Page 81 of Near Miss

Nathan jacked up the volume and hit the speaker button. “Colonel, what’s up?” he said, calling Lucas by his former military rank rather than his current FBI title.

“Where’s Mackay?” Caldwell’s voice snapped with authority and a sense of urgency that had both Lachlan and Nathan jerking to attention.

Nathan shot Lachlan a questioning look.

Lachlan shook his head. He wasn’t ready for anyone to know he was alive. Not yet.

Nathan grimaced. “Dead, last time I checked. Why are you asking?”

“Cut the shit, Lieutenant. The police know it wasn’t Mackay in the car. He’s now a person of interest. And I got a call this morning from my contact in Scotland Yard. I put Roshan Haider on a plane to London as a favor to our SAS friend. Last night, the London Metropolitan Police found Haider with a bullet in his head.”

Nathan mouthed a string of silent curses.

Surprise rooted Lachlan in his chair. Burkette had gone to the UK to clean up loose ends. He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote in rapid strokes before shoving it across the desk.Tell him I’ve been framed.

Nathan blew out a heavy breath. “Look, it wasn’t Lachlan, I swear. Someone set our boy up to make it look like he was funneling weapons to Mohammad Razul Khan and then tried to end him before he could get to Kabul to rattle cages.”

“Whatever’s going on, Mackay is in a heap of trouble. I just got off the phone with Admiral Dane. Somehow he got his hands on a whole bunch of files from LAI, and none of it looks good for Lachlan. He’s asked me to open an official investigation.”

A strange roaring filled Lachlan’s ears. His breath gusted from his lungs like he’d taken a 50-caliber bullet to the chest. He glanced down, half expecting to see his insides exposed to the elements, his heart in a million jagged pieces.

Nathan watched him as if he were an unexploded grenade. He muted the phone. “Breathe, brother. I know what you’re thinking.”

“Admiral Dane is her best friend’s father.” Sophia had betrayed him. She’d gone behind his back and given the admiral information that would send him to prison.

Once this arms trafficking nightmare was over, he’d been ready to bury his past and learn how to banish his ghosts for good so he could live a normal life again.

For her.

He rubbed a hand over his face as the gravity of fatigue pushed his weary bones closer to the earth.

You bloody fool.Thom’s Brummie accent whispered from the beyond into his ear.You let a pretty face turn your head again.

Lucas continued. “The body in Lachlan’s car belonged to some kid who owned an auto detailing business. The police are treating it as a homicide. Whatever you two are up to, Mackay needs to come out of hiding and turn himself in. Now.”

Lachlan scribbled more words.Give me two more days. Then I’ll surrender.

Nathan held his stare, his mouth set in a grim line. Lachlan nodded and pointed at the paper.

Nathan swore. “If we haven’t come up with proof of Lachlan’s innocence by the end of the week, he’ll turn himself in.”

“This isn’t Afghanistan, Nathan. I may be unable to keep Lachlan from taking the fall this time.” Lucas hung up without saying goodbye.

Lachlan slammed his fist into his left thigh, the throbbing ache a welcome distraction from the pain in his chest. He limped to the kitchen and the burner phone Nathan had given him.

“Hello?” Sophia’s answer was tentative, as if she wasn’t sure who was on the other end. Nathan had programmed the number into her phone but put it under the name James Fraser, after some Scottish character in a TV show that women apparently wet their knickers over. Any other time, he’d appreciate the arsehole’s warped sense of humor.

“I need to see you. Meet me at my apartment.” He rattled off the address, struggling to keep his voice calm and his tone neutral to not alert her to anything amiss.

When he told her he knew of her betrayal, he wanted to see her face.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “The police are looking for you.”

Would she bring the police with her when they met? Was he baiting his own trap? Another reason not to meet at Nathan’s home. He wouldn’t put Nathan any more at risk than he already had. “I’ll be careful.”

“When do you want to meet?”

“One hour.” That would give him time to get there, recon his place in case the police had it staked out, and be waiting when she arrived. “I...miss you.” Emotion leached into his voice despite his iron control.Bloody Hell.Even knowing what she’d done, he wanted to see her, touch her, one more time.