Page 14 of Only the Wicked (The Sinful State #1)

“If he’s using his system, he likely won’t need to resort?—”

“Yep. What else you got?”

“He’s leaving for D.C. Friday. Any news from San Francisco?” I pointedly don’t mention the KOAN operative’s name. If there’s no reason to mention a name, then it shouldn’t be mentioned.

“She’s scheduled for HR orientation on Friday.”

“Orientation for consultants?”

“Yep. It’s a process. Welcome to corporate America.”

“Did you access the phone?”

“Yes, but as you’d expect, it’s clean. His history is wiped. My bet is he runs a program that uploads anything of value to a cloud and clears the hard drive on his phone daily. There are some things we should be able to get from his phone number, but he’s savvy.”

“Well, he would be. He built a surveillance system based on access to all the information you were hoping to scrape.”

“I’ll keep at it, but you do the same. This guy has his backside covered from all tech angles. You might be right.”

“How’s that?”

“The best way to infiltrate him is the old-fashioned way.”

Inside, I grimace and will away the shame. People died. We need to find the leak.

“Are we good here?” I really do need to hop.

“What’s your game plan? Do you need backup today?”

“He’s not dangerous.” I don’t need muscle sitting in a parking lot. “I’ll spend the day with him. See what that gets me. He believes I’m unemployed. Maybe I’ll angle to get brought along to D.C.”

“You could say you were planning on going. I saw his itinerary on his calendar app. He has a couple of events he might need a date for.”

“He rarely brings dates. Or at least, he’s not photographed with dates. Did you find something else?”

“No. If he has a date already planned, he didn’t notate it in his calendar.”

“Or his assistant didn’t. Okay. I gotta jump. I’ll be in touch.”

“And to repeat, no backup?”

“Clear it with Hudson, but in my opinion it’s an unnecessary risk. What if Rhodes spots someone watching?”

“I’ll cover with Hudson. Do you know where you’re going?”

“Nope.”

“If you can, message me plans. Either way, I’ll track you.”

“Thanks Quinn.”

“And Sydney?”

“Yeah?”

“Trust your instincts.”

Taking her advice to heart, I call Caroline. She answers on the second ring, instantly alert despite the early hour. “Syd? What’s wrong?”

No grogginess, no confusion even though she’s in an earlier time zone.

“I’m—how did you know something was wrong?”

“Because you only call me at dawn when you’re spiraling. Remember Jakarta? Paris?” A door clicks in the background. “Give me a second. Go back to sleep.” I hear muffled conversation, then her clear voice returns. “Okay, talk to me. Is this about Rhodes?”

“How do you?—”

“Because I’ve seen this pattern before. You get an assignment, you execute flawlessly, then you call me in a panic because you’re unnerved. Second-guessing yourself.”

I don’t panic.

“What happened, Syd?”

With her softer tone, I sink onto the edge of the bed, the words catching in my throat. “I think I’m making the same mistake I made in Paris. Getting too invested.”

“Paris was different. You were blindsided. This is about—what? You like him?”

“It’s not that simple.”

I stand and pace past the window. “The intelligence says one thing…but when I’m with him…”

“You don’t believe he’s capable of it.”

“Exactly. And that scares me, Caroline. What if we’re wrong?”

Silence stretches across the line.

“Do you remember what I told you about Dorian?” Dorian—President Moore’s nephew. Caroline reunited with him after years apart. Their split splashed across every tabloid.

“You said powerful men are expert manipulators.”

“I said some of them are. But I also said the truly dangerous ones are the ones who make you forget they’re powerful at all.

” Her voice drops. “Dorian’s father never let me forget his connections, his family name.

He wielded it like a weapon. But Dorian, he wasn’t always like that.

He’d talk to me for hours about books and travel, never once mentioning his degrees or pedigree.

He made me feel like the only person in the room. ”

“Yet you left him.”

“And eventually we reunited. Dorian is a good person, but he almost followed in his father’s path.

If I’m honest with myself, both sides still exist in him, we’re just better at working through our differences.

And he’s more like the man I first met.” She pauses.

“The point is, Sydney, your instincts about people have kept you alive. If something feels off about the intelligence, maybe it is. But it’s also possible there’s more to him than he’s let you see so far. ”

My chest tightens. “What if my desire for him to be innocent?—”

“Then you’re human. And empathetic intelligence officers are the ones who build the most fruitful connections.” Another pause. “Syd, you’ve always cared about a target’s well-being. That’s what makes you good at your job.”

The truth resonates and I knead the discomfort beneath my breastbone.

“I think I’m in trouble, Caroline.”

“Good trouble or bad trouble?” I catch sight of the hotel toothbrush on the bathroom counter, evidence of a night with more intimacy than I’ve experienced in years.

“I honestly don’t know.”

“Then figure it out. Explore. But don’t you dare apologize for feeling something genuine. For caring. And Syd?”

“Yeah?”

“If your gut says he’s innocent, maybe start asking who benefits from him looking guilty.”