EDGE OF SHADOWS: The Shadow Ops Finale (Shadow Ops, Book # 3) (9 page)

EZ looked up at that. “Wait. What do you mean I’ll be safe here? Are you saying those guys were after me?”

“You and what you might find on that hard drive. Got everything you need?”

He frowned. “No. I need a toothbrush and clothes and—”

“I mean everything you need to work, find out more about this bio lab.”

“Oh that. Yes.” He bounced his computer case in his lap. “But—”

“No buts, EZ. About time you got out of the office, got a taste of the real world.”

He didn’t say anything to that, simply clutched his briefcase to his chest and stared out the window with a glazed expression.

They pulled up to a modest brick apartment complex. Rose parked behind a set of dumpsters, out of sight. She’d move the car later, clear it of any evidence and torch it, switch to a backup vehicle. But first, she needed to get EZ settled.

She got out of the car and led him up two flights of stairs to a corner unit. As she unlocked the door, he stared at her, and she wondered what he was wrestling with.

“Is it worth it?” he asked finally. “This job we do? The sacrifices we make? Not telling friends and family what we do for a living, the danger we face, who we really are. Not trusting anyone, not even the people we work with?”

Rose took a deep breath, his questions hitting a tender spot that had been growing through the years as she, too, wondered, was it worth it? The image of Billy the first time she’d seen him—all dark and earnest as he led his Delta team. Intense, yet also loving every moment of his mission. How many times over the years had she turned to that memory for strength? Yet, they still were both hopelessly tied to their jobs. Their missions.

How much of her life was she willing to sacrifice? Billy? A love life, a family? Children? Marriage? Happily ever after?

Apparently all of it
.

But that didn’t give her the right to make those choices for anyone else. “I’m afraid that’s a question you'll have to answer for yourself.”

<><><>

After spending the afternoon verbally sparring with the FBI and Capitol Police and avoiding the NSD audit-hounds
during the debrief, Billy waited inside the Capitol building as the Senate session broke for the day. Senator Susan Payne was the last to leave.

“What a pleasant surprise.” She smiled and handed her coat to Billy, then spun and waited for him to help her on with the ankle-length shearling that made her look like a 1940s starlet while also protecting her against the January chill. As Billy helped her on with her coat, he was caught by a wistful yearning to have a moment of simple intimacy like this with Rose. A man helping a woman on with her coat—why was that too much to ask for?

His thoughts on Rose, he was caught by surprise when Susan tilted her face to nuzzle her cheek against his hand. “Thank you, Billy. Are we still on for tonight?”

Escorting the senator was one of Billy’s frequent duties—a great way to pick up intel disguised as gossip and to have clandestine meetings with foreign operatives. But the next thing he had on his schedule was accompanying Susan to Norfolk tomorrow to watch the president commission a new destroyer.

Things being the way they were, he’d probably have to bow out of that trip. While he enjoyed Susan’s witty conversation and the intel he gathered from the DC insider circles she allowed him access to, theirs was a strictly platonic relationship. At least that’s what he thought.

“Tonight?” He frowned. “I’m sorry—”

“Dinner. Just me and you. No diplomats, no politicians, no eavesdropping on foreign dignitaries. My house. Alone.” She smiled, a smile most men would have a difficult time refusing.

Most men didn’t have a lunatic fringe terrorist group on a rampage to stop while fighting off the NSD’s and the oversight committee’s attempts to shut his team down.

“Sorry, Susan. I can’t.”

The smile faded. She laid a hand on his arm. Not possessive. More resigned. “You’ve already committed perjury for Rose Prospero today. Surely she can let you have the night off?”

His guard went up at her use of the word “perjury.” He said nothing, but his grip on her arm tightened as they walked down the steps leading from the Capitol. The sun was setting, silhouetting the Washington Monument in ribbons of blood red.

“Billy, I think you owe me at least the courtesy of a reply.” He winced at the pain in her voice. He’d never meant to lead her on—but surely she could see it was impossible? “After all,” she continued, “my security clearance is the same as yours. In fact, technically, I outrank you. You and your team answer to me and my committee.”

Sometimes the best defense was a good offense. Billy met her square on. “What is it you want to know?”

“Are you canceling on me to be with her? With Rose Prospero?”

He didn’t like the way Rose’s name sounded coming from her mouth. But if this was a simple case of misguided jealousy, well, that he could handle.

The suave smile came easily as did the quick kiss on the cheek. “Of course not. I’ll make it up to you. Promise.”

She read the lie on his face, and her expression shut down. “So, why
are
you here, Billy?”

“I thought we could talk.”

“You mean you want to find out how bad it’s going for your team, and how much evidence we’ve collected against Rose.”

“That’s a little more blunt than I would've put it.”

“You know I support you and the Team, Billy. No matter what. But I won’t lie to you. It’s not good. That little incident on the Mall this morning didn’t help matters.”

“So, how bad is it?” he asked, trying to get a handle on the oversight committee’s upcoming ruling.

“Letting a known terrorist escape, almost giving him the time he needed to detonate a bomb right under this street, has a lot of people on edge.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she raised a gloved hand to stop him.

“The truth is, Billy. Rose didn’t warn anyone. That’s not sitting well with a lot of people.”

“We had Lucky Cavanaugh with us. He’s ATF. The bomb was his design. He was the perfect person to disarm it.”

“You said yourself there could be more threats against us. If Rose hadn’t let the Preacher escape in the first place, if she hadn’t killed the men with him, our people could have interrogated them. We could have discovered what else he had planned. Surely you can understand why the committee is concerned. That man came after us directly and came damn close to succeeding.”

