Page 50 of Silver Secrets

Somehow, she made it to her closet. As her eyes landed on her suitcase shoved all the way in the back, Sloane knew there was only one option she was going to be okay with. For fourteen years the threat had lived in the back of her mind. Fourteen years she’d worked to shove him into the shadows, to never be more than a dusty, old secret that never saw the light of day. She couldn’t stay in her house. If he found out her name, nothing would stop him.

Her office was safe. There were so many safety measures put in place that she’d be safe sleeping there. She’d shift her workouts to the morning so she could shower at Montgomery Defense before she started seeing her clients.

Deep down, she knew she needed to lean on her friends. But she wasn’t going to take unnecessary risks. She was going to leave her house. At least until Kimi could debrief her on everything.

The suitcase was light in her hands, and she tossed it on her bed before turning back to the closet. Forty minutes later, she had everything she should need. Someone could probably bring her back to the house if she needed, but for now, she just wanted to have things that would make her feel settled.

She wanted to call Gage. His name bounced through her mind like a beacon of safety, but everything felt too raw. He would want to know what was happening. And she wasn’t ready to tell him. To have him look at her any differently. So Sloane grabbed her phone, ignoring all the missed messages from Lily, and scrolled through her contacts.

It rang three times before Mae finally answered, and Sloane’s heart went into overdrive.

“Sloane! You better not be calling me trying to get out of girls’ night this weekend!”

“Mae…” Shit. Her voice cracked and the tears she’d been working so hard to stuff down burst out of her.

“Whoa. What’s wrong? Where are you right now?”

“I need your help.”

* * *

“Who’s the fed parked out front?”

Gage’s head whipped from his computer screen to look out the window.

“You didn’t fucking notice them?” Hawk scoffed. “Losing your touch there, Tracker?”

“I’ve been busy trying to find the error in this code. Something, somewhere is wrong with this fucking simulation and I need to know before we run it at The Trident…”

“Hey,” Gunner cleared his throat as he walked down the hall. “We have a team meeting in five minutes. Meet in Conference Room One and bring your laptop, Track.”

“Is that why the fed is sitting out front?”

“Christ.” Gunner ran his hand down his face. “She’s here already? I just got off the phone with her.”

“Oh, it’s a her…” Hawk’s eyebrows wiggled.

“Just… get to the meeting room. I’ll go walk her in.”

“What’s she here about?” Gage asked right as Gunner turned to walk away.

“Someone in Silver Springs is connected to a case she’s working on.”

“Connected how?” Hawk winked at Gage, both of them knowing the question was going to throw Gunner over the edge.

“Christ, Phoenix. I’m short on the details, but a victim of a similar crime. Could be related. Wants us to jump in for protection but didn’t explain any further. Now shut the fuck up and wait for me in the conference room.”

Hawk shrugged his shoulders at Gage with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face as he walked out of the office. Fuck. Gage picked up his laptop, stopping in the kitchen to grab a glass of water before he made his way to the briefing room. Stone, Hawk, and Nash were already sitting at the table, but no one said a thing. They all seemed lost in their thoughts.

Gunner walked in with a tall, slender woman, who looked to be in her mid-forties. She was pure polished professional, giving each man a curt nod as Gunner introduced them.

“This is FBI Lead Investigator Kimi Liu. Agent Liu is here to ask for our help in a case she is currently working on.”

“Just Kimi is fine.” She nodded at Gunner.

“Okay, Kimi. We’re all ears.” Gunner took his seat as the federal agent started talking.

“I appreciate you all meeting with me on such short notice. I flew directly here from the field this morning. With your past involvement with the Bureau, and the fact that the case I’m working on has direct ties to this community, I thought it would be best to loop you in.”

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