Page 45 of Midnight Escape

Chapter Nineteen

That hadn’t been the accusation Danny had expected. He’d thought it’d be about using HIS resources. Stalker? Him? No, they didn’t understand yet.

“I put a tracker in the liner of her purse when she arrived from Ireland in case something happened and I needed to locate her.”

“That wasn’t one of your wisest decisions,” Devon added as a small, irrelevant comment.

“It seemed like a good one at the time.” He felt like arguing over this because it had, but it was already done, so they needed to talk about what happened to her and why she was here.

Devon shook his head. “Hell. Did you even consider the fact that trackers can be linked back to us?”

No, he hadn’t. Panic tapped at his body, but he held it at bay. Mostly. Getting HIS into trouble was the last thing he’d wanted. Surely they’d toss his ass now. “I thought our stuff was untraceable.”

“No. Not everything anyway.” How had Devon perfected that quirk to hide a smile? “We can discuss it later.”

“Can’t you—” He waved his hand around toward the computer setup. “—make it disappear?”

“Probably, but I won’t. I won’t mess with the company’s records. View them, but not change, unless completely necessary for the safety of someone. Now, spill. I’m ready for my second cup.”

“Moira’s the sister of a friend of mine in Ireland. She’s not here on vacation to visit friends. Her brother, Declan, called me several months ago, before he feared for their lives. Seems he decided to fall in love with a drug boss’s daughter. We had a plan for their extraction, but then he called and said there had been a change and they were headed to America right away.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted, as if a collective breath had been held waiting for more details. All movement stopped to include Doc, ready to put a pod in the coffee maker. They protected people. It’s what they did, no matter how difficult. They’d give their lives to protect someone. It’d been bred into them, which was why after years of protecting people, they were chosen for HIS.

He’d bet his last dollar Alpha team’s new focus became Moira and nothing else. He only hoped he wasn’t overreacting. But he’d rather be too heavy-handed than allow her to fall into danger’s hands.

No one spoke, so he continued, “Moira’s an artist. She did well enough in Ireland to live comfortably. One afternoon her friend asked her to fill in on a cleaning job. It was to help prepare a mansion for a dinner party. She mostly dusted, but the woman in charge didn’t give her a break. Moira was frustrated and asked her friend how bad it would be if she quit. Given the green light, she planned her escape from who she called a taskmaster.”

Noticing Doc still hadn’t put that pod in his hand into the coffee maker, he motioned for him to continue. Doc looked at his hand, shocked as if he hadn’t realized he held the pod. Even though the room came alive again, attention remained on him.

“Since my brother covered her and her brother’s trail so well in Ireland, I promised I wouldn’t share her story unless I had to. Well, I think it’s time.” He never should’ve allowed his promise to override his commitment to the agency and protecting the innocent.

He listened to some foul language and knew he’d earned it for keeping this secret from them. They were people to be trusted. Not only as agents of HIS, but as friends.

AJ gritted his teeth and seemed to have a hard time speaking. “I get that you gave a promise to someone, but you should’ve included us from the beginning. We’d have kept her safe.”

He gulped at the ferocity of AJ’s voice. There’d been no reason at the beginning, when she first arrived. Sure, he’d given her a tail, but that had been more for his comfort than her safety, because as far as they’d known, she was dead to the threat in Ireland. Besides, Moira would’ve hated him for it. Now though was the time and she’d have to deal.

Best to avoid arguing with one of his bosses over whether he should have included HIS from the beginning. “Anyway, the dinner was at the home of someone from theSeanad Éireann.” When he received blank looks, he realized he’d repeated Moira’s words. “It’s basically the senate. Minister Donnelly.”

There were some nods with mumbles of agreement in all forms. He also expected plenty of “get to the point” mumbles in there. He just couldn’t seem to spit it out in the brief and concise format that had been ingrained in him since he’d joined the DEA, and then HIS. With Moira involved, brevity didn’t exist in his thoughts. This was too personal, and although he needed to share, he didn’t want to.

“Did this minister threaten her?” Cowboy asked, all excited. “Because I’ll be glad to protect your roommate since you haven’t spanked that ass. She’s hot.”

Rage, no, it was jealousy… no, it was rage covering his jealousy… made his muscles tighten, especially around his shoulders and neck. He wanted to take Cowboy apart, limb by limb, even with that damn twinkle in his eyes. That asshole remembered the trip back from the festival.

He was saved from acting out by his team leader.

“Cowboy, shut the hell up,” Boss said. The agent waved his hand as if giving Danny the green light. “Go ahead,” he said, before he took a sip of coffee.

Danny’s own mug was empty but getting up wasn’t possible for him. To his surprise, Doc grabbed his mug to make another cup. Thank God for this team.

“Cowboy, we don’t know. While Moira had been there, she’d watched a known drug lord meet with the minister and an assistant commissioner withgardai. Police,” he added for clarification.

A few whistles rang in the air. Put a drug lord with government officials, and it was a bomb waiting to explode.

Doc handed him the coffee, and Danny took a grateful sip and opened his mouth at the heat of it. No one laughed because they’d all done it at one time or another. The liquid fireball burned its way down his throat to his stomach.

“What’s Moira’s full name?” Devon asked, never looking up from his computer screen.

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