Page 45 of Echo, the Sniper (Men of PSI #2)
Not Everything Is As It Seems
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Rory
M ARY JANE CASE WAS something else. If I hadn’t already had my heart thoroughly entangled with Echo, I would totally have had a monster-sized crush on the tall, willowy brunette who stared at me from across the small dining room table.
She was just so... much.
Her height was the first thing I noticed about her when Echo had woken me up to meet his colleague from Private Security International.
Not surprising, really. I was on the petite side of the spectrum, whereas Mary Jane was only a few inches shorter than Echo.
The next thing I couldn’t help but notice was her amazing head of hair.
Somewhere between the color of toffee and hazelnut, it fell almost to her shoulders in a cascade of the most gorgeous spring-like curls the world had ever seen.
It took everything I had to not reach out and pull one, just for the pleasure of watching it bounce back into place.
I was sure that if Mary Jane had a nickel for every time that had happened to her throughout her life, she’d be pushing millionaire status.
Her bottle-green eyes were bright and lively.
Smart eyes, my father would have called them, because they didn’t seem to miss much, while at the same time giving nothing away.
She also possessed a graceful, long neck and limbs, much like a ballerina, and the elegant way she moved had me itching to ask if she’d ever been in pointe shoes before.
Despite her creamy, pale gold complexion, a smattering of freckles dusted a path across her cheeks and nose, giving her the appearance of such wholesome goodness it was hard to imagine her thriving in the private security business.
But I was quickly learning that looks could be deceiving.
“Well, you two definitely had an eventful night,” Mary Jane said after Echo and I took turns telling her what had happened with Edward and Josiah. “Was anything missing from your wallet?”
I shook my head. “No, nothing. Not even the cash. But everything was pulled out of all the little pockets and rifled through.”
A toffee-colored brow quirked. “Sounds like they were looking for something. Any idea what?”
“It might have something to do with an offshore account my late husband set up in the Cayman Islands, with me being a co-signer. When I was with Josiah, he shared that Edward saw that account as his personal fund to get the heck out of Dodge.”
“Entitled prick.” Echo’s expression, from the time I awoke to now, hadn’t changed.
Surly, vicious, and looking about as happy as someone who’d just taken a swallow of spoiled milk.
Clearly he wasn’t thrilled with Mary Jane’s sudden appearance.
Neither was I, but it wasn’t like we hadn’t been expecting someone from PSI to show up.
“I still can’t believe that sonofabitch thought he had the right to scare the shit out of you, destroy your property, steal your wallet, and do whatever the hell he wanted just so he could get his hands on an account he has no legal claim to. ”
“I’m not sure who would have the legal right to touch that account now, even if I did cosign for it,” I said, eyes widening.
“What government would even have dibs on what could be ill-gotten gains? The United States? China? Some other country? Which dollar is mine from my inheritance? Which dollar was legally earned, and which one wasn’t?
From the way Josiah talked, it sounded like Dane dumped just about everything we had into that account before he died. ”
“Since it’s an offshore account, legally you’re the sole owner of it now, and as far as I’m concerned you earned every penny—and then some—by putting up with that abusive shit stain for three years.
” Echo’s mouth was a grim line as he looked at me as if daring me to contradict him.
I frowned and tried not to feel like he was somehow mad at me just because he was in a bad mood.
Damn it. That was a Dane-inspired response if there ever was one, blaming myself for my man’s crappy mood.
I needed to destroy that unhealthy knee-jerk reaction of assuming the blame for all the bad things in the world, stat.
“That account has your name on it, right? Your name, and the name of a man who’s been legally declared dead.
Seems obvious to me he has no fucking right to it. It’s yours .”
The way he phrased it made me frown. “Well, yeah. Obviously Dane has no claim on it, since he’s dead.”
“Um, that’s actually one of the reasons I’m here, Rory,” Mary Jane interjected, her gentle tone oddly jarring compared to Echo’s veritable snarl.
When I glanced over at her, I was surprised to see a wealth of compassion shining in her eyes.
