“Byte.”
“This can’t be good if you are calling me that.”
“I’m just worried about you. You are highly recognizable, and let’s not forget, there’s going to be armed agents, secret service, and possibly the FBI on-site. One slip up, and you’re toast.”
“No one will recognize me. Love ya, but I’ve got to go. I have some shopping to do.”
“Just be careful.”
“Always am.”
Now, do I want to be a blonde, brunette, or redhead? Which one would Hunter like?
Black! I’m going with dark, raven-black hair… to match his socks.
With nothing to do but wait, Byte opened her Kindle, clicked on her audio library, and scrolled down until she found what she was looking for—book one in a mafia BDSM series… narrated by Hunter Higgins.
* * *
“Do I have a tux?”Hunter read the email again. What kind of assignment required a black-tie wardrobe?
As of she knew the answer already, the email continued, “get it ready for this Saturday. See you Friday night.”
What have I gotten into?
Nothing good would come from going out with Byte. So why was he looking forward to Friday and Saturday?
The visit with his parents only strengthened his resolve to watch his brother. He just hoped he’d learn enough Friday so he wouldn’t have to see Byte after the weekend. He wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to ignore his attraction.
Two days. That’s all he had to worry about. He had two days to get through. He had overcome his base impulses to wrap his hands around that infuriating hair and pull her close enough to watch her skin pebble before he tasted the forbidden lips that taunted him.
Two days.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
Ghost and Carter sat across from the same section chief they’d talk to about Skylar. The agent seemed straightforward, but also skeptical and intense. Carter understood why. First, they were asking about a possibly rogue agent whose alliance was in question, and now they wanted to exonerate an agent accused of a serious crime.
“You guys seem to have a knack for finding the guilty,” Agent Richards said.
“Assumed guilty,” Ghost countered. “We’re not here to do your job. In the past, we’ve worked closely with the FBI, CIA, and NSA. And as you said, we have a knack for finding those that seem to have strayed. If we have intel, whether to exonerate or condemn, we pass it along and let the agency choose what to do with it. Think of us as a resource.”
“Like confidential informants,” Carter echoed.
“I’ve never had an entire organization as a CI. I have to say, I’m a little unsure why you want to clear these agents.”
“For Agent Evans, it’s personal. We don’t want her daughter to be caught in the crossfire. As for Agent Hines, well, let’s just say that our dealings with her are confusing at best. Either she’s clean and has stayed on task with her alias, or she’s working both sides. Our interest in her is only to protect our own operatives. If she’s dirty, she has the ability to expose our people. That’s not something I’m going to let happen,” Ghost stated.
“I understand. So, tell me what you have on Evans.”
Ghost and Carter walked the agent through their findings, beginning with the day her daughter was taken.
“Stepdaughter,” Richards corrected.
“Darla?”
“No, Danielle. When she was placed with Copeland, he had a two-year-old. Part of her assignment included raising the child as her own. She did that until the job ended.”
“And what? She forgot that she was a mother to the child for seven years?” Carter demanded.