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So far, the investigation was raising more questions than answers. The similarities between Titan and Apex might mean something, or they might not. We needed more information before drawing any conclusions. But the more I stared at the data, the more convinced I became that we were looking at this all wrong.
At nineteen hundred hours, I was beat. Dragon and Alice never returned to the command center, which pretty much summed up how the day had gone.
I headed back to Granite Ridge, kicking a fallen branch off the path harder than necessary. This wasn’t how partnerships were supposed to work.
The frustration reminded me of my last months at the agency, when trust became a liability and sharing information could end not just your career but maybe your life. Atticus and I had watched the place tear itself apart after the director and his cronies were indicted in a massive conspiracy that had taken place over the course of years and involved the deaths of several agents. Suddenly, nobody trusted anybody.
“Remember when we could actually do our jobs?” Atticus had said one day, after our third partner in six months got reassigned for “security concerns.”
“You mean when we could share intelligence without three levels of authorization and fear of being burned?” I’d replied.
We’d submitted our resignations the following week.
I reached my cabin and grabbed a beer from the fridge, settling on the front porch and thinking about the call I’d received from Doc Butler that changed my life completely.
“No politics, no bureaucracy, just competent people doing intelligence work,” he’d said.
Those early assignments reminded me why I’d gotten into the spy business. Tracking down human traffickers and working with operators who knew the difference between cover-your-ass paperwork and actual results.
Then, when Admiral, who Atticus and I knew from an assignment at the FBI, formed K19’s newest unit, Sentinel Cyber, I thought I’d found the perfect team. Alice’s technical genius, Atticus’ analytical mind, my financial background—we clicked immediately. For over two years, we’d handled investigations I was damn proud of.
“This unit works together like we’ve been doing it for decades,” Admiral had said after we solved a major case.
He wasn’t wrong. There were no secrets, no compartmentalization, no protecting each other from difficult information. It was what made us effective.
I took a long pull from my beer, staring across the lake. That perfect unit had lasted exactly until Dragon walked through our doors.
For a year, I’d been fighting my attraction to someone who made it clear she wanted nothing to do with me outside of work. Now, on our first real assignment as partners, she was doing exactly what had destroyed the agency and what she’d accused me of. She was shutting me out, making unilateral decisions, and keeping secrets.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I’d left the CIA because I couldn’t stand working in an environment without trust. Now, the woman I was falling for was creating the same dynamic.
I finished my beer and headed inside. Tomorrow, there would be briefings and new developments. Tonight, I was left wondering if Dragon would ever trust me enough to let me be the partner she deserved.
Or if I’d spend the rest of this investigation—and maybe every one that came after—on the outside, looking in.
8
DRAGON
My phone’s alarm jolted me awake at zero five hundred, the sound cutting through restless dreams. I blinked at the ceiling for a moment before reality crashed back—CIA briefing, Washington, returning to a world I’d hoped never to see again.
I forced myself out of bed and into the shower, hoping the hot water would wash away my anxiety. By the time I’d dressed and was headed out the door, at least my hands had stopped shaking.
Alice was waiting at the helipad when I arrived. While her typical wardrobe could be best described as “chic hippie,” she’d toned it down for today’s meeting.
“Been a while since I’ve done this,” she commented as we climbed into the helicopter.
God, what a friend I was. I hadn’t even asked if she felt well enough to travel. “Should we postpone? Or I could go alone.”
“I’m better than yesterday, actually.” Alice settled into her seat. “The helicopter motion doesn’t seem to bother me as much as car rides.”
“Good to know for future trips,” I said.
The flight to Griffiss International Airport took twenty minutes, during which we reviewed our key points. About halfway through the flight, Alice’s phone buzzed.
She looked at a message on her cell. “I just received word from Tex about those trends he recognized.”
I buckled into my seat as the pilot began his preflight procedures. “Yeah?”
