Page 90 of Elusive Promise

She gazed into his eyes and felt a rush of affection. Actually, it felt like love, but she was afraid to call it that, even in her own head.

Instead, she said, "Partners—definitely. And I'm not angry. I just want to get to the truth, wherever it leads."

"I do, too."

The buzzing of a phone startled her. "Is that yours?"

"Yes, sorry. I turned it on to text Gary again—my contact at the agency." Jared pulled out his phone and read a text, his jaw turning to stone.

"It doesn't look like good news. What's happened? It's not Jasmine, is it?" she asked, suddenly terrified by the look in Jared's eyes.

"No, it's not Jasmine. It's me. The agency found out I was present at a shooting near the convention center yesterday."

"How would they know that?" As soon as she asked the question, she realized she knew the answer. "The FBI mole. They know who you are. They want you off the case."

"So does the agency. They want me at Langley today. They've arranged for me to catch the company plane. I need to be at the airport at eleven."

"Then that's where you'll be."

He shook his head. "No."

"Jared, you have to go. This is your job, your life."

"Let's go to the consulate first. I'll make a decision after that."

She couldn't imagine what other decision he could make. "Maybe the agency just wants your information, so they can put together a bigger investigation."

He gave her a short smile. "If that was the situation, they wouldn't call me to Langley. They want me out of New York. They want me off the case. That's not going to happen."

"You're really going to risk everything, aren't you?"

"Yes," he said, no trace of doubt in his voice. "Help me make it count?"

"I will," she said, really hoping she could keep that promise.

Twenty-One

It was almost nine when they got back to the city and parked near the consulate. The sun had disappeared behind dark clouds, and it was now a cold, gloomy day, with a storm approaching. Jared hoped that wasn't a precursor of what was to come.

He'd gotten a couple more texts from Gary, pleading with him not to throw away his entire career for this quest, that April wouldn't want that. And Gary was right—April wouldn't want him to do that. But he'd already disobeyed orders to stay out of the case, and when he got to Langley, there was a good chance he'd find out his job was already over or that he would be sent to a desk, which was not something he was interested in.

He was going to play things out for a while longer. He still had a couple of hours before he had to decide.

"Are you okay?" Parisa asked, giving him a thoughtful glance, as they neared the consulate. "If you want to go to the airport—"

"I'm good. Let's see what's happening here."

They went up the steps to the consulate, where they were detained by two guards. They gave their names, then waited as one of the guards went into the building. A moment later, Kabir Bhatt came to the door, nodding at Parisa.

"Miss Maxwell. What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Bhatt. This is my boyfriend, Jared MacIntyre. We'd like to see Anika and Kenisha."

"They're not taking visitors."

"Well, I'm not just any visitor, and I want to wait with them," she said. "I know what's happening this morning. Please tell them I'm here. I'm not leaving until you do."

He frowned at her words. "One moment." He left them on the step as he stepped into the building.

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