“Maxi Wynn. I’m not sure if it’s short for anything, but that’s what I heard her boss call her.”
Carter could hear her typing and caught his breath when she sadly said his name.
“She has been married for a few months now. Her husband is Jude Butler, former MI6.”
“Oh,” was all he could say. His wife was someone else’s wife too.
“You could have her arrested,” he heard Nessa say.
“What? For what?”
Trying to suppress her frustration, Nessa repeated her earlier thought. “For bigamy.”
Carter remained silent. Nessa had a point. He could detain her and keep her from running if he pressed charges. It would probably be just another nail in his coffin, but it would keep her close.
“Yes, I believe I will.”
Shocked, Nessa asked, “Are you really?”
“Yes. It will keep her put. She won’t be able to run away.”
Well, that wasn’t going to work, Nessa thought. She’d neglected to tell him that an annulment had already been filed and their marriage was just a few days from being severed.
“I’ll make the call,” Nessa offered. “You keep up your surveillance and I’ll have the police pick her up.”
“Nessa. I’m sorry. I know this isn’t the outcome you wanted, but I’ve always told you I didn’t believe she was dead. I never doubted that I’d eventually find her.”
“I know,” she answered through her tears.
“I hate that I hurt you. You mean a lot to me.”
“But not enough to let sleeping dogs lie.”
When neither spoke, Nessa broke their silence.
“Don’t worry about me. I know what I have to do. The police and district attorney will be notified today that you want to press charges. I’ll provide them with everything they need. But, Carter, what if she still doesn’t want a life with you? It’s blatantly apparent she’s moved on. Do you think you can force her to be with you? And what about her trying to kill you? If she did that while you claimed she loved you, what danger are you putting yourself in when she’s obviously cut you out of her life?”
Carter didn’t question her concern. Everything she said was correct. There were some big obstacles to overcome. Obstacles? More like attempted murder. Sadly, he wasn’t sure they could overcome something like that. Maybe Nessa was right, and it was time to move on.
“I don’t know about a future with Gwen, but what I do know is that I have to close one chapter before I open another.”
“Oh, Carter, I think that’s wonderful. You deserve to be with someone who loves you and would never want to see you hurt.”
But not with you. I don’t love Vanessa despite how much she loves me.
Carter didn’t hear everything else Nessa was saying because he stopped listening the minute he saw Gwen exit the car.
No, not Gwen.
Daisy.
CHAPTEREIGHT
This was the first time Voodoo had stepped into the ECP lair. Her interactions with the team were usually at the mission site or at Ivy’s house. Seeing the interworkings of the group was enlightening, and how closely ALIAS mirrored ECP.
Like ALIAS, residence quarters were available. According to Steve, there were operatives who accepted the accommodations.
“Susan and Doc stay here when they are in the country. They spend about half their time in London, so it makes sense to have an apartment rather than a home. Turbo and Blaze live here, as well as Gennifer and I. Ethan and Kensley also live here, but she maintains an office in Austin.”