Page 27 of Renegade

“He felt like he failed him by not going to the commander,” I concluded.

Miguel nodded. “We made a huge mistake and when he died out there in the desert…allof us felt responsible.”

I hated that Sutter had failed his team so profoundly. When I finally came face to face with the guy, I was probably going to punch him in the face. I squeezed Miguel’s hand. “You weren’t, you know.” When he turned to look at me, I nodded. “Sutter was responsible for what happened out there. Not you. Not Vonne. Not the rest of the team.” I knew I sounded like a shrink, but I think Miguel talking about what happened was a good thing. It had clearly fucked the whole team up.

He turned back to the road. “I eventually came to terms with it and Vonne and I made up, but still, it was hard on us.” It was as if he’d read my mind.

“Vonne admires you. Maybe he admires you for stepping into John’s shoes and taking care of the team after John’s disappearance.”

He nodded. “Maybe, Raven. I don’t know.” He was quiet for a moment and then he smiled. “I wish you’d known John in good times. You would have liked him.”

I wanted to roll my eyes. I hated the man for what he was doing to Miguel. When I didn’t respond, he looked over.

“What do you think that guy meant when he said the ruby didn’t belong to Flores?”

I’d been wondering the same thing. I shrugged my shoulders. “Mrs. Flores said the ruby had been in her husband’s family for generations, so I have no idea. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll find out tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, let’s hope.”

Chapter Nine

MIGUEL

I parked the truck in the huge lot behind the Federal building and got out, taking Raven’s hand when he walked around to my side. I pulled him close and kissed him. He possessed more compassion than I did. That was certain. I knew he hated this situation as much, if not more, than I did. And even though it might have helped to talk about that last mission with Sutter, I was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this. Raven kissed me back, clinging to me until I let him go. I needed to talk to Mac, find out if he knew people in the CIA who would help me learn the truth. I’d had suspicions the CIA was somehow involved in John’s reappearance, but after coming face to face with the man in the stairwell, I was sure of it.

Raven called Mac as soon as we got into the building and we waited in the busy lobby, watching people go through the metal detectors and show ID before they were allowed into the building. I’d almost forgotten how the whole world had changed since 911. Unless I was going through an airport, that was. When Mac, Thayne, Jarrett, and several others came through the elevator doors into the lobby five minutes later, I straightened, breathing out a relieved breath. I was one step closer to finding out what had happened.

Mac seemed to be in deep conversation with a guy and the minute he caught sight of us, the man reached over and touched his back affectionately. Mac waved at us and then turned to smile at the man beside him. There was something about how closely they walked together. I instantly recognized the affectionbetween them. I suddenly remembered that Thayne had told us Mac was married to another man on the ATF’s team. The handsome man beside him, had to be the guy.

Mac walked over to us dressed in a business suit with a smile on his face, looking like a poster boy for the FBI Special Agent that he was. He held out a huge hand and we took turns shaking it. “Hey, guys, nice to see you again.”

“Thanks so much for meeting us on short notice,” I replied.

“It’s no problem. Like I said, the ATF had business with the FBI and since Lincoln and I are the designated liaisons between the two agencies, here I am.”

Raven had mentioned that McCallahan and his partner, Lincoln Snow, worked lots of cases with the ATF so I wasn’t surprised.

“We’re headed back to their office, but I have a few minutes. How are you?” he asked.

Jarrett and Thayne walked over, and I briefly looked them over. They were handsome men too, as tall as Raven and me, looking very professional dressed in suits.

“Hey, guys,” Raven said, greeting them with a wide grin as we both shook their hands.

“It’s been too long,” Thayne said with a smile as he clapped Raven on the back.

“Yeah, you should come over to our house some time,” Jarrett drawled. “We’ll barbeque and eat somethin’ really bad for us.” He smirked at Thayne.

Thayne looked back at him and rolled his eyes.

I knew Jarrett was trying to push his husband’s buttons. Even though I didn’t know the two men very well, it was already clearto me that Jarrett loved food that was bad for him and that Thayne wanted him to eat healthy. The affection between them was always evident, and to see it on display so openly, always gave me a warm feeling deep down inside. Since I felt the same way about Raven, it made me smile.

I chuckled. “That’d be nice. Thank you,” I replied. I liked them. Jarrett and his husband were good folks and even though our last meeting at the Ventura County Fairgrounds hadn’t gone exactly as I’d hoped, Howell Jr. was no longer a problem, though, I’d lost out on a huge bounty in the process.

“So, what can I do for you?” Mac asked.

I glanced around, spotting the security cameras that covered every inch of the lobby. “Would you mind coming outside to talk for just a minute? There’re too many eyes in here.”

Mac looked around before turning back to us. “Of course, anything you want. Is it okay if the guys tag along?”

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