“As you know, I’m here as backup for Echo, because guarding someone twenty-four hours a day can be dangerous if that bodyguard doesn’t get some much-needed downtime, so I’m here to help in any way I can. But the other reason...”
When she paused, a knot twisted in my stomach. “Yes?”
“At PSI, we work very closely with all sorts of government agencies—FBI, Homeland Security, the US Marshals Service, the IRS, and even the CIA and State Department when we’re handling cases overseas.
And of course we have close ties to all the branches of the military since the majority of us have a military background.
My father, who founded Private Security International, was a lifetime military man, and even I have four years of military under my belt, specifically with Army Intelligence—CID.
You might say we all know each other very, very well. ”
“Okay...?” I wasn’t sure why she was telling me any of this.
Delicately she cleared her throat. “It just so happens that the US Marshals are aware that you are under our protection. They reached out very early this morning because they want to know where you are—basically they’re doing a wellness check on you.”
I literally felt my jaw drop. “The US Marshals? Me ? They want to know about me ?”
“Specifically to see if you’re still alive.”
“But... I... wait. Why?” I sounded like a babbling idiot, but come to find out it was hard to pull a sentence together when you were in total fricking shock. “I don’t even know what the US Marshals Service does. Why would they care if I’m still alive? Am I in trouble?”
“No,” both Echo and Mary Jane said simultaneously, before Echo grabbed my bandaged hand and pressed it to his mouth in a strange mix of ferocity and tenderness. “You’ve done nothing wrong, you hear me? Nothing. You shouldn’t even be bothered with any of this shit. It shouldn’t fucking touch you.”
“ What shouldn’t touch me? What shit are you talking about?” I looked to Mary Jane, well and truly freaked out now. “What’s going on?”
“It’s not a big deal.” Echo’s voice vibrated with rage, making a lie out of his words.
“In fact, no one should be fucking bothering you with this because it doesn’t affect the new life you’re trying to build for yourself.
” He shot a sizzling look Mary Jane’s way with that, cementing the fact that the newcomer was the source of his bad mood, but not why.
For her part, Mary Jane’s chin shot up like a battle flag. “Listen, I’m not the problem here, okay? All I’m doing is following orders, while you’re sitting over there growling at me like a junkyard dog with infected hemorrhoids. Back off, already.”
“There’s no need for Rory to even know about any of this—”
“Know about any of what ?” In frustration I slapped my hand down on the table and immediately regretted it. Ouch . “What’s happened? Why would the US Marshals be doing a wellness check on me?”
“I have some news to share with you, and it’s going to come as quite a shock.
” Turning her attention back to me, Mary Jane’s demeanor once again turned compassionate while Echo reached over and sandwiched one of my hands in both of his.
I had the impression that if he could find a way to keep me from being touched by the rest of the world, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
“The US Marshals Service does many things in the law enforcement field, including hunting for fugitives, transporting prisoners, that sort of thing. They’re also the agency that’s in charge of the Witness Protection Program. ”
I nodded to let her know I understood, but otherwise said nothing, since I couldn’t see how any of that had to do with me.
Mary Jane took a deep breath. “Every so often, this agency comes across a criminal that has so many connections to other bad guys that they realize they have a potential goldmine of information. Naturally, the good guys try to get all they can out of the crook, but very often they come up against a wall of fear. The criminal knows where tons of illegality can be found, complete with names, dates, whatever, but they don’t want to talk because the bad guys they’ve been working with will have the criminal killed if he sings.
So, the US Marshals Service offers to make this criminal ‘disappear’ by giving them a new identity.
They go all in on it—new job, fake background complete with records, new location that’s a zillion miles from where they used to live.
One day they’re there, and the next—poof.
” She snapped her long, manicured fingers. “They’re gone without a trace.”
Again I nodded. “I’ve heard of the Witness Protection Program, but I still don’t see how any of that has to do with me.”
Echo’s hands tightened as Mary Jane leaned her forearms on the table, her expression earnest. “Don’t you, Rory?”