Page 40 of Near Miss

What the bloody hell?A litany of curses sizzled on his tongue. He’d been searching for Khan’s supplier but never had he thought it would lead straight back to him.

“Are you trafficking weapons to Afghanistan?” Sophia’s voice trembled, her eyes a mirror into her thoughts: anxiety, disbelief, and a wee bit of anger.

“Let me make one thing clear.” Fury rolled over him like a tidal wave. “I may be many things, but I’m no’ a criminal nor a liar.”

“So you don’t have anything to hide.”

He had plenty of secrets but not this. “I’ll repeat, I’m no’ a criminal, and I won’t lie to you. You either believe me, or you don’t. Who else has seen this?”

“I…I don’t know. I don’t think anyone except Fred. He told me he’d discovered payments for weapons that weren’t reflected in the division summary you and I prepared.” Her lips thinned, the hints of green in her eyes becoming more pronounced. “I haven’t shown this to Jared yet if that’s what you’re worried about. Don’t make me regret my decision to bring it to you instead. My job is on the line now, not just yours.”

His head tipped in acknowledgment and respect. She could have hung him out to dry.He might not have extended her the same courtesy if their positions were reversed. Given the circumstances, he owed her the truth. “When I was in Afghanistan a few weeks ago, one of my former SAS mates told me about a rumor that a warlord with known ties to the Taliban was holding a weapons auction. The warlord has ties to several prominent Afghan leaders, so the Coalition can’t touch him unless we have proof he’s trafficking weapons and selling them to groups whose intent is to bring down the national government.”

He wheeled away, spearing his fingers through his hair. This was either a bad dream or the script for a bad movie. “I’ve been trying to unearth the identity of his weapons supplier so I could put a stop to the auction and expose Khan for the traitorous bastard he is.”

“It looks like you’re the weapons supplier.”

He pivoted back to face her, willing her to see the truth in his eyes. “I swear to you, I don’t know what’s happening, but I will get to the bottom of this. And as soon as I do, I’ll take it to Jared.”

Sophia was all that stood between him and a ruined reputation, or worse, time in an American prison. “Trust me.” The words sounded hesitant and rusty coming out of his mouth. He hadn’t used them in over two years, and they left a bitter taste on his tongue.

“Let me help you.”

“What?” He stared at her, not sure he’d heard correctly.

Her chin lifted. “I don’t think you would traffic weapons to a warlord. I want to help you unmask the person who did and clear your name.”

He’d just asked her to trust him, but could he trust her in return?

Not that he had much choice. If she took the information she’d found in Fred’s office to Jared, he’d likely be in FBI custody by the end of the day. Maybe Lucas would be the one reading him his rights. After all, he’d asked the other man to help him find Khan’s US supplier.

At least if Sophia betrayed him, it was only his life on the line and no one else’s.

A bitter laugh formed in his throat. He throttled it so she wouldn’t think he’d gone daft. He’d taken this job and brought Ryder on board so they could find a way to bring down Khan for his collaboration with the Taliban who’d ambushed their troop. Now someone was setting him up to look like an accomplice of the warlord instead. “Roshan Haider.”

Sophia’s forehead wrinkled. “What about him?”

“He runs an import-export business based in London but travels worldwide. He was just in Jalalabad, visiting Mohammad Razul Khan, the warlord holding the weapons auction.” The more he thought about it, the more sense it made, except—

“How would he be able to make it look like you were the one supplying weapons to Khan?” Sophia asked the question that had been forming in his head.

“He couldn’t.” The familiar sting of betrayal lanced his gut. “Not without help.”

“What are you going to do?” She bit her lip and sent him a wary look. Was she concerned for him or worried about what he might do next?

Before he could respond, his phone buzzed with an incoming text. He glanced at the message. Nathan had just sent him Haider’s hotel information. “I’m going to pay someone a visit.”

Chapter Seventeen

Roshanexitedtheelevatoron the fourth floor of the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown and turned right, strolling down the gray geometric patterned carpet to his one-bedroom suite. When he reached his door, he withdrew the room key from his wallet and tapped it against the digital lock. A cold satisfaction filled him. The ginger-haired woman, Sophia Russo, had undoubtedly gone running to Mackay. He’d seen the fear in her eyes, the realization that Roshan wasn’t a random stranger crossing her path.

Would Mackay be afraid?

Or would he not care?

He pushed open the hotel room door, his mind full of possibilities for his next move.

The scent of tobacco hit him first, a pungent, sharp odor in a room where smoking was prohibited. Shutting the door behind him, he ventured down the narrow hall to the living area in his suite and abruptly stopped, his heart pounding.

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