Page 52 of When He Protects

“Oui,I’ve tried calling her, and I’ve tried tracking her cell. It isn’t on.”

“You didn’t get any texts from her?” An agent should have texted the man—acting as Esme and saying that she was going out of town for a bit to decompress.

“I have not received texts from my daughter. Just some bullshit from a federal agent pretending to be my Esme.”

Uh, oh.

Finally, his boss stepped forward. “I told the ambassador I had no idea what he was talking about.”

Way to cover your own ass.Grayson straightened hisshoulders. “I certainly don’t have any idea, either. If you got a text from your daughter—well, sorry you didn’t like what she had to say, but that’s not the FBI’s problem.” Playing nicely with this man wasn’t going to be an option. There was something cold and hard about him. And his eyes were like pure black ice. “Esme Laurent is not being held in a cell anywhere.” Complete truth. Esme was in a safe house, not a cell. “She told me she wanted to find some peace and quiet. That’s what I hope she found.”

“Esme isn’t one for peace. And she hates the quiet. Came from briefly losing her hearing a few years ago.”

Surprise rolled through him.

“But you didn’t know that.” Etienne seemed satisfied. “Because you are not one of her confidants. I see that I’ve misjudged the situation.Je regrette.” He turned on his heel. His bodyguard instantly fell in line behind him.

“Wait!” What in the hell was going on? Grayson had the uneasy feeling he’d just been thoroughly interrogated, and he hadn’t even realized the interrogation was occurring until it ended.

Etienne gripped the wooden doorframe. “There something you need, Agent Stone?”

He needed lots of answers. “Just how close are you and Jorlan Rodgers?” He’d start with that inquiry. Jorlan was as dirty as they came. And the way this man was talking had alarm bells ringing in Grayson’s head.

Etienne turned and smiled at him. “As close as I suppose a man can be to his future son-in-law.”

Grayson let the surprise show on his face. “Esme and Jorlan are engaged?” Since when? “Neither one mentioned that to me.”

“They are not officially engaged yet. Simply a matter of time, though. They’ve been involved before. They breakapart. Then come back together. They can’t stay away from one another. Some things and people are just meant to be.” A brief hesitation. “Au revoir.”

“Yeah,au revoir.”

His boss hurried to follow the ambassador out. The door clicked closed behind them.

Grayson stayed put, with his mind absolutely whirling.Is Esme conning us all? Is she fucking Jorlan and playing the Feds?If so, dammit, Tyler could be in danger.

Fuck, fuck.

A few minutes later…

His door swung open. Then slammed shut again. “Did you know that?” Thaddeus demanded. “Did youknowthat Esme and Jorlan were romantically involved? What in the hell? How screwed are we?”

His breath expelled.Veryscrewed. But only if what the ambassador said was true.

So…was it true?

One man would be able to find out for him. Except Grayson wasn’t about to call Tyler with Thaddeus standing in front of him.Because I don’t trust my boss. Not completely.

“Get Jorlan’s file,” Thaddeus barked. “And Esme’s. We’re going over them right the hell now. No one uses me and my team.No one.”

Chapter Eleven

The giant,black truck was coming at her too fast. Music blared from the interior even as the engine growled, and Esme knew that she wasnotgoing to make it to the little girl in time. Or, even if she did make it, the truck was going to hit her. She and the girl would both die. The mother was close, screaming because she’d realized what was happening, but it was too late. Far too late.

The heat from the truck lanced over her, and it was almost like a fire.

Like a bomb.

Like—

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