Page 74 of Storm Warning

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And that’s why they needed to hand this off to someone else as soon as possible. Hawk had been pulled into this quagmire from two directions that had intersected.

Remi and Cole.

“I hope that John is recovering, because he knows about this,” Hawk said. “He needs to know what you just told me.”

John could be off the project now, but he was their best chance at containment.

“So, you want me to tell your former CO, John, what I’ve remembered.” She almost sounded incredulous.

That confused him. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“He questioned me. He followed me.”

“And there’s a good reason for that. Did he explain that to you? I heard you talking.”

She shrugged and shook her head. “He said he was protecting me.”

“You sound like you don’t believe him.”

“I don’t know what to believe.”

“Well, what we do know is that John is connected to this through his intelligence contacts. It seems to me he protected you.” If John had sent Hawk there for that purpose, he could have informed him. That didn’t sit right with him, but there were too many moving parts right now. He knew for sure that Cole was a big part of the chaos.

“But can you trust John, Hawk? We need to be absolutely sure.”

“I’m as positive we can trust John Marshall as I can ever be about anything. And handing this off is the best thing we can do. You can get back to your life.” He hoped. Remi had been put in a precarious situation by this Sergei Petrov. What had the guy been thinking? What an idiot. Scientists could be idiots, couldn’t they? He clearly was unaccustomed to clandestine operations and had dumped all the secretive intel on Remi, a civilian, because of proximity, fear, and pressure.

Once Remi was out of danger, then Hawk could focus solely on Cole. For what purpose, he was no longer sure. When John had given him the intel that Cole had gone to the dark side, Hawk had held on to hope that the information was inaccurate. But Remi’s story confirmed that Cole had been involved with this Sergei business from the start. He wasn’t simply a hired assassin. He could even be working with Whitman. Maybe it had been the plan to take the helicopter down before Petrov was in American hands. But they were missing a lot of information to know the reasons the extraction had been sabotaged.

“Can I really get my life back?” she asked. “How do you suggest I do that? Because from where I’m sitting, I don’t see it.”

“If we can hand this off and somehow transfer the information that makes you the target, then you can go back toyour lodge and still be there at the height of storm-watching season.”

Yeah. He was dreaming. When did things ever go that right? But a person had to dream sometimes to make it through.

“I’ll think about it,” she said. “But before I talk to him, I want to know more about it. I want to do some research of my own. What if there’s something more? Something else I need to do? Some agency I need to provide with this vital information?”

“I agree,” he said.

“You do?” She arched a brow as if agreement from him was foreign to her.

“Yes. That’s why...” He steered through the gated community of his condo.

“We’re back at your place?” she huffed. “Why? This place is already compromised.”

“Cole is on the run. I know my brother. He isn’t going to come back here.”

Could Hawk be absolutely positive about that? He hadn’t thought Cole would find it to begin with. And he didn’t miss Remi averting her gaze right after the slight roll of her eyes.

“How safe could it be if he found you and was able to break in?”

“While that’s a good point, it’s the safest place at the moment. And we’re here. You think because Cole has changed and he’s so different now that I don’t know him?”

Now that he said the words out loud, he doubted them. He didn’t truly know Cole. He didn’t understand what was going on. Regardless, he had already reviewed footage from the cameras around the area on his burner smartphone. Nothing. He did it again in case something had changed since he’d last checked. Usually he got an alert,but that didn’t always work. They should be safe here for the time being. His brother wasn’t here. According to his cameras, Cole hadn’t approached the condo. The suspicious vehicle that had set Hawk on edge had finally left. No one besides the few usual tenants who’d snatched up a condo deal in the old renovated warehouse had entered the parking lot.

They got out of the vehicle, climbed the stairs, and entered the condo.

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