Page 8 of No Reason to Trust

“No idea what happened there, either, Olivia. But apparently someone was worried about you. Someone thought you knew more than you did. Maybe whoever Nelson reported to told him not to send backup for you. That’s why he gave you my name as your backup when he knew I’d be out of town -- hoping you’d be killed and couldn’t report to anyone else that your backup didn’t show up.”

Olivia frowned. “I did tell Nelson that my backup didn’t show up. He said he’d look into it. It wasn’t too long after that he told me you’d resigned. I figured it was because you hadn’t shown up that day.”

Jake leaned toward her. Trying to make her see that he was being honest. Telling her the truth. “But I hadn’t resigned,” Jake said, frowning. “And that was a problem for Nelson and whoever he’s working with, because you were still working for the Bureau, too.” He tilted his head. “Did anyone pressure you to leave? Hint that your career wasn’t going anywhere since you’d screwed up that assignment?”

“No,” Olivia said slowly. “No one ever even mentioned it. But I felt as if I had a target on my back. Like everyone was talking about me. When I’d walk into a room, everyone immediately stopped talking. And I was concerned about my next undercover job -- afraid that the same thing would happen. That whoever was supposed to back me up wouldn’t show. I saw the handwriting on the wall, and I finally left. I’m really glad I did. I love working for Blackhawk Security.”

Jake put his hand over Olivia’s and was shocked to feel a spark fly from his hand to hers. He snatched his hand away and curled his fingers into his palm. “I’m glad you resigned, as well,” he said. “Because if you hadn’t, you’d probably already be dead. A tragic fatal accident.”

“So why are you still working for the Bureau?” Olivia asked.

“Because until you showed up here at The Trailhead, I had no idea there were issues at the Bureau. No idea you’d been set up.” Jake’s nails dug into his palm. “Might have to re-think that plan.”

“Maybe you do,” Olivia said. Her throat rippled when she swallowed, and he wanted to trace that muscle with his finger. Before he could act, Olivia leaned closer to Jake. “Are you going to keep working there?”

He raised one eyebrow. “Someone has to figure out who those other Russian assets in the Bureau are. Besides Nelson, of course. Because someone had to tell Nelson to send you into that meeting with no backup. There must be something you know that you don’t realize you know.”

Olivia sucked in a breath. “Yeah, since you’re still an FBI agent, you have to figure that out, but you can’t do it alone.” She swallowed hard. “And you can’t ask around,” she said, fear filling her eyes. “You can’t tap people on the shoulder and ask, ’Are you a Russian asset?’ That’d be a good way to end up in a shallow grave somewhere.”

“I think I can be a little more subtle than that,” he said, rolling his eyes.

She reached across the table and grabbed his wrist. Her fingers tightened on his skin, sending heat through his nerves. “You can’t trust anyone at the Bureau,” she murmured.

The sensation of her fingers on his arm made him shiver. He fought the impulse to run his fingers over the place she’d just touched. Finally managed to say, “There are a few people I trust. Men and women I’ve worked with.”

“Would you have trusted Cliff Kingsley?” she asked.

Jake tilted his head as he studied her. “Maybe,” he said, blowing out a breath. “But probably not. I never liked Kingsley. He always gave me the creeps. He liked to sneak up on people.” Jake shook his head. “Anyone who likes to sneak around like that? Makes you wonder why. What’re they trying to hide? Or overhear?”

“Yeah,” Olivia said. She let his wrist go, and he missed the pressure of her fingers on his skin. “Kingsley gave me the creeps, too. But I always thought it was because I was a woman and he had that… that predator vibe. He was always one step too close when he was talking to me. Pretty sure he did it to other women, as well.”

She tilted her head to study him. “You sure you’re still comfortable working for the Bureau?”

“To be honest, I’ve been thinking about getting out,” Jake said. “I’ve been an agent for fifteen years. Wouldn’t have a great pension, but I’d look for another job. And after hearing about how you were set up? About how you were almost killed? I might make the leap sooner rather than later.”

“I bet Mel and Dev would give you a job in a heartbeat,” Olivia said.

“Wouldn’t do that to you,” Jake said. “Force you to look at my ugly mug every day.”

Olivia waved her hand in the air. “Now that I know I was set up and you had nothing to do with it, I’d be fine working with you.” She leaned closer to Jake. “But before you quit, maybe you should work on finding out who the Russian assets in the Bureau are.”

“Yeah, that needs to be dealt with and I’d like to do it,” Jake lowered his voice, as if someone might overhear him. “But I’d need a partner, and I have no idea who can be trusted right now.”

“I think Diana Redfield can be trusted,” Olivia said.

Jake laughed. “Yeah, pretty sure she can be. But she’s not a field agent. She’s not going to dig around in the mud with me. She’s more of a big picture person.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Olivia said. She leaned closer to him. “I were you? I wouldn’t trust anyone at the Bureau to have my back right now,” she said.

“Hell, no,” Jake said immediately. “If one of my best Bureau friends offered to back me up, I’d turn him or her down. Only way to protect myself is to not trust a soul in the Bureau.”

Olivia sighed. “Kind of tough to do,” she said. “Most jobs, you work with a partner.”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “I know.” He tilted his head to study her. “Maybe I should talk to Mel and Dev and convince them to send someone to back me up. Low key. In the shadows. And by someone, I mean you.” He took a deep breath and leaned closer to her over the table. “You know more than anyone at the Bureau about what’s going on. You’re already up to speed. I don’t want to waste time convincing another agent that the threat is real. You already know the threat is real and how dangerous it is.”

“That’s a great idea,” Livvy said. “You make the request and I’ll make sure Mel sends me. In fact, why don’t we both talk to Mel and Dev before you have to go back to Washington? Lay out the facts for them. Convince them the threat is real. That Russian assets are hidden in the Bureau, and sooner or later, an agent is gonna be killed because of them.”

Jake stared at Olivia for a long moment. “That’s not a completely awful idea,” he finally said. “Why don’t you check with Mel and find out when we both could talk to her?”

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