Page 8 of Justified Lies (TFH Team Bravo #3)

Because she had lived a lie most of her life.

Ian might have been raised by spies, but he had been left out of the loop until he was old enough to understand.

Her family had been working with the CIA—and its precursor, the OSS—for four generations.

When the world thought all you did was drill for oil, you had to put a face on it.

She had become that face when she turned twenty-two, but she and El had known long before that.

They had also moved around more than some military brATS she knew.

“Goes with the embassy work my folks did for years.”

“Are we eating in here?”

She waited a second or two, then made her final decision.

“No. Grab your food—did you want a drink?”

“Just water. I have a feeling this is going to be a night where alcohol isn’t the best thing to have on hand.”

He had no idea. They both grabbed a glass of water, then their food containers, and she led him back to her hidden room. When the door slid open, he chuckled.

“My sister would be so thrilled about this.”

“Don’t tell her about this. I don’t want to tell you, but since you’re my partner, you have a right to know.”

She led him into the room, and his eyes widened when he saw all the information amassed on their boards.

“Bloody hell.”

“I know, it’s a bit much.”

“It’s freaking brilliant,” he said, setting his container down before moving closer. “So all of these people are dead?”

“Yes. There were more, but these are the ones we think are the core of who were targeted.”

“Motive?”

This is why she’d decided to tell him. She and El had always worked for the CIA, but they didn’t do a lot of investigative work.

“Not sure,” she said.

“Then why did you zero in on them?”

“Because of the lack of motive. All of them had enemies, you can’t work intelligence without acquiring some.”

“True.”

“But the one thing that stood out for them all was the lack of motive. Most of them did have open cases, but nothing that would have linked them together.”

“Their backgrounds?”

“Some were counterterrorism, some worked in embassies.”

“Like you?”

She nodded.

“Did you know any of them?”

“I knew O’Malley and Green. Interestingly enough, they were on my suspect list.”

“Green died here.”

“And O’Malley.”

His sharp gaze cut to her. “When?”

“About four months ago. It’s hard to get info on him because he was still active in the CIA.”

“And you and El have been digging into these murders?”

She nodded.

“Why? What brought this about?”

She pointed to the board. “That’s why. We think El was one of them.”

“Okay. But don’t you see what kind of danger you have put yourselves in?”

“We were already in trouble, Ian. We both had a target on our backs.”

His jaw tightened. “You think both of you were targeted?”

She nodded. “There were just things that never seemed to match up. Like, how did I find out about him missing so quickly? That was sloppy for someone who spent so much time planning his abduction. It was like the bastard was trying to lure me out. I did get shot.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but her phone went off. She noticed the caller ID and rolled her eyes.

Sam.

She clicked it on. “I’m a little busy right now.”

“Yeah, I know Mix is there. Put me on speaker phone.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think we have a red alert, and it all has to do with Elwood.”

“What?”

“Dammit, just put me on speaker phone and apologize to Ian later.”

With a sigh, she clicked on the speaker phone.

“Good to know you have your partner’s back, Mix. I knew you would, though.”

His gaze narrowed. “Sam.”

“Oh, my…you sound so sexy growling my name. Does he look sexy, Ed?”

Something passed over Ian’s expression. He knew that no one but El called her that. Well, it seemed that way for Sam, too.

“Stop messing with Ian. What’s going on with my brother?”

“Did you know that he spent his afternoon stalking your ex?”

Alarm lanced through her. El didn’t always do things like that. Oh, he would sometimes go off half-cocked, but stalking, that had never been his thing. She knew it was the PTSD, but it always worried her. “No. He did?”

“Yeah. Emily lured him away to dinner.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I’ve been a little busy, so I was reviewing traffic cams around Oahu when I had a chance, and I noticed him parked there. Hopefully, TFH didn’t notice.”

There was something in her friend’s voice that had Eden’s nerves on high alert. “What are you busy with?”

“Things. Don’t worry about it.”

“Sam.”

“I told you. Don’t worry about me. Keep a tighter leash on your brother.”

“Am I my brother’s keeper?”

“Yeah. I mean, you always have been, haven’t you? Text me if you get any information you think I need. Moving locations again.”

“Okay. Be safe.”

“I will. Hey, Mix, you protect Eden. She’s the best person you could have as a partner.”

Then the phone went dead. With a sigh, she turned off her phone.

“Okay, let me have it,” she said.

“How long have you known her?”

“About five years.”

“How did you know her?”

“First, I want you to understand that I didn’t know she was your Sam. Not until she told me. And there is only so much I can tell you.”

“Her real name isn’t Sam.”

She shook her head.

“And you won’t tell me her real name.”

“No. She has her reasons, and most of them are legitimate. Some are just…well, she’s a little paranoid.”

“How often does she move?”

“A lot. She has reasons for that, too.”

He nodded. “It’s irritating that I had no idea you knew her.”

“Like I said, I didn’t know you two knew each other until she told me she’d checked you out and you were safe.”

“Checked me out.” He snorted.

“Don’t discount her clearing you. She did a deep dive, and let me say that when the CIA burned her, they lost one of their best analysts. Like, ever. MI-6 tried to hire her away a lot of times before the unfortunate incident.”

“What was that?”

“Her being burned. That’s what she calls it.”

He drew in a deep breath and released it. “So, we have a person killing CIA agents, and now your brother to control.”

“Emily will be able to handle him.”

“They know each other, too, I take it?”

She nodded.

“Brilliant. Hopefully, she can get him home in one piece.” He looked back at the board she had up. They had spent years compiling the information, including a map that marked the locations of each kill. “I guess we should get started.”

By the time Kap made it home, it was close to midnight.

After a quick interview with Devon Stryker and his wife, they now knew for sure that both Eden and her brother had been off the island during the attack.

And basically, they had nothing. As there were no prints, no bodily fluids, and the bullet didn’t match anything in the system. So, Charity had been telling the truth.

They had fuck all to help with a CIA agent’s murder.

After stepping into his apartment, he knew something was off. Then he realized the alarm hadn’t beeped. He turned to look, but a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Don’t worry, Hanson. I disabled it.”

He pulled out his gun before turning to find El Carlyle sitting in his living room, making himself at home. The other man turned on the table light. He was smiling at Kap, but there was nothing friendly about it.

“I think we need to have a chat.”