Page 106 of Storm Warning

Teagan frowned. “Who brought her to Berkley’s attention?”

Andre glanced at Riley. “Angie.” When his girl flinched, Andre’s hands fisted. He hated hurting her. “She saw thepotential in Riley and thought she needed a goal to achieve and to feel like she was contributing to something bigger than herself.”

Riley inclined her head in silent agreement. “She saved my life. Despite the sense of betrayal over how things went down, Angie saved me.”

Seth glanced at Andre. “What else do you have?”

“Berkley groomed Riley for the Obsidian Storm mission. He couldn’t go himself because of his other agent’s gaffe that left Garcia suspicious of all unknown men. His best bet was to find a woman skilled enough with computers that she could hack into a stand-alone computer, troll through the memory, and make a copy of everything on the hard drive. Not only that, but he also needed someone who could fight her way out of trouble if discovered.”

Violet scowled. “If he was so enthralled with her skills, why did he send her on a mission that was a death trap for a rookie?”

His smile was more of a baring of his teeth. “That’s something I intend to ask when I meet him.”

“When?” Rayne’s eyes twinkled. “I’d like to be there. If I work it right, Berkley will run into my fist. What a shame for an operative to be sporting a black eye.”

“We’ll cross paths soon. This whole situation has Berkley’s stench all over it.”

The other members of Echo exchanged glances. Yeah, they knew him well. Andre’s gut said trouble was coming soon. What he didn’t know was whether Berkley would lead the charge or wait in the shadows to see how things panned out before making his appearance.

Was Berkley an inept handler, or was he involved with the Obsidian Storm mission more than was obvious?

As much as he would love to lay the whole blame on Berkley, Andre had a feeling someone else was involved. He didn’t know to what extent, but that was one of his new missions in life.

“I don’t enjoy his hovering in the shadows as a silent threat.”

“Same.” He looked at Riley. “Do you have anything to add to my assessment?”

“If he’s involved to the extent you believe, Nathan had help.”

“You don’t believe he could do it alone?”

“No way. He isn’t good at long-term planning. His strength is short-term goals.

“Who is the most likely person to have helped Berkley?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say Sam Cowan. He was my second contact if I reported in and Nathan wasn’t available.”

“Did he at least know what he was doing?” Noah’s voice was filled with disgust.

“I thought he did when The Company hired me. Now that I’ve had training from Fortress and have seen excellent handlers up close, I know he was as pitiful as Nathan.”

Andre shook his head. “It’s a wonder any of you survived their bumbling.”

Seth held up his hand. “Anything else, Andre?”

“Only that we need to talk to him as soon as possible, and he lives in D.C.”

Elias groaned. “A trip to D.C.? I hate that place. Politicians are everywhere.”

Andre chuckled. “Trust me, I dislike it as much as you do. We’ll do our best to keep you away from the politicians.”

“Not possible.”

Teagan turned to Andre. “So, what are we going to do with this information we have about Berkley?”

“We’ll pay him a visit and find out what he knows.”

Violet stared. “He’s CIA. Do you think he’d talk to you?”