Page 58 of Breaking the Rules
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not James Bonding my way through assets if that’s what you’re asking. It’s just the kids of weapons dealers have looser lips around drunk party girl movie stars. Or a mogul’s lonely daughter needs a new BFF. Occasionally, Dante and I double-teamed targets. We’ve hacked phones, searched private offices, gotten information out of coked up entrepreneurs with shady business dealings.”
He took a slow deep breath and fought the pounding headache that suddenly appeared.
“It was a pretty strategic move on Brad’s part,” she continued. “The income from the contracts padded the studio’s bottom line, and Dante and I both received a cut. The organizations we worked for were happy to farm out some of their case load.”
“When you say ‘organizations,’ who do you mean exactly?”
“NSA, FBI, DIA, occasionally the CIA and the SEC. And I see the line is back between your eyes,” she noted.
Xavier closed his eyes. The idea was actually fascinating, but the fact that his Angel was taking assignments from the intelligence community destroyed any objectivity he had. A thousand scenarios raced through his head—ways things could have gone horribly wrong, had gone horribly wrong.
“So what happened in Tahoe?”
“The whole assignment to get close to Petra? It felt off. Usually there’s a clearly stated objective, but this time I was just told to befriend her and stay close. There were no further instructions. And after a few weeks, the studio told me to bring Dante into it.”
“Do you know why?” Xavier asked.
She shook her head. “I felt like the whole thing was off. Petra’s not into anything, and she’s not involved in her father’s business, so I didn’t think it was likely that she’d know anything. I assumed Grigory was the actual target, and Dante thought the same. So when Petra invited us to Tahoe, Dante decided to do a little digging.”
“So you got her out of the house while he went snooping,” Xavier filled in.
Waverly nodded. “Grigory had a locked study on the second floor. So I suggested a walk down to the lake.” She paused and took a sip of water before continuing on.
“The shooting started about five minutes after we left the house. The office door was open and riddled with bullet holes when I got back to the house.”
“So Dante got caught in the study?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think Petra’s security would have shot up the house like that or shot me for that matter. Their boss is an international mogul. He’s not going to want to be answering questions about two murdered houseguests.”
“So it was someone on the outside.”
“I think someone sent an armed team into that house, and I think they were after Petra.”
“But they got Wrede instead?”
Waverly scrubbed her hands over her face. She looked tired, frustrated. “I don’t know. He wouldn’t have gone easily.”
“Have you considered the possibility that Wrede was in on this? That he used his time alone to report to someone that he was in place?” If Wrede had played any role in Waverly being shot, Xavier would make him pay.
Waverly was shaking her head. “Dante wouldn’t do that. And if he was, he would have called them in when Petra was easily contained. In the middle of the night, probably. Not traipsing around in the woods. It wasn’t him,” she said firmly.
“Don’t let your feelings cloud your judgment,” Xavier warned her. It was a lesson every operative had to learn, and one that he still struggled with where Waverly was concerned. Objectivity with her was impossible. “He abandoned you in a firefight. That’s not what partners do.”
“Dante didn’t abandon me,” Waverly snapped. “He trusted me to do my job. I got Petra away from the house. If he didn’t come for me, there was a damn good reason why. A reason I was about to find out tonight when some moron mistook Petra and I for prostitutes.”
“I beg your pardon?”
She relayed what had happened on the sidewalk outside the club prior to his arrival. “Also, I owe you an SUV. Burke’s fine, thank God. That guy does not half-ass his job.”
Xavier stared at her and very slowly lowered his head to the cool countertop.
“Are you okay?” she asked cautiously.
“I think I need some time to process this,” he announced to the granite.
“I understand,” Waverly said.
He heard her pad around the island, felt her arms come around him. When she moved to release him, Xavier sat up and tugged her in to stand between his legs. He brushed a loose tendril back from her face and held her jaw gently. “Thank you for trusting me with the truth.”
