Page 88 of Fatal Betrayal

"Now what?" Cooper asked, as his gaze swept the area around them. "Are you going to call Flynn? Or follow Burnett's suggestion that you don't trust Flynn or anyone on your team?"

"I'm conflicted," she admitted. "I trust Flynn and the people I went to Quantico with, but I don't know everyone in the office. There could be an analyst or a lower-level admin that's leaking information. I'd rather not risk anything right now. But I need to find Burnett. I'm going to try the office." She looked up the general number for the LA office and then made the call. She was re-routed through two people before getting to someone who told her that Agent Burnett was not in the office. She chose not to leave a message and ended the call. "He's not answering his phone, and he's not at his office."

"Maybe we should check his house," Cooper suggested.

"I have no idea where he lives."

"And that's why you need me. I know his address."

"How is that possible?" she asked in surprise.

"I've done a lot of research on the man who falsely accused my brother. Several months ago, when Neil and I were trying to talk to him, and he kept putting us off, I followed him home from work one day and we had a chat in front of his house."

"That can't have gone over well."

"He was furious and defensive. I told him I just wanted to hear his side of the story, but he wasn't interested in telling it."

"Where does he live?"

"Brentwood. We're going to need transportation to get there. I could borrow my sister's car."

"No, nothing that ties to your family. We have enough cash for a cab."

"That's true, but…" He thought for a moment. "How about a car that belongs to a man who has an office in the building where I record my podcasts?"

"Are we going to have to steal it?"

"Borrow it. I have his keys. We share a tandem garage parking spot, and he's out of town."

"Okay, that will work," she said, relieved to have one problem solved. "We'll take a cab to where the car is parked, but we'll need to get in and out quickly. Someone could be watching your building."

"It's not where my office is. It's a studio space for podcasters. I don't know if anyone would know I use it."

She felt even better hearing that. They walked out to the street and found a cab. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at a two-story building in El Segundo, that was surrounded by industrial shops and wholesale stores. Cooper let them into the building, giving her only a quick glance at the studio space before heading into the garage. Since his car was still parked down at the LA FBI Office, there was only his coworker's car in the space, a dark-gray Kia Sport.

"I'm driving now," Cooper told her.

She didn't bother to argue, just got into the passenger seat, and locked the doors. As they drove out of the garage and got on the freeway, she kept an eye on the sideview mirror, watching for any cars that might be tailing them, but nothing appeared to be suspicious.

As she cast a quick glance at Cooper, she had to admit that he looked happy to be in the driver's seat. She had to appreciate the fact that he had been following her lead the past several days. Even with everything between them, he respected her abilities. In fact, he'd always respected her. She probably hadn't recognized that enough when they were kids, but Cooper had had her back for just about everything she'd ever done, except when it had come to Hannah.

She was glad they'd talked things through last night. She hoped things would be different now, but she was very aware that having sex with her was one thing, trusting her completely was another.

As her thoughts went back into the past, they returned to Agent Burnett, who was a big part of their history. Eighteen years ago, Jim Burnett had been a much younger and less seasoned agent. It was difficult to believe he could have been involved in Hannah's disappearance or in Elisa's, but he was a common denominator in both cases.

He'd also barely been able to hide his anger toward her when they'd met yesterday morning. It didn't make sense that he would have been that angry to lose the investigation when he'd had a run-in with both Neil and Cooper. Of course, Damon wouldn't want him on the case. With all his years of experience, he would have known that was the only move Damon could make.

But Burnett hadn't accepted the decision. He'd given her a tip that had proved to be true but had also sent her down a different path toward Claire. That could have been the point of his lead, to slow her down, distract her, and send her in another direction. But that hadn't worked. She'd kept digging into Daniel and the gym, into Kristine, and also to Jillian. He could be involved with any one of them. But none of those people had been around eighteen years ago. Which was where her theory of Burnett's involvement fell apart.

On the other hand, the only way her safe house could have been exposed was through a leak. She had no idea if Burnett would have known about the house, since Flynn ran that property. Maybe it was someone on Flynn's team who she didn't know, didn't trust. But she couldn't come up with a motive for someone on Flynn's team to want to get rid of her. She hadn't taken anyone's job. Bree, their kidnapping expert, was on maternity leave, so she didn't care.

"What are you thinking about?" Cooper asked, breaking into her reverie.

"Too many things. My mind is going around in circles."

"Can I help?"

She thought about that. "What else can you tell me about Agent Burnett? You've obviously studied him more than I have."

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