Page 28 of The Bodyguard

Sawyer caught her eye, his brows rising. They had never seen Jared spar like this with someone before.

Angela slapped the table. “Enough.” Jared and her mother finally turned their attention to her. “Surely the Feds didn’t hear what Pham’s people had to say and decide to sit and wait for more information.” She faced Parker on the video conferencing screen. “Could you find out if they’ve made plans to gather intel?”

“It’d go faster with a little help.” Parker eyed her mother.

“Fine.” Her mother picked up her cell phone and sent off several messages.

Jared gave the Senator an appreciative nod and told Parker, “We’ll wait.”

Parker’s video feed remained on but muted. He pressed a phone to his ear and turned to face another computer screen, typing as he talked.

Angela’s gaze dropped from Parker to Sawyer. The corners of his mouth lifted in a stealthy smile that made her feel like a million bucks.

Parker continued to work. Her mother returned to her phone and typed away. Jared and Sawyer had far more patience than Angela, though she’d guessed they’d had enough special forces gigs that required them to wait in places far less comfortable than Titan’s war room.

Finally, Parker returned and unmuted. “Good news.”

That phrase hadn’t lived up to all it could have so far today. She hoped he wasn’t just saying that.

“They have a possible informant, someone who shared a cell with Pham while his lawyers were kicking around the idea of an exchange.”

That news wasn’t especially great. Prisoners offered jailhouse gossip in exchange for better deals. That didn’t mean the gossip held a kernel of truth. Vetting the information would take more time than they had.

“They’ve also been trying to ferret an agent or two into Pham’s network, but no one’s confident they know enough about his system to make it work.” Parker frowned. “In short, we don’t know what Pham’s thinking. It’s a work in progress.”

Everyone looked as though they’d hit a dead end. She waited in disbelief for the moment that Parker, their resident genius, or Jared would realize the resources she possessed. They wanted to know about Pham’s network? She didn’t know the specifics yet, but she understood them completely. “The Feds can profile his thoughts, but I understand them.”

Her mother’s jaw ticked. Jared’s brow furrowed. And Sawyer—she couldn’t read his expression. Of everyone in the room, he was the one whose opinion she wanted to know. “I know Pham better than any agency. I lived his operations.” Angela inhaled deeply and mustered the courage to ask for what she needed. “I can do whatever the Feds are trying to do. I should be the one who’s in the thick of his network, hunting for someone who might be going through what I lived through.”

Sawyer’s brow furrowed. “Ange, his network is trying to find and kill you. You’re not the person that should step into this role.”

She deflated but only for a moment. He didn’t say she couldn’t do it, only that she would be spotted. But he was wrong. Angela shook her head. “If that’s what everyone thinks, then that shows how little you understand his network. Pham’s network is like a corporation. Like a bank. The people who specialize in murder are not the same people who work on money laundering.”

No one said anything.

“He had an entire staff of people who took care of me. They brought me meals. Books. Everything I could think of. They were housekeepers and chefs, assistants. Those are not the people on high alert, searching for me, trying to kill me.” She eyed each person in the room. “Whatever undercover identity the Feds have, I can do it better than what they’re trying for without even being read into the profiles they’re creating.” Angela faced Boss Man. “I want in on this. I need it.”

“Angela,” her mother warned under her breath.

But she didn’t look away from Boss Man. “Let me in on this. Please.”

“Angela,” her mother said more forcefully. “You’re asking for a lot. You’reriskinga lot. And I don’t know if you know what you’re doing.” She shook her head. “This isn’t who you are.”

Her heart lurched.

“With all due respect, ma’am,” Sawyer said, “I don’t think you know Angela, who she is, or what she can do.” He focused on her. “Is this who you are? What you want to do?”

His defense had tied her throat into a double knot. From the moment that Titan had rescued her from Pham, she had controlled every aspect of her life. Now, she’d asked Jared to let her work a nonexistent assignment, searching for an unknown person, without an hour of operative training. She had no idea who she was at the moment.

“It’s what I need to do,” she replied.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The hotel had several pools. This one was for staff. It was slightly larger than what might be in a suburban backyard. Swimming short laps didn’t lessen Angela’s frustration. She’d planned to swim laps until Jared was ready to talk about infiltrating Pham’s network, but her mind had other plans. Paul took center stage as soon as she sliced through the water.

He called her frigid. That bothered her more than the marriage proposal. A marriage proposal could be expected after more than a decade together. But frigid? The accusation was a cheap shot at the very least and, in the worst case, something he believed.

Angela reached the end of the pool and kicked underwater to turn. Maybe she thought he was frigid. Paul didn’t flirt. He never said sexy things. He didn’t make a move. Their intimacy, however stilted it might have been, progressed appropriately initially. Dates. Kisses. A weekend away. An overnight meant sex. They had sex. There had never been an overwhelming desire. They weren’t a tear-your-clothes-off-and-screw-against-the-wall kind of couple. Angela wasn’t even sure that existed outside of movies.

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