“Why are you sure he is keeping anything from you?” Jessica asked.
I really didn’t want to admit that I had bugged my husband and listened to his conversations at work. I did it because he kept information on the case from me. I trusted him with everything else. My heart belonged to him and his to me. But he would do anything to keep me safe, and that included not telling me what information he’d found.
“I overheard him.” I reached for the bottle of wine to refill my glass, more for something to do than because I wanted more. If I looked at Sophie, she would see right through me.
“Then why don’t you confront him about it?”
“Hmm.” I took a big gulp of the wine. “We might not have been in the same place.”
“How did you hear the conversation if you weren’t in the same place?”
“I had a feeling information was being withheld. There is a chance I put a bug in his suit jacket this morning.”
Sophie jumped from her seat. She had been the last to get attacked by Juan when he put a bomb in her car. Knowing Zane hadn’t told her something had her face turning red. “Tell me what they said. I have a right to know,” Sophie demanded.
In the past, I had done all my jobs alone. It was hard to involve the people around me, especially when I didn’t want any of them to get hurt. I knew my sister would find the information one way or another, so as I reached for the glass of wine, I said, “Antonio found the person who put the bomb in your car. Zane went to the bun—”
“My fiancé knows who put the bomb in my car?” Sophie’s eyes narrowed.
Fuck. Antonio would be pissed about my plan, and now I’d also made my sister mad at Zane. If she went off on him, he would ask how she found out, and my plan would be ruined.
Bridget spoke up before I had time to explain. “Hold on a second. Let’s head to the living room and get comfy. I want to hear what you have planned.”
Bridget didn’t wait for any of our replies. She grabbed her apple juice and a platter of food and headed toward the living room.
Once seated, I grabbed a pink throw pillow from the couch and pulled it to my chest. “Sophie, you can’t let Zane know you found out about the bomber.” When her eyes narrowed in my direction, I continued. “Then you will have to tell him how you figured it out. I plan on going to the bunker tomorrow morning. After I get all the information I need, you can scream at him all you want.”
Sophie didn’t reply right away. When we were younger, she would analyze all her options before she would agree to anything. Her far-off look was an indicator she didn’t want to wait to talk to Zane and was trying to come up with a way around it, but it seemed she couldn’t.
“Fine, but the second we get the information, I’m chewing his ass out. I have a right to know who put that bomb in my car. Zane thinks he’s protecting me by not telling me, but it only makes me madder when he keeps important information from me.”
“We need to come up with a plan for tomorrow,” Bridget added.
“A plan? Whatever it is, you can’t come, Bridget. I love you, but no way am I putting you or your baby in danger.”
Bridget let out a huff. “Of course, I’m not going. I might like to help, but I draw the line at putting my baby in danger.” She pointed at Sophie. “You and Sophie are going tomorrow because I don’t want either of you going alone. You will both go where there are webcams connected to White Hat Security so Jessica and I can watch.”
The mission to see what I could dig up at the bunker would be dangerous. Sophie worked behind a computer. I didn’t want her to come in the field with me. The thought that she might get shot or hurt sent my stomach into a tumble. “Sophie can stay with you at White Hat. I will wear the camera and a com.
Sophie leaned back in the couch and folded her arms. “Do you ever see Antonio send his men into the field by themselves?”
“No, but I’m a trained assassin and have worked alone for years.”
“So you’re saying Antonio’s men aren’t trained as well as you?”
There was no way to win this argument. Antonio had some of the best men and women I had ever met. He hired ex-military who were the best of the best, but they worked better as a team. In the years I’d worked for the CIA, I worked alone. It was hard to change and take help from others, especially when I was concerned they would get hurt.
I let out a sigh of defeat. “No, I’m not better than Antonio’s men. I just don’t want any of you to get hurt.
“But it’s okay for us to let you get hurt?” Bridget asked.
“Fine. If it makes everyone happy, Sophie can come with me.”
Suddenly, the door to Jessica and Brock’s apartment flew open. In the doorway stood CJ, Asher’s partner and Bridget’s best friend.
CJ strode in and engulfed Bridget in a hug before taking a seat in the black recliner. I still didn’t know where CJ’s loyalties lay. I knew he planned to work for Asher and Antonio. Would he tell them my plan, or would he stay on our side?
Leaning back in the chair, CJ asked, “What’s the latest gossip?”