Page 57 of Lethal Deceit

She huffs. “I don’t do programs. And I don’t do babysitting. But Silas says you’re worth the trouble, so I’m here.”

“And I’m just supposed to... trust you?”

She finally meets my eyes. “No. You’re supposed to trust that if we wanted you dead or dragged off, it’d be done already.”

I blink. “Wow. That’s... reassuring.”

“Wasn’t trying to be.” She leans back on her hands, watching me. “But I’m not your enemy. And neither is Hightower. Think of us as an ally.”

But I know better than to hope for allies. I don’t get allies—I get leverage and consequences.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” I say with a shrug, casual enough to pass for agreement, just enough to make her stop looking at me like she’s trying to see inside my head.

Twelve

Mick

Alone in the small back garden—if you could call it that—I stole the opportunity not to take a breath, but to call my CO back. The space is more novelty than nature: artificial turf curling at the edges, a few cracked stepping stones, and a cluster of garden gnomes with peeling paint and crooked hats standing like weary sentries beneath a faded umbrella.

Now I’m wishing I hadn’t made the call.

Commander Farrell didn’t bother with hello. He came in hard, voice sharp, clipped, escalating with every word.

By the time he was done, my ear was ringing and I was seriously regretting not taking Brooke’s advice.

“You compromised your credibility, you embarrassed the service, and you may have triggered an internal investigation,” Farrell snapped. “We’ve got Public Affairs scrambling to contain this mess. Your face is everywhere.”

I tried to explain—briefly, carefully—that I was trying to protect civilians, that this wasn’t some attention grab. But Farrell didn’t want to hear it.

“The chain of command exists for a reason,” he’d said, quieter, which was worse. “You don’t get to freelance with national security, Weston. The next call might come from Homeland.”

Now I’m standing in the middle of a fake yard with a phone hot in my pocket, and a dangerous woman inside who has been placed into my care.

A woman I just kissed.

Luke joins me outside, and he sits on a lawn chair and stretches out his legs. “Gave you a chewing out? Not surprising. I would have too.”

I hide my scowl. “Can I get away to the base?”

Luke hitches a single eyebrow. “That’s exactly where they’ll start looking for you.”

“They aren’t stupid enough to attack a base filled with Coast Guardsmen.”

“Why not? That’sexactlythe target they’re looking for. The bigger the better.”

“So, that’s a negative?”

He nods. “We’re still in the dark on way too many things. The biggest one is why you were chosen to get on that plane in the first place.”

This time I don’t bother to hide my emotions. “Samantha?—”

“Was paid to seduce you.”

I flinch.

“She told you?”

“I didn’t believe her.”

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