Page 26 of Shadow Lies

“Not yet, but soon.”

“Kane, what if Charley can expunge your record? Mine too?” She looked so hopeful, even after all that had happened, he felt sorry for her.

She’d learn. If life hadn’t completely knocked her down yet, it soon would.

He shook his head. “She can’t.”

“What if she can?” she breathed out.

They were still on this? She was still trying to get him to take this Charley person’s job? “Alexis, I’m not a SEAL anymore. I don’t have to kill people because I’m ordered to.”

“She’s right though. How is this different than Osama?”

“It’s different because I have no intention of killing a man for some nameless woman or organization. Jesus, Alexis. I’m not a hitman.”

“But—"

He shook his head and cut off her protest with a single word. “No.”

“But Kane, he’s a bad man.”

“He might be thewrongman,” he said more loudly than he’d meant to. “Alexis, how do we know? Your boss sure thought the guy who I put two bullets in was the right guy until you told her different.”

“Oh, my God.” Her eyes flew to his. “Kane, it’s my fault. I’m the one who got you in trouble. If I hadn’t found those inconsistencies. If I hadn’t brought it to the director’s attention, everyone would have thought you took out the right guy. You’d still be a SEAL.”

“Lexi, stop. It’s not your fault.”

“It is—”

“It’s not. It’s the fault of the bastards in both your organization and mine who don’t have the balls to own up to their mistakes and would rather save their own skin and pass the blame. Even if it means setting someone up for something they didn’t do. And if that’s who’s in charge, we’re both better off out of those jobs.”

She seemed to think of something. Her eyes narrowed and she reached for the cell.

“Let me show you something.” She powered off the phone, then powered it back on, turning it to face him. “Watch.”

He did watch and saw what looked like the Navy SEAL trident dissolve and morph into almost the same logo but featuring a phoenix rising from flames instead of the standard eagle.

“What is this?” He shook his head.

“The phone Charley gave me. Kane, what if she was burned by the government too? What if she now works for—or hell, maybe is in charge of—an organization that works outside of official agencies?”

“And what if she’s just CIA, or whatever, and wants to use you and me as scapegoats—again—because she knows we have nothing left to lose and might actually accept her crazy assignment?” he countered.

Alexis shook her head. “I don’t know. This doesn’t feel like agency. It’s not how they do business.”

“Well, you should know,” he said, sharpness in his tone.

“Hey, I was just as burned by this Warner Group thing as you were.”

“Yes, you were. So let’s forget about it and get on with our lives, shall we?” he said.

“Can you? Because I can’t.”

“I can.” He could and he had.

“How?” she asked, looking truly perplexed.

“How?” He let out a short laugh. “I eat. I sleep. I fight.”

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