Billy tensed, feeling blindsided. The way Susan laid it all out it almost looked like Rose was involved, that she’d killed those men in the tunnel to make sure there was no one left to talk.

“Any progress in finding the third man, the one who escaped?” Billy asked.

She stopped and stared at him long and hard. They were on the opposite side of the Mall from the Hirshhorn Law enforcement officers and reporters crawled all over the area, now surrounded by crime-scene tape and work lights.

“I want to help, Billy. I really do. But I can’t tell you anything about that.”

“Susan, you just said my clearance is as high as yours. We can help—”

“Like Rose helped this morning?” She nodded past him to the yellow crime-scene tape fluttering in the wind.

“We needed to know if there was a traitor in our midst. No one could have predicted—”

“I did,” she snapped. “I told you. Rose is out of control. She never should have set a trap in such a public place.”

If it hadn’t been for the Preacher’s people hijacking a bus and bringing their hostages with them to the scene, the meeting would have been private—and safe from any civilians. But he wasn’t here to argue tactics with her.

“What happened this morning was regrettable,” he conceded.

Finally, she nodded and took his arm again. They continued down the Mall. “Sometimes where Rose is concerned, you can’t see the truth right in front of you.”

“Which is?”

“Homeland Security, the NSD, and FBI all want to question her about this morning, but she’s nowhere to be found—”

“That’s why I’m here. I already spoke to the FBI and cops.” To hell with the others, they were a bunch of lawyers who had no clue about boots-on-the-ground business. “I’ll answer any questions you have.”

She waved away his offer. “You mean you’ll lie for her. Again. Face it, Billy, Rose shouldn’t be running STR. She’s a liability, a loose cannon who's going to bring us all down.”

“Rose is a powerful asset to the Team. She gets results. Every time. She has a way of seeing the big picture that cannot be replicated by anyone else I’ve ever worked with.”

“Are you sure that’s not your libido talking? It’s obvious to everyone how you feel about her. Those feelings are getting in the way of your good judgment. And right now, they could cost you your team.”

“My…respect for Rose has not interfered in my judgment in any capacity. For both of us, the Team comes first. Always.”

“I don’t know if you’re lying to me or to yourself. All I know is that until you get past this infatuation with the woman, your career is over. And, to put it harshly, you’re not getting any younger.”

Anger threatened to twist the genial smile from his face. He wasn’t ready to be put out to pasture, not yet, not by her, not by anyone. “Thanks, but I can do without your help.”

She stopped short, her hand dropping away from his arm. He backtracked and faced her, regretted how harsh his words must have sounded. Susan had always supported the Team, had never questioned their actions—until now.

“I’m sorry you feel that way.” She walked away from him. He hurried after her.

“Susan, I didn’t mean it like that.”

She didn’t stop walking, but she also didn’t run away. Finally, she faced him. “I'll tell you what. Have dinner with me, and I’ll give you one piece of information from the investigation. Then we’ll see what more you can charm out of me while we eat.”

He waited, staring at her, refusing to beg. Hating being manipulated. And feeling like, even though he was doing this to protect her and the Team, he was somehow betraying Rose. Finally, he nodded his assent.

She frowned, obviously hoping for something more from him. Damn, he’d totally misread her interest in him, had thought it was all about work, nothing personal. Now he was going to have to work overtime mending those fences.

“You’re not going to like it.” She placed her hand on his arm as if to steady him. “That detonator Rose held this morning? Preliminary results show it’s the one that blew up the school bus.”

Billy took a step back from her, stumbling on the uneven path.

“Best we know,” she continued, not smiling, clearly not enjoying this at all, “Rose Prospero is responsible for this morning’s explosion. The NDS thinks she might have set the whole thing up, a last gasp to save her position, prove to us how invaluable she is, to make us think twice about replacing her or disbanding the Team.”

“Rose would never—”

“You said yourself she’d do whatever it takes to stop the Preacher, even sacrifice her own life. Now that he’s gone, how is she going to fill that void? Prove to the world that it still needs the great and mighty Rose Prospero to save them? Time to face facts, Billy. The woman is a menace. She’s going to get you, your team, and Lord knows how many innocent civilians killed. And it’s your job and mine to stop her.”

<><><>

After leaving Susan, Billy drove toward the Special Threats Response Team
’s offices. This place no longer felt comfortable, his home away from home. Now he viewed the offices as an outsider would, taking in details he’d always taken for granted. Someone within these walls was working against them, threatening to kill innocent children. It sickened him.

He stopped outside the doorway of Teresa’s small office. “How are you doing?”

She kept her domain like a small, dark cave with every available space covered with computer equipment, and monitors of different shapes and sizes. Yet, she had nothing personal in sight. Nothing that said who she was. No pictures of family members, friends, or even her cat. If she even had a cat. For the first time, it occurred to Billy how much of her personal life he was completely unaware of.

“All right,” she said. “Quiet. Really, too quiet.”

“After the last few days, I’d say quiet is a good thing.” Billy smiled wryly as he turned and looked down the hall. Marion Rockey was inside the computer lab, hunched over her machine, two screens filled with data. Someone else he knew little about—she was FBI, a forensic accountant, and a former world-class surfer who’d chased rogue waves around the globe. So why hadn’t she gone home to California when the Team’s operations had been suspended? Why was she hanging around here when there were no active ops?

As if Marion felt his gaze on her, she stood and stretched, then walked out into the hall. “How did the committee hearing go?”

Teresa looked away—she and Marion had never gotten along—and shuffled through some files on her desk, her heavy hair falling down to shield her face.

“That Arkansas senator would like nothing better than to shut us down. The one from Michigan thinks we should all be locked up.”