Page 19 of Code Name: Reaper (K19 Allied Intelligence Team Two #5)

I could walk away from this entire mess. Let the coalition handle Romanov and Prism while I continued searching for Mercury on my own. I’d managed for seven months without their help. I could do it again.

But Briggs was here, and we had an impending meeting scheduled. I needed whatever answers he held about Mercury and Aldrich. If I left now, I’d never get them.

And despite everything, despite Reaper’s accusations and cold suspicion, I knew I hadn’t betrayed him, and as much as I shouldn’t, I wanted him to know it too.

I stared out the window as we drove through the familiar Virginia countryside. I had maybe thirty minutes to determine whether to stay and work with someone who didn’t trust me, or cut my losses.

After deciding the meeting with Briggs was too important for me to miss, I followed Reaper through the front door and into the town house Blackjack had arranged for us.

It sat on a cobblestone street lined with Federal-style buildings and looked like every other upscale residence in the historic district, with lanterns casting pools of warm light on the sidewalk, and window boxes overflowing with late-autumn flowers.

“There are two bedrooms. Take whichever one you want. We’ll brief Nemesis at zero eight hundred tomorrow, then figure out how soon we can meet with Briggs.”

Since I hadn’t set my bag down, I turned toward the stairs. I didn’t owe him a response. Briggs. That’s why I was here. Once that meeting was over, I’d be gone.

I entered the first bedroom I came to, stepped inside, closed and locked the door, then walked over to the French doors that opened to a small patio.

The air didn’t feel as cold to me as it had when we got off the plane. Maybe because I’d gone numb. The alternative was to allow myself to face how hurt I was that Reaper would think so little of me.

This is what you get for trusting someone.

The voice in my head sounded like my own, but sharper. Colder. It was the same one that had kept me going through every loss, every betrayal, every moment when caring about someone had turned into a weapon against me.

I returned inside but pressed my cheek against the cool glass and let go, allowing myself to feel the crushing weight of disappointment that I’d been stupid enough to hope things could be different. That Reaper could be different.

You knew better.

I did. Every instinct had warned me to keep my walls up, to maintain my distance, to never let him—or anyone—close enough to hurt me.

But somewhere between Montenegro and here, I’d forgotten the most important lessons my life had taught me.

People leave. They lie. And they disappoint you when you need them most.

The tears came without warning—hot, angry, and unstoppable. I sank into the chair by the window and let them fall, mourning the loss of Reaper along with my own stupidity for believing in something that was never real.

He thinks you betrayed him.

That he hadn’t given me the benefit of the doubt hurt the most. I knew he had no proof, since I hadn’t done what he accused me of.

Earlier, I’d almost told him I was glad we hadn’t had sex. Then, I wouldn’t have meant it. Now, I did.

After everything I’d shared with him, everything I’d risked, the way he’d looked at me—as if he did hate me—made something inside me burn. Fury.

How could he believe I’d so quickly betray his confidence? How? I wasn’t the liar. I wasn’t the one who’d hid who I really was from everyone around me. Mercury was, not me.

The comparison stopped my tears cold. She’d lied to me for years, built our entire relationship on deception, let me believe she was someone she wasn’t. But I was still here, still searching for her, still willing to risk everything to find her.

Why?

I wiped my face with my hand and forced myself to think through the question I’d been avoiding. Why was I still hunting for a woman who’d systematically deceived me about everything, including her own name?

The answer came reluctantly—because no matter how many lies she told, they didn’t erase years of genuine care.

Because the woman who’d held me while I sobbed over my grandfather’s death, who’d convinced me not to quit the academy, who’d pushed protein bars across her desk when I forgot to eat—that woman had been real, even if her name wasn’t.

Deep down, I knew her actions couldn’t lie. I meant something to her. The love had been real, even if everything else was false.

But Reaper? He’d looked at me like I was a stranger. Like everything we’d shared, every moment of connection, had been an illusion he’d finally seen through.

That was the difference. Mercury had lied to protect me, or protect herself, or protect some mission I didn’t understand. Reaper had simply decided I wasn’t worth trusting when things got complicated.

I pulled out my cell and stared at the screen. I could call Wren, explain what had happened, and see if Nemesis could facilitate the Briggs meeting without Reaper’s involvement. Or I could disappear tonight.

Both options meant Reaper would be out of my life forever. Telling Wren what had happened meant truly betraying him, since I’d have to divulge who Dagger was and that his cover had been blown. And if I left, I knew he wouldn’t look for me. Not again.

I set the phone aside and leaned against the chair. Tomorrow or the next day, I’d face Briggs and get the answers I needed about Mercury and Prism. After that, I’d figure out my next move.

Tonight, I’d let myself grieve the future I’d been foolish enough to imagine—one where I didn’t have to carry everything alone, where someone fought beside me instead of against me, where trust was something I could afford to give.

Tomorrow, I’d return to what I knew best—surviving on my own.