“Later, Carter. I can only handle one thing at a time.”
“Understood. Just don’t shut me out. Give me a chance to tell you everything.”
Nodding, she exited the room, not looking back and seeing the despair and uncertainty in Carter’s eyes. If she had, he’d have seen the same fear in her own, and she wasn’t ready to expose herself.
If ever, she thought as she opened her car door, inviting Byte and Bench to join her. She would let Ghost and Ivy drive Carter to the hospital. She needed time. How much time, she couldn’t say.
Just time.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Voodoo gasped when she saw her sister lying in the bed, a cast on her left arm, busted nose and lips, and her head wrapped with gauze. She could feel Carter’s body behind her, not touching, but close enough, should she need his support.
“Daisy,” Voodoo whispered, but she didn’t stir.
When they’d approached the room, it was unguarded. Ivy immediately questioned why—if they believed she was formerly with the CIA, and a possible flight risk—wouldn’t there be an agent or an officer outside the door. Pulling out her cell, she called Seven and requested he come guard the room. He and Aria would tag team until told otherwise.
With that concern lifted, Ivy asked the nurses about Vanessa.
“Do you know when we can expect the agent?”
“No clue. She’s been in and out, but no set schedule. Why?”
“I’m friends with your patient and I’m also former CIA. I’m concerned with her safety and I’m having one of my counterparts come and secure the room. He will be posted outside her door. Can you provide him with a chair?”
“This is highly irregular. Only the police can make such a request, or maybe the CIA. I’m not even sure.”
“I’ll get you the authorization, but in the interim, can you please ease my worries?”
“Sure. Let me write down the email address you’ll need to send the document to.”
Well, that made Ivy’s job easier. Byte could take care of the formal document and see to it that Chaos was protected. Now came the hard part... convincing her to leave the country.... And more importantly, to go straight—well, as straight as Byte was.
She’d also have Byte involved in that objective. In the car, they’d delegated responsibilities. Ghost was to offer Chaos a job with living expenses. First, they needed to know her involvement in concealing Raptor’s identity. Chaos had been on the short list of possible hackers with the skill set necessary to make an assassin disappear. If she was the one, they needed her to provide them with his identity. Ryan would need to have it if they were to unravel the black ops organization working against MI6’s objectives.
Ivy’s job was to help Carter and Voodoo track down Vanessa. Although she wasn’t sure Voodoo would want to work with her and Carter, but she was confident that she’d want answers from the only person who knew the whole truth.
Carter’s job was obvious. He was going to draw Vanessa out.
Ivy had contacted Ethan, Bench’s superior, to make sure they were aware of what had transpired that evening.
“He read me in. Is Voodoo okay?”
“She will be. We’re at the hospital right now. Once we can secure her sister, Voodoo will be singularly focused. Do you need Bench back? I don’t want to interfere with your op.”
“Typically, I’d lend out my people, but there’s been a development here too. The ATF working over here has reached out to us. She was trying to find Bench. Obviously, the ATF disclosed our involvement.”
“What’s she calling for?”
“She thinks her cover’s been blown. She needs Bench to find out before she reenters the clubhouse.”
“Then we’ll send him home immediately. I’m not sure if he’s got transportation here.”
“Not a problem. You’ve got your hands full. I’ll have Ranger or Spud come and get him from the hospital. If you’d give him a heads-up, I’d appreciate it.”
“Consider it done. Let’s hope the agent is wrong. Blown covers are the worst. We’re dealing with our own right now. Let us know if you need anything.”
“Will do. I hope you get everything fixed on your end.”