Page 71 of Ground Zero

“I wanted to warn you. Things are getting ugly. I have a feeling you know things that could help us prove your innocence.”

“I’m innocent but someone at Blackout isn’t.”

His gaze darkened. “That’s what I’ve been afraid of. But I don’t know who. Why don’t you tell me what you know? Maybe I can help.”

He lowered his voice before saying, “I’ve been working with FBI Agent Mendez. There’s going to be a terrorist attack on Naval Station Norfolk. Someone at Blackout is involved.”

Jake’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes sharpened. “When?”

“In twenty-four hours. Maybe sooner. The British submarine arrival has been moved up.”

“That explains the FBI presence at headquarters.” Jake moved closer, lowering his voice further.

Maverick’s jaw hardened. “I lost cell signal.”

“Signal’s been jammed for a while. Someone doesn’t want us communicating.”

Maverick got to the bottom line. “Who could the traitor be?”

Jake’s expression darkened. “That’s the problem. Atlas has been out of town. Hudson’s been acting strange for weeks. Kyle’s been taking meetings he won’t explain. Even William from IT has been accessing files way above his clearance level.”

“William?” Maverick thought about the eager young tech who always seemed to be around when things went wrong.

“Yeah. Kid’s smart. Maybe too smart.” Jake checked his watch. “Listen, we’ve got maybe fifteen minutes before someone realizes I’m gone. What else do we need to talk about?”

“Stop the attack. Clear my name. In that order.”

“I can help with both, but Mav . . .” Jake hesitated. “We don’t know who else we can trust. Could be one mole, could be three.”

They stood there a moment, two soldiers who’d trusted each other with their lives now wondering if that trust would get them killed.

“We need to figure that out,” Maverick said.

“Together or separate?” Jake asked.

“Separate we’ll cover more ground, but?—”

“Separate will also make us easier targets.”

Sheridan left the server room, Morrison close behind her.

The conference room buzzed with activity when they returned. FBI agents studied laptops, Ty and Colton huddled in one corner reviewing something on a tablet, and Cook stood at the center like a general commanding his troops.

But Jake was gone.

Sheridan’s pulse quickened as she scanned the room again.

His chair sat empty, his jacket still draped over the back.

When had he left? And more importantly, why hadn’t anyone else seemed to notice?

She thought about Maverick meeting Jake. If Jake had left here fifteen minutes ago, he could already be there.

She and Maverick should have stayed together, should have maintained visual contact. But now it was too late to go back, to change things. One of them might not make it through this. The possibility was real—and jarring.

“Agent Mendez.” Cook’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Did you find anything in the server room?”

She felt Morrison’s eyes on her, waiting to hear what she’d say. “No, just routine server maintenance logs. My hunch didn’t pay off.”