Page 126 of Trust Me

Any trackers hidden there would be useless, given that Raptor had signal blockers throughout the compound, and only their approved electronics could function around them.

He gave them a smug smile. “Zero days, zero hours, and zero minutes.”

“You’re really going to have to do better than that, kid.” Chris knew being minimized would piss off the egotistical SEAL.

“Fuck off.”

“You’re not my type.”

“Yeah. You like traitors. I don’t blame you, man. She’s fucking hot, and I bet that mouth sucks like a Dyson.”

Rand placed a hand on Chris’s shoulder when he tensed, but he wasn’t about to lose it with this little fuck. There was too much at stake for that.

“The only traitor I know is in this room. The State Department has retracted the order to bring Diana in. You know that, right? The decision was triggered when your little buddy Jamal tried to blow her up.”

“Jamal?”

“You’re overacting your part. Jamal was central to the debriefing at the Pentagon. If you’re going to play dumb, don’t avoid what we know you know.”

“Oh, yeah. Jamal. Crazy bitch said she saw him in Germany. What makes you think she’s not lying again?”

“Funny thing. This time, we have video.” Chris opened the folder and pulled out the photo of Jamal that Freya had gotten from a source in Lebanon, along with a photo of him setting the bomb and a close-up of his face.

The transformation from sweet schoolboy to hardened terrorist was both chilling and heartbreaking.

Albrecht’s eyes widened when he saw the most recent photo. Kid needed to work on his poker face.

“What did he tell you his name was?” Rand asked.

“Never seen him before.”

“Bullshit. Cut the crap. We don’t have time for games. We have your phone. You’re going down for treason. I look forward to testifying at your trial. If you help us now, I might be kind. Maybe you’ll be able to cut a deal. You don’t, and you’ll be spending the rest of your days in a military prison.” Chris pulled out a printout of one of Albrecht’s text conversations. “We have everything we need right here.”

The conversation was short and to the point. Albrecht sent Chris’s burner cell number along with the message.

I got what you wanted, I’m out now.

The response came two hours later.

Go to lobby. LCDR on his way down. Insist on going with him.

Albrecht had given the command a thumbs-up.

“Pretty damning emoji there,” Rand said. “Now, tell us how it all started.”

Albrecht stared at the printout. “Someone must’ve hacked my phone.”

Chris let out a bark of laughter. “Nice try.”

After another long silence, the kid said in a quiet voice, “They were going to kill me. They will kill me.”

“Them or me. Your choice.” There was no hint of laughter in Chris’s voice now. He dropped it to a menacing whisper. “I promise you, if Diana is taken again, if she’s harmed in any way, I will kill you in the most painful way possible. You betrayed your country, your team, and me. I will get away with killing you.”

Rand leaned forward. “And I will help hide your body.”

“You’re both fucking crazy.”

“And you were a fool to think this would go well for you.” Chris tapped the paper with the text messages again. “How did they recruit you? Or did you go to them?”

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