Page 34 of Saving Grace
“I’m so sorry this happened to you, Gracie,” he said softly, and then louder, “I’ll be honest with you. Right now, you’re useless on my team, but as your boss, you’re my responsibility.”
“I’m taking her off your hands,” Matt said roughly.
“She’ll be safer in D.C.”
“Do you know if there’s a threat against me?” I asked.
“Nothing specific to you,” Elliot said. “But before the bombing took over the news, the main headline was the extradition of Hector Vargas to the States, and you were one of the lead agents who took him down.”
Tension ratcheted up in the room.
I debated whether to tell him of my abduction, but Matt, sensing I was about to, took my hand and squeezed it.
I was utterly confused what to do, whom to believe and trust.
Trust no one.
“I think I’m safe here.”
“You’re taking an awful risk, Grace,” my boss said. “I know deLamar isn’t a threat. Yet. He works for himself and he’s no mercenary. However, he’s always been a wildcard and has had close dealings with the Carillo Cartel.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, Holden, Troy was the one who got me out when you overruled Grace and redirected the SEALs elsewhere,” Matt reminded him icily.
“You had wrong intel from Peña,” Elliot said. “I had updated intel and redeployed the SEALs to the right location, and they captured Vargas. Mission accomplished. You were a victim of wrong place, wrong time. Nothing more.”
Matt’s nostrils flared. “Feels good sleeping at night when you’re thousands of miles away, doesn’t it, Holden?”
“You understood the risks, Foster.”
“You had twelve SEALs at your command. Grace had recommended you send a team of four to help me. Roger had assembled a group of trusted Federal Police to back them up. We could have taken down Esteban Moreno and his sons.”
“Who’s Estaban Moreno?”
Matt smile was shark-like. “The current leadership of the Carillo Cartel. They took over when Hector Vargas was captured.”
I gasped at the revelation. No wonder Matt had hated me.
“If you’re accusing me of something, spit it out, Foster,” Elliot challenged tightly.
The two men glowered at each other. This was a lot of information to process, and I understood the basic animosity between them, but deeper explanations seemed to be on the other side of an insurmountable wall. I had hoped that seeing Elliot would unlock the pieces that teased the edges of my mind, but they remained elusive.
“Grace?” Matt’s concerned voice broke through my mental ramblings. “Do you remember anything?”
I wanted to scream in frustration as both men looked at me expectantly.
I shook my head. “No. And I don’t think I ever will.” I looked at Elliot. “You’re right. I’m of no use to you. I’ll let you know when I remember more.”
I pulled my hand out of Matt’s grasp and quickly exited the room.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Grace
Two steps forward, one step back.
Three weeks after Elliot came to Misty Grove, there was progress. Though his appearance didn’t trigger an avalanche of memories, it had, at least, started a trickle. However, what I was remembering didn’t favor a positive opinion of Matt. I’d get flashes of his insults and ridicule for what I did for the DEA. I knew they were mostly out of context, and I didn’t get the whole picture, but it did nothing to strengthen the already tenuous thread of my trust in him.
I clearly remembered one instance in his auto-shop office, so it must have been when I’d just arrived in Misty Grove posing as a journalist.