Page 22 of Laura's Truth
Drew opened the rear passenger door and pushed Laura roughly inside, then he slid into the backseat next to her. He didn’t say a word as Dark Glasses settled behind the wheel and pulled away from the truck stop. To Drew’s relief, they started back toward Charleston.
He kept his gaze steady on the driver via the rearview mirror. “Did the hotel room search turn up anything useful?”
“Last I heard she’s got everything encrypted.”
So Hackett—or someone—thought Laura had relevant information. “Tell me we have someone resolving that.” Drew was tallying up the crew in his mind. Assuming at least one person was working on the tech, that brought the count to four. Two might still be in police custody. That only left the person calling the shots.
Dark Glasses shrugged. “She’ll talk. One way or another.”
Laura inched closer to the door and Dark Glasses hit the locks. “Give it up,” he told her. “You aren’t going anywhere until we have what we need.”
Drew felt her summoning courage and bumped her. She sniffled rather than deliver the bravado he’d glimpsed simmering in her eyes. “Who do we have left?”
“You, me, and the boss. The idiots who got caught at the airport were local. Disposable.”
“Disposable? What does that mean? What is this about?” Laura snapped. “Kidnapping an Army officer will only bring hell knocking on your door.”
“Aw, shut up. We’ve been through your email and phone records. We know you took personal days. No one will miss you before Monday and that’s if you’re lucky. We know you have enough vacation built up to carry you through the month and with a few keystrokes we can make it look like you extended your time.”
That declaration caused her to tremble, and Drew couldn’t blame her, but giving her any comfort, showing any compassion, would blow the game. It smelled like Hackett. Only that bastard would believe Laura could be used as either insurance or protection.
Now he just had to decide if Dark Glasses believed Drew was another local, disposable part of the crew assigned to pick up Laura or if the man knew better and was playing along until he could turn them both over to Hackett.
Chapter 4
Haleswood, South Carolina
At home in his office, the rich scent of Allie’s marinara sauce scenting the air, Ross replayed the choppy string of videos and still shots Eva had assembled.
He’d put this conversation off for too long, hoping for better news from Talbot. Instead, it seemed the counterintel officer had gone off the radar with one particularly alive former CIA operative.
She wasn’t answering her cell phone and her email kept kicking back the ‘out of the office’ automated message.
What Ross interpreted as Garner’s ‘former’ status was the only thing that remained debatable in this situation. Going a second round with the CIA wasn’t high on his list of life goals. Once had been more than enough. Once had nearly wiped out his team and that’s when he had the Army at his back. He’d had to endure accusations that his team had been ill-prepared, that they’d screwed up the communications and gone into a delicate negotiation trigger-happy.
No one but Talbot seemed inclined to place any responsibility or blame on the dead man from the CIA.
Ross wanted answers for himself, some explanation for the families of the three men who died to protect Garner. It had taken years to let go, to accept the truth was long gone, never to be revealed.
There’d been some peace in that. An obligatory, if uncomfortable, acceptance.
He closed his eyes and let the memories batter him, let his pulse race through those hectic moments when confidence turned to dread, brushed too close to panic. One second things had been fine—Garner walked into the meeting, welcomed by his contact. The first two pops of gunfire had been the only warning and not nearly sufficient.
An explosion. Screams. The chatter and bite of automatic weapons. Orders changed on the fly as everything went to hell. When the dust settled and quiet returned to that barren corner of the world, Ross had three men down along with Garner’s burned corpse. And not one thing close to an explanation.
It infuriated him to think Garner had been doing whatever he damn well pleased in the years since. How in the hell had he waltzed back into the states with no one the wiser? And what business had he conducted with the pharmaceutical company Allie used to work with?
He heard her rap on the open office door. “Dinner’s almost ready,” she said.
“Smells wonderful.” He turned, hoping the smile on his face would hold up. “Do you have a minute?”
“Always, for you.”
He clicked on the clearest current shot of Garner’s face, putting it on one half of his monitor and using Garner’s official head shot from his personnel record to fill the other half. “Do you know this guy?”
She peered at the screen. “He looks familiar. Can you give me some context?”
“Nicole thinks you might remember him from your work in Virginia.”