting Room of the residence. Secretary Lyle was serving tea to Quinn as if she was the Queen of England. Dorothy and Josslyn played the roles of ladies in waiting, hovering behind the sofa where the other two women sat.

As for Quinn, she remained remarkably stoic. Withdrawn even. Seeing her own name on the list had clearly shocked her. He wanted to take her in his arms and reassure her that neither Ronoff nor anyone else was ever going to hurt her.

Not on his watch.

But duty dictated he report to Secretary Lyle first. Dorothy’s cryptic message about tea had been clear as glass to Ben. They were to proceed to the White House as soon as they had the card. Whoever the traitor was, he or she potentially had access to extremely classified information. The list could be just the tip of the iceberg. Finding the asshole was priority one.

“Someone we’ve yet to identify is impersonating our operatives and selling highly sensitive information to the son of a Russian crime lord who, coincidently, stole a very valuable artificial intelligence program developed and owned by the US government.” The president directed a pointed look at Ben. “And this young lady is an agent with British Intelligence who the same son of a Russian crime lord attempted to kill two nights ago. Can someone tell me why the British ambassador isn’t in on this discussion?”

“Because until we know who the black hat is, we believe it is in Agent Darby’s best interest for everyone to assume she did in fact die at the hands of Alexi Ronoff,” the secretary explained.

“Have you been able to verify with the CIA director if the names on that list actually were operatives working for the Phoenix?” the chief of staff asked.

Secretary Lyle shook her head. “He reiterated that only the Phoenix knew the names on the list, so verification via the agency would be impossible.” She patted Quinn’s hand.

“Whoever composed this list did have a good working knowledge of the Phoenix Project, however. Agent Darby wasn’t technically in the employ of MI6 at the time despite providing valuable assistance with the project. Only an insider would know that fact.”

The president’s tone softened. “Well, if Ronoff’s intent is to assassinate everyone on that list then I agree Agent Darby should remain in hiding. Not to mention everyone else named.”

“The CIA director has already put the protection procedures into motion,” the secretary replied. “But until we find out who is leaking the intelligence and what their role is, even in protective custody, the whereabouts of those on the list could still be jeopardized.”

Quinn trembled slightly. Secretary Lyle comforted her by stroking her palm down Quinn’s back. Ben was astounded to see his boss acting so tenderly toward another human being. In all the years he’d worked for the woman, she’d been tough as nails, never showing any empathy to anyone. He was secretly delighted she’d decided to loosen up and show some compassion toward the woman he loved.

The woman he loved.

The realization wasn’t exactly a surprise but it did hit him square in the chest. Hard. He sucked in a breath to keep from laughing in astonishment. This must be what Griff and Adam felt like when they suddenly realized they wanted to surrender complete control of their heart to the whims of a woman.

The Quinn of his past had changed into something different. But, then again, so had he. She was his future. He needed her to know that. They’d lost too much time together already. The way forward was to find whoever was behind this mess and make her safe. The irony that they’d been unknowingly working as a team for so long already wasn’t lost on him. They’d tackle this next part as a team, as well. One that was united.

“Now what, Madame Secretary?” the president demanded interrupting Ben’s thoughts. “I gather from your message earlier you have a plan to unmask this traitor.”

“Actually, Agent Segar has already set the wheels in motion.” The secretary nodded at Ben.

“I did some phishing on the dark web last,” he began.

The president groaned. “Not the dark web again.”

“Agent Segar is one of the top provocateurs within the counter-intelligence community.” The secretary jumped in to defend him. “He’s used the dark web to unmask a multitude of terrorists and others intending to do harm to the United States. I have every confidence his efforts will pay off here, as well.”

“Sometimes it’s as simple as turning one player against the other,” Ben added.

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