Page 30 of Broken Trust
“She’s good—real good. She hasn’t been here that long, but my guess is she’s even better than Denver.”
Mason’s chest swelled with what he could only call pride. When it came to computers and technology, Denver Malone was nothing short of a genius.
SEAL teams weren’t known for handing out undeserved praise, but clearly not even Denver’s shadow could conceal Elin’s brilliance.
Con looked to Sophie. “How does she interact with the other women?”
Sophie spread her hands on the table in a gesture of openness, much different from their meetings, when she often twined her fingers in frustration. “They haven’t all met Elin yet. They’re all busy with their own work, and she isn’t taking much time off.”
“She isn’t takinganytime off.” Mason’s tone sounded a little too harsh.
“And she’s comfortable on base?” Con asked.
Sophie nodded. “Appears to be. She said she’s used to a lot of travel and working with new people all the time.” She slanted a glance at Mason. “Honestly…”
“Go on,” Mason urged.
“I think she’s lonely.”
His gut clenched. “What makes you say that?”
She straightened, fingers linking in a way that made Mason wish he could see what was going on in the woman’s head. “After I told her about the bombs and asked her to assist in locating all twelve handlers, we had time to talk. And okay, we talked over drinks.”
Dante and Con waited for her to say more, and Mason forced himself to appear disconnected from the topic.
Fact was, even after spending the night with her, he was still on the outside. When he walked out of her life, he forfeited any right to be involved, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to hurl questions at Sophie.
“Vodka, neat,” he murmured.
Sophie’s head snapped up. Her nod confirmed what he remembered of Elin’s taste in alcohol. He remembered how she loosened up after a drink or two. How much did she share about their relationship?
“I explained that it might take months to find the other eleven handlers.”
Months of having Elin around. His throat clicked when he swallowed. “How did she react?”
“She said…” Sophie gave a small grimace. “She said that was fine. That she doesn’t have any people who would miss her. It doesn’t seem like she has anyone.”
Fuck.Guilt punched through him, knocking the breath from his lungs before he even saw it coming. He knew Elin led a life of isolation, her work being insular by nature.
He knew this.
And he’d left her.
How could he ever repair the damage he’d done? No amount of pleasure in between the sheets could ever make up for hurting her—for leaving her so alone.
A footstep in the hallway made the topic of Elin grind to a halt, but the pressure in Mason’s chest never let up.
Chase filled the doorway. “Our mark is in the interrogation room.”
Con pushed to his feet immediately. “Good. Dante, Mason, you’re with me. Mask up. We can’t let this guy see us.”
They rushed to follow orders. When he passed by Sophie, she touched his arm.
He gave her a nod to indicate he wasn’t upset that she now knew those things about his relationship with Elin. He was grateful that Elin had a supportive friend, especially now.
Within minutes, he, Dante and Con donned masks over the lower part of their face along with dark glasses. Chase opened the door for them, and they stepped into the room that was exactly like interrogation rooms all over the world. Plain walls. A table in the middle of the room with two chairs on either side.
The man sat in one, still hooded and visibly shaking.
