Page 18 of No Reason to Trust

She glanced at the pizza boxes, pulled them toward her and opened them. “Help yourself. The pizza’s getting cold.”

As they ate, Diana said, “I’ll talk to my counterpart at the NSA. See if he can set up a sting operation to lure Nelson into the open.” Her jaw twitched as if she were holding herself in check. “Ican’t do it, because that would tip Nelson off that I’m suspicious. Any Russian asset at the Bureau has a lot of information sources. But another agency? No one from the FBI would have access to their information or plans.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Livvy said. “We didn’t want to ask for help from any of the agents at the Bureau, because we have no idea if Nelson’s working alone.” She frowned. Glanced at Jake, who nodded to her, like they had some kind of psychic connection and he knew exactly what she was thinking. “Neither of us think Nelson’s the only one at the Bureau,” she finally said. “But since we have no idea who the others might be, we didn’t want to ask around. That would be guaranteed to send any Russian asset burrowing deep underground. We figured you’d have some ideas, as well as resources that we don’t have.”

Diana clenched her teeth, and rage flashed in her eyes, quickly hidden. “Jake, keep your mouth shut. If Nelson pushes you to go to Sheepshead Bay and meet with a group there immediately, stall him. Tell him you don’t do anything undercover until you’ve done due diligence. Then leave. You and Olivia go to Sheepshead Bay and check out this group. Keep me in the loop.” She glanced at Livvy. “Olivia has my personal phone number. She’ll give it to you. Use it if you need to reach me, anytime. Day or night.” She turned and walked into what had to be her home office. Opened what sounded like a safe, closed it again and came out holding two credit cards. “Take these and use them in Sheepshead Bay. In case Nelson is tracking you via your agency card.”

“Thanks, Diana,” Jake said, taking one and handing the other to Livvy. “We’ll leave tomorrow for Sheepshead Bay to check out the group there. Once we suss it out, I’ll probably take the meeting, but Olivia will back me up.” He clenched his teeth together. “I’m pretty sure Nelson’s plan was to have this group kill me. I won’t let that happen.”

“And neither will I,” Livvy said.

Diana put her hands on the table. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention,” she said. “If I get more information, I’ll let you know. It would be helpful to know who the other Russian assets are.”

“Yeah, it would,” said Livvy. “But bottom line? We don’t trust anyone at the FBI right now.” She forced a smile. “Present company excluded, of course.”

Diana’s smile was forced. “Keep me updated,” she said. She leaned across the table. “And please, please watch your backs. Watch each other’s backs.”

“Already planning on that,” Jake said as he pushed away from the table and held out his hand to Diana. “Thank you so much for listening to what we had to say,” he said.

“And believing us,” Livvy added.

Diana narrowed her eyes. “My FBI agents are the best law enforcement team in the world,” she said. “I will always trust them.” She pressed her lips together. “Until I get proof that I can’t.”

Olivia nodded. “With a little luck, I think we’ll be able to get you that proof,” she said.

Diana’s gaze shifted from Livvy to Jake. Back to Livvy. “If you two can’t do it? I’m not sure who could.”

With murmurs of thanks, Jake reached for the front door. Snatched his hand back before he could open it. Diana murmured, “Good thinking, Jake. Better not to go out that door, in case someone’s watching.”

She nodded toward the kitchen. “Go out the back. I’ll show you the best way to get back to your car.”

Livvy wanted to look out the window, see if anyone was in a car outside Diana’s door. But instead, she walked toward the kitchen with Jake.

Diana stopped at the door that led into the backyard. “Cut through my yard, then the one to the left.” She glanced at them. “Is that the street where you parked your car?”

“Yes, it is,” Livvy said.

“Good.” She smiled. “The neighbors in that yard kitty corner to the left? They’re out of town. No one’s staying at their house. All the neighbors keep an eye on it for them. Cut between it and the house to the right of that one, then you’ll be on the street where you parked your car. Get in and get out of the neighborhood. And watch for a tail on your way back home.”

“We were doing that on the way here,” Jake said. “Didn’t spot a thing.”

“Hope it’s the same going home.” She nodded at each of them. “Call me every day, so I know you’re okay. And stay safe.”

“We’ll keep each other safe,” Livvy said.

Diana’s gaze touched on Livvy’s face, then on Jakes. “Yes. Please do that.” She lowered her voice. “Thanks for trusting me with your concerns.”

“No one else we’d go to,” Olivia said.

“Thank you for your trust,” Diana said. “It means a lot to me.”

They both nodded at Diana, then began running through the backyards until they came to the space between the two houses Diana had pointed out. When they reached the edge of the houses, they waited for a long moment. Listened. When they heard nothing, they cautiously scanned the street.

Seeing nothing, they walked to Livvy’s rental car. Slid inside and locked the doors. Then they headed back to Jake’s apartment. As Livvy drove, Jake kept watch in the side mirror for anyone following them.

When they reached Jake’s apartment and he unlocked the door, Jake stepped inside and signaled for Livvy to pull out her gun and go into the kitchen and living room. Pulling out his own Glock, he walked toward the bedrooms. He checked both bathrooms, and when he saw that Livvy was in her bedroom, he checked his own bedroom.

“All clear,” he said as he stepped into the hall. He swung open the folding doors to the hall closet and peered between the coats. “No one here,” he said.

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