Page 71 of Renegade

I figured they’d all briefed her on our earlier conversation with John. I dug through the bags, finding a box of eggrolls and pulled out several, handing one to Raven and one to John. “Sutter was just telling me who Rosina Cassanova is and how she’s connected to the cell,” I said.

“Who is she?” the SAC asked.

John repeated what he’d told us as we all dug into our food, eating hungrily. “She was planning on seducing Miguel so that she could find out what he and Raven knew but as soon as I found out that Bishop put her up to that, I shut it down.”

“You told her I was gay,” I said.

John turned to me and nodded. “Yes. I told her the way I knew that was because you tried to get me to sleep with you back at the base. She was so fucking disgusted, that she wanted to kill you then and there.” He stared at me. “I shut that down too.”

“How?” Raven asked, frowning.

“I said you two were much more valuable to them if they kept you alive until you found the ruby, but she still wanted to see if she could coax a gay man into bed. Shedidagree that they would wait until after you gave it to them before killing you.” John smiled and shrugged. “I would have never let that happen. I hope you know that. I’d already decided to kill all of them.” He frowned deeply. “I think they trust me but it’s hard to know for sure.” He checked his watch. “I have to check in with them at eight. They sent me out to spy on you today because they had other things to do. Some Arabian sheikh she knows is in town and since Bishop also knows him, she’s bringing him along with Mendez hiding in the trees to keep the sheikh in his sights.”

“What about Fillmore?” Thayne asked.

“He’s in the Middle East, Saudi, I think,” John said.

“Mendez is a sniper?” Jarrett asked. He exchanged a glance with SAC Connor before looking back at John.

“Yeah, and a damned good one. He used to be an Army scout sniper but was dishonorably discharged before somehow hooking up with the CIA and going to work for them.”

Mark clicked his tongue, disapprovingly. I knew he hated the fact that any of this scum used to work for the agency he’d so proudly served for over thirty years.

“Sarah and I are also snipers,” Jarrett said, chewing around a bite of food.

“Real good ones,” Damon reiterated.

“Good,” John said. “Maybe you’ll get your chance to take them all out which will solve all of our problems.”

“Not until I know what they know,” Mark said, frowning deeply. “Who knows what secrets they’ve shared over the years.”

John nodded, and I had to agree. Their positions as intelligence officers could put a lot of lives in danger if we didn’t find out what they knew before any action was taken.

“Well, the first thing I need to do is to call them and tell them something,” John said, looking at me. “If I don’t, they’ll get your address and go there looking for you. If they don’t find you, they might hurt the people you say you need to protect.”

Raven gasped. “My nana? Dolly is there tonight but neither one of them…oh, God!”

I reached over and squeezed his arm. “We’ll keep them safe, Raven,” I said. “No one’s going to hurt our family.”

“I’ll take care of it,” SAC Connor said, standing. “I’ll call in the rest of my team and send them over to keep watch. Give me your address and I’ll make sure that no one can get to them, Raven.”

He glanced at me, eyes wide with fear, before turning back to her. “I’d—I’d really appreciate that. Please…my grandmother is blind, and her caregiver is elderly. They’ll be afraid.”

“I’ll tell them not to go in or even knock on the door. We’ll watch the front and the back of the house.”

Raven turned to me. “Maybe we should tell them something.”

“They know we’re working tonight, right?” I asked.

“Yes, I asked Dolly to spend the night.” He bit his lower lip, but fear clouded his features.

“That’s okay,” I said. “Call her and tell her that a friend called and said his TV was on the fritz or something. They asked if they could watch ours.”

“Okay, but don’t you think she’s going to be suspicious if she sees someone outside in the yard? She’s not stupid, Miguel.”

“Raven is right, Miguel,” SAC Connor said. “Tell her the truth, Raven. In fact, come into my office and we’ll both talk to her.”

“That’s a better idea,” Raven said, looking at me with worry in his eyes. “God only knows she’d call the cops if she saw someone lurking around the house.”

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