Page 70 of Deceive Me
Tears leaked as Sheppard’s eyes closed. “Fionn was attacked. I never believed… I couldn’t figure out how they got to him, couldn’t keep him safe. He’s on Mansa’s target list, and Mansa never stops.” She choked on a sob. “I don’t know how they found out, I really don’t. But I got a message saying if…if I helped…they would spare Fionn.”
The girl was in love with Fionn. How had she not seen it sooner? Sheppard hadn’t asked about Deacon, though both men had been with her in the hallway, and her eyes— This wasn’t mere concern for a colleague. She’d traded Trapper’s life and the lives of anyone else caught in the blast…to save the man she loved.
“I couldn’t do it,” Sheppard whispered. “I couldn’t hurt anyone. I thought…”
“So you got everyone away.”
“Why go through with it, right?” Sheppard shook her head. “But I couldn’t figure out how to get back out once I was in. Maybe I should just tell them to stop treating me, walk out the gates, and let Mansa take care of my punishment. That would make everyone safe.”
“No, it wouldn’t. Not with Mansa.”
Sheppard’s stare was as hopeless as they came. Sympathy tugged at Elliot, but she couldn’t indulge it; she needed to get her intel and go.
“Lyse, Fionn is all right, but he won’t be for long. Where is he?”
A slight frown through her tears. “Fionn?”
“No, Mansa. I know you’ve figured it out.” Sheppard wasn’t one of those geniuses with no common sense; she’d had to know this could all backfire. She’d expected to die, had been willing to do it if it meant the people around her were safe. The only way to ensure that it wasn’t all for nothing was to dig up the dirt on her opponent, create a weapon that could be used after the fact. “Now tell me.”
“I don’t know…”
“You do; I know you do. And you’re going to tell me, because Fionn? He’s not going to be okay, and neither is Trapper or Deacon or Sydney or you if you don’t help me kill that bastard; you understand me?”
Sheppard’s eyes went wide, startled. “You plan to kill Mansa?”
“I’m the only one that can get close enough—and before you ask, yes, I’m perfectly capable. I’ve trained my whole life for this.” Jack Quinn had been right about that.
Sheppard gave her a wary nod.
“Tell me where he is so I can finish this once and for all.”
The uncertainty faded. “USB. My desk, Star Wars bobblehead.”
A touch of amusement sparked in Elliot’s chest—where else would the little tech nerd hide something important?
And then the spark faded. “Got it.” She turned to leave, but a surprisingly strong grip on her wrist pulled her back. “What?”
Sheppard’s desperation shone from eyes sunken with pain and fatigue and defeat. “Make sure he’s safe. Do what I couldn’t. Please?”
Elliot felt the hollow pit inside her, the one that had appeared the moment she’d realized she had to lie to Deacon one last time—and that the betrayal would kill anything he still felt for her. If Sheppard felt anything like she did… “I will. Fionn will be protected, I promise.”
She hurried out before the woman’s emotions could force her own any closer to the surface.
Sheppard’s office location had been in her personnel file. Elliot was in and out in under five minutes, the thumb drive securely in her pocket. The SUV was parked where they’d left it that morning in front of the main building. After checking to be certain the tactical supply chest was still in the back and fully stocked, she backed out and drove toward the gate.
The guard at the post shone a light in her eyes. “Ma’am?”
She bit off the curse that jumped to her lips. “Sir.”
The man had to be twice her age—if the gray in his beard didn’t prove it, the condescending look did. He didn’t appear to catch the sarcasm in her response, unfortunately. “Where are you going?”
“To the store to get tampons.” Deliberate emphasis on that last word. “The commissary was out, and I can’t wait.”
Red tinged the rough skin of his cheekbones. He cleared his throat. “I see. Badge?”
She handed it over. The man wouldn’t meet her eyes on the return pass, simply gave a nod in her general vicinity and opened the gate.
Shaking her head at the squeamishness of the males of the species, Elliot hit the gas. Time was wasting, and her father awaited. After pulling onto the blacktop, she floored it.
