Page 69 of Shadow Operative

In that sense, Brittany and Darius had probably been perfect for each other.

“If all that is true . . .” Gage twisted his neck, waiting for Brittany to finish.

“It is,” Brittany interjected, nodding with exuberance. “I promise.”

“If that is true,” he repeated, “then who might have killed Rob? In the two weeks that you dated, did you notice anything strange that might help us figure that out?”

She crossed her arms in front of her and let out another sigh. “I know he was really excited about that app he’d developed. Every time I went over, he was trying to tweak it. He just wanted it to be perfect.”

“And?” Nia waited for her to continue.

“There’s nothing weird I could see about it. The only thing I know is I came over one time after he’d been playing with it, and he had a strange expression on his face. I asked him what was wrong, but he wouldn’t tell me anything. I figured maybe he’d discovered a bug in his app or found some type of problem he couldn’t fix. You know Rob. He always wanted things done right. It was one of the things I liked about him.”

Nia stared at the woman.

Initially, she’d wondered if Brittany had something todo with his death. But now she didn’t think so. The woman wasn’t smart enough to pull it off—even if she had help from someone else.

But if Brittany wasn’t the killer, and Darius wasn’t the killer . . . that really meant that they needed to find Cormac.

chapter

thirty-two

After Brittany went back inside,Gage made sure the brick still kept the door open so he and Nia could also slip back in when they were ready. But it would be easier to talk out here than inside.

He turned to Nia. She’d done a fantastic job questioning Brittany. She almost seemed like a natural, an expert at reading people.

He’d been impressed.

For a moment, he’d thought about recommending her for a job at the Shadow Agency.

Then he realized he’d never put her through that.

Living the way he did wasn’t easy. Always on the go. Never knowing the assignment. Sometimes arguing about the ethics of what they’d been asked to do.

The truth was that he’d had memory lapses before also. That he had scars from the experiments done on him. That he wondered if there was more to his time being a military lab rat than he ever realized.

He’d been programmed for a solitary life. Yet the essence of who he was and what he’d wanted had never gone away. It had just been shoved to the recesses of his mind.

“What do you think?” Gage studied her face.

Nia shook her head, a weary look in her gaze. “I think that woman is a hot mess. But I don’t think she’s a killer.”

“I don’t think so either. And I honestly don’t think that Darius is involved with this either.” Gage paused. “But what about what she said concerning Rob looking upset that one time? Any idea what that could have been about?”

Nia shook her head. “He was a perfectionist. If he found anything wrong with his app it would have upset him. But he never mentioned anything to me up until our dinner last night. Even then, he still didn’t give me any details.”

“Is there anyone else you know of whom Rob might have talked to about the app? Who could have given him feedback on it?”

“Cormac is the only person I can think of.” Nia shrugged almost apologetically.

“We really need to find this guy.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Let’s give it another shot.” Gage opened the door and the two of them walked inside.

But as soon as they reached the dance floor, a bullet sliced the air, cutting through the sound of the loud, pulsating music.

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