Page 15

Fate

Before

"Coming," I shout downthe hall as I race to the pounding on the front door. Before opening it, I shoot a glare at the dog who’s fast asleep on the floor, not caring that someone is trying to enter our home. "Sorry," I say as I pull open the door. "Was in the cave and couldn't hear. Thanks for shooting a text."

Matt, my new supervisor at the FBI, squeezes through the doorway with an unreadable expression on his face. He's good-looking and young for someone in this role. Most of the other guys running around the cyber unit are ghastly pale like me and could stand a few hundred laps around Quantico’s running trail.

In the few months I've been working for him, we've talked and joked around the office, but this random stopping by my home is new.

"Why didn't you tell me about your sister? About this side project you've been working on? What you've found? Hell, any of it."

Okay so we’re going there.

Right.

Kind of expected this since I have kept him in the dark on it all. Hopefully he finds comfort in the fact I've kept everyone in the dark about the plan and data I've gathered, not just him.

"I didn't trust you," I mutter as I shut the door behind him. "I'm sorry."

His eyes shift to my lips and narrow with scrutiny. "What happened to your lip ring? Wait, and the nose ring?" Gripping my chin, he angles my face to the left, then the right. "Don't tell me you're going basic on me, Fate."

Pulling my chin from his firm grip, I scrunch my pert nose. "Not by choice. I'm preparing for the trip in two weeks by taking it all out now. It feels strange." My tongue runs across the empty space along my lower lip where the hoop used to reside.

"It's not a trip, Fate, it's a suicide mission. One I’m going to talk you out of."

I step back and eye him.

"You're not the right person to do something like this."

Dropping to the floor beside Dobby, I rest my head on his ribs, finding comfort in the rise and fall of his chest. "I'm sorry I didn't loop you in. I guess I should’ve, but I've been working on this solo for so long I just... I’m sorry. Am I fired?"

"No, I’m not firing you. I'm fucking mad is what I am. You've done all this research—hell, even data breaches—without my approval. I get that you were working on it before you moved here, but for fuck’s sake, Fate, you needed to fill me in. Give me the information—"

"I can't—won’t do that. I have him, Matt. Both of them. I want to see it through. This is my chance for justice. Don't tell me to give up because you're worried about what could happen to me."

"Could? You mean will." Instead of sitting on the couch, he leans against the closed door and crosses his arms over his chest. His muscles flex beneath his thin jacket offering a quick distraction from the topic at hand. "I wish you would’ve told me sooner. Mac and I would've stopped the meeting yesterday by talking some damn sense into your hard head. Not let it get this far. Hell, now they know what you have...." He looks away, shaking his head. "What was it you told them about the recruiter or whatever you found? What all do you actually have?"

"Enough to identify him and make sure he's locked up with zero chance of seeing the light of day, or a computer for that matter, ever again."

He levels a hard stare my way. I turn to look out the bay window to avoid the disappointment and anger swirling behind his narrowed eyes. "You shouldn't mess with this, Fate. Hell, you're already in too deep. If these people find out what you know....” He steps into my line of sight to make sure I’m listening. “They make the monsters we put away on a daily basis look like amateurs. How about this? You give me what you have on the recruiter guy and let me handle him, and the CIA will handle the general." With a smirk he says, "I'm tougher than you. I can handle it if they come after me, but I don't want to risk you."

Looking past him, I quickly debate the offer before shaking my head. His shoulders tense, hands tightening into fists at his side. "I want to be the one to put him away. Once I'm back, I’ll lead you to him. I want to be there when he realizes I beat him."

"Then do it now. Let's—"

"No," I protest. "First the general, then him. I can't risk everything I've done to get me to Africa. But I have the information safeguarded, if that's what you're worried about. If I don't come back, then the encrypted file and key will automatically be sent to the director. That way if... something bad happens, the bastard will still receive the justice he deserves, and future innocent victims will be saved from his lies."

Again his intense gaze has me looking away. There's something different about him; this focus and intensity is new. It’s odd that he's this concerned about my safety, but then again, his frustration could be stemming from the fact his employee went to the CIA with a mission he had no idea she was even working on.

Okay, when I think about it like that, then yeah, he's just pissed.

"Fine. Africa and then the recruiter. Looks like I'm forced to do it your way."

My body protests as I roll on the hard floor to face him. "They said yes, didn't they?"

"They said yes but with conditions."

I sigh in overwhelming relief at his statement. For once, things are falling into place in my favor. Without their help, I had no clue how to get out of Africa, with the general in custody no less, and back to the States.