Page 55 of Redeeming Meg

Tessa’s voice came through the speaker. “Is that why Hagar wanted the drive? To destroy the evidence?”

“Yes. We believe he was to play a part in the dispersion of the e-bombs, and because of his showmanship in murdering Jessica in front of the world, he put a glaring spotlight on himself. Those in charge of the bomb attacks, whoever they are, didn’t like that in the least.”

Spence rubbed his palms on his slacks. “Tommy probably tripped a red flag while digging into that Russian investment company. The leader of the e-bomb attacks realized Hagar was no longer an asset to their master plan, but the plan was already in play. The best they could do was to try and destroy any evidence Tommy had.”

“And kill him, along with it,” Declan added.

Meg rubbed a hand over her face. “Oh, Tommy. Why didn’t he come to us with this?”

Conrad didn’t want to remind her that she’d been off the grid since Jessica’s funeral. “It’s not surprising that he has trust issues or is seeking retribution for what happened to his sister. He did speak to his supervisor about his concerns, but unfortunately, Marchetti isn’t an operative. He’s an ambassador. His job is to keep the peace, not stir the pot. After speakingwith him, it’s my understanding that he thought Tommy was obsessed with Hagar and that any intel he provided about the man was skewed. Tommy was, after all, stationed there as an actual State Department employee, not a CIA agent. He and Marchetti butted heads frequently over his job duties.”

“How long before we find out what else is on that USB?” Declan asked.

“Tommy developed a personal encryption program,” Spence said. “It’s quite impressive. Could be a while.”

Meg frowned. “Do we have a lead on him?”

Conrad tapped his pen impatiently. “He’s still in the wind, either by choice or because he’s been kidnapped by one of Hagar’s former allies.” Meg had suspected the same thing based on the research she’d been doing. He saw the way her face tightened at his confirmation of her fears. “Our search for him continues.”

“You’re putting us back in the field,” Declan said.

He didn’t want to. Meg wasn’t ready. They were still one member short of a full team.

“Tessa,” Meg said, reading his mind. “Our fourth.”

He nodded.

Tessa said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Meg shifted to the edge of her seat, leaning toward the phone. “We worked well together in Bucharest.”

“I don’t do spy shit anymore, remember?”

Meg started to reply, but Conrad waved a hand at her. “I’m not asking you to do spyshit,” he said. “I’m putting you on the team to find Tommy.”

Meg bristled, straightening her back and giving him the hairy eyeball. “While it’s my team, and I get to say who’s on it,” she clarified, “we would welcome your skills, Tessa.”

She didn’t yet realize it wasn’t her team anymore. “First of all,”—he tapped his pen—“you’re in no condition to be in thefield, and also, I fired you. Secondly, your team exists because of me. You report tome. I get the final say about who’s part of the Black Swan Division and who the leader is.”

Reid and Sterling tensed. Meg came out of her seat, planting her hands on his desk. “You’re kicking me off the swans? You can’t do that. It’smyconcept. My idea to create this team. I’m its leader.”

It was the least he expected from her, and it was good to see her fired up again. Not that dead, hollow woman she’d been. But…he wanted her to work for it. “The USB was a test to see if you could handle being in the field again. You failed.”

She shot straight up, opened her mouth, slammed it shut.

Reid spoke up. “That’s not exactly true. We did recover the USB, sir.”

“And then disobeyed orders,” Conrad reminded him.

Meg glanced at her second, then turned shocked eyes on Conrad. “You’re kicking Dec off the team, too?”

He tossed the pen on the blotter and rocked back in his chair. “Unless the two of you can convince me otherwise, yes. Why should I allow you to stay part of this division and go after Tommy?”

Meg’s hands went to her hips, and Conrad settled in for the presentation she was about to give.

Bucharest

It wasn’t even5 PM, but because of the storms that had been moving through the city, Tessa had to turn on lights as she listened to the argument on the other end of the phone. She wanted to hang up on them, but all she did was hit the mute button as she stared out the third-floor window of her loft.

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