Page 39 of Shadow Operative

He nodded at her water, encouraging her to drink more. The last thing he needed was for her to pass out.

Not with that guy after them.

He’d committed the man’s image to his memory.

Gage was nearly certain the gunman was part of Dagger, a rival private security agency—one with less than honorable tactics. Many Dagger members were former special forces. Or they were guys whohad beenspecial forces before being kicked off their teams for inappropriate behaviors.

He’d encountered Dagger before, and he knew those agents would do whatever was asked of them—for the right price.

It was a miracle he and Nia hadn’t been shot.

Were those guys responsible for Rob’s death?

Or was this unrelated?

He needed more information before he could draw any conclusions.

“What are we going to do?” Nia’s voice sounded scratchy.

“I wish I had my computer with me, but I don’t. I’ll need to use my phone.” He began typing something onto the screen.

“What are you looking up?” She squinted as if desperate to see, to know his thoughts.

“I want to look into Darius and Brittany. I sent an email asking some colleagues of mine to investigate them also. Several of them are excellent at researching things on the web and getting into sites that others don’t even know exist. I want to find out all we can about them.”

“Do you think either Brittany or Darius is responsible for Rob’s death?” Nia cocked her head to the side as she waited for his answer.

Gage shrugged and kept typing on his phone. “Right now, I’m just gathering information. I honestly don’t know. But Darius and Brittany are our best leads. I mean, I don’t have anyone else in mind. Do you?”

She frowned. “I guess not.”

“Then we start by ruling them out, and then move on if it’s not one of them.”

Nia tucked her legs beneath her and took a couple more sips of water. “So the people who shot at us were somehow connected with Darius or Brittany?”

Gage swallowed hard, trying to stick with the truth. He didn’t want to tell Nia there was a possibility troublehad followed him here. That those gunmen could be afterhim.

After all, it didn’t make sense that gunman would go after Nia. She was most likely the killer.

It didn’t make sense right now, at least.

“There’s a good possibility they were hired.” He glanced at his phone screen, still waiting for results. “That maybe when we talked to Darius, he got spooked.”

Nia rubbed her throat and stared out the window as if lost in thought. “I feel like I’m tangled in a web I won’t ever get out of.”

“If you get caught in a web, all you have to do is cut the line. You might drag part of the fibers with you, and they might slow you down, but at least you won’t be trapped anymore.”

She stared at him another moment before nodding. “Interesting perspective.”

Gage’s phone rang. It was his former colleague Jonah Gray. Gage had called to ask for his assistance earlier. Even though Jonah wasn’t officially with the Shadow Agency anymore, Gage knew he could depend on Jonah. The two had been friends for years.

“Any updates on who killed Rob?” Jonah asked.

His friend had heard him talk about Rob before and knew how close the two were. Jonah had lost a childhood friend last year, so he understood the pain of it.

He glanced at Nia again. He didn’t say the words aloud, but she was still the one who made the most sense as the killer.

Even if she did look vulnerable and scared as she sat across from him.

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