Page 16 of Ground Zero

“Don’t talk to me like I’m dumb. Those messages contain your username. Who else knows I might be with you right now?”

“Skidmore, to start with.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Then he went through extreme measures to make you look guilty.”

“Yes, he did.” He paused and sucked in a deep breath. “Look, if I were really involved in this, do you think I’d be dumb enough to use my actual name? Do you think I would leave that chat window up while I went to change? Someone is trying to set me up and make you believe I’m guilty. It’s clearly working.”

Sheridan only stared at him.

“Those aren’t my messages.” The words sounded stiff as they left his lips, but they needed to be repeated. He knew how this looked for him—bad.

Sheridan’s jaw tightened. “How stupid do you think I am?”

“I think you’re brilliant—which is why I need you to think about this logically.” Maverick kept his voice calm despite the adrenaline flooding his system. “If I really killed your partner, why would I keep evidence of it in my cloud storage? Why would I leave those files accessible when I knew you might look?”

She shrugged off his questions. “Maybe because you’re arrogant. Because you think you’re untouchable.”

“Or because someone wanted you to find exactly what you found.” He took a careful step forward. “Someone wants you to doubt me and bring me in. Either I’m being framed, or they need my help to complete their mission. Either option is dangerous.”

Uncertainty flickered across her features, but her weapon remained steady. “That’s convenient.”

“It’s the truth.” Maverick studied her face.

He memorized the determined set of her jaw, the way her dark hair had escaped its bun during their flight from the beach. She’d taken off her jacket and flung it over a nearby chair.

The change made her look more relaxed. Or was it frazzled?

In the span of ten minutes, it was most likely both.

“I had nothing to do with your partner’s death,” he continued. “But someone sure wants to make it look like I did.”

Sheridan remained quiet a long moment, and Maverick saw her analytical mind working through the possibilities.

She wanted to believe him—he could see it in her eyes—but everything in her training told her not to trust him.

Maverick held his breath as he waited for her decision.

That would determine how exactly things played out over the next few minutes.

CHAPTER 8

When Sheridan didn’t say anything a moment, Maverick decided he was tired of waiting.

He stepped closer, glowering down at her. “You know what your problem is, Agent Mendez? You’re so focused on following protocol and trusting the system that you can’t see the corruption growing right under your nose.”

Her finger tightened on the trigger, and her nostrils flared with irritation that made it clear she didn’t like to be underestimated. “Excuse me?”

“Someone in your organization sold out your partner. Someone with access to FBI operations told Sigma exactly where to find us this morning. And someone planted those messages in my account knowing you’d find them and do exactly what you’re doing right now.”

She shook her head. “You’re wrong.”

“Am I? Then call your boss. Tell him where we are. See how long it takes for more fake agents to show up.”

Tension stretched between them like a wire about to snap.

Maverick saw the war playing out behind Sheridan’s eyes—duty versus instinct, protocol versus survival.

Finally, she spoke. “Turn around. Hands behind your head.”