Page 7 of Broken Trust
“She was gathering intel for my team before a strike.”
Con folded his arms, something like understanding flickering in his eyes. “You had a relationship?”
How the hell was he supposed to answer that? Friends sometimes turned into something else. Something bordering on real.
“She received my flag and effects.”
“Fuck.”
Mason nodded. Of course Con grasped the gravity behind that statement.
“This might get tricky.” Con pushed out a sigh.
“I get the feeling she’s pretty pissed I’m still breathing.”
The corner of Con’s lips lifted. “You think?”
“What are my orders?” He rolled his shoulders, but it did nothing to ease the tightness coiled there.
“If I tell you to say away from her, will you?”
“I’ll try. But you and I both know we’re going to have to talk.”
Con studied him for a moment. “Try to stay focused.”
“Copy that.”
Con started toward the door.
“Any advice?” Mason called after him.
He swung, a spark of amusement on his face. “Yeah. Try not to die. Sounds like you’re about to hold your funeral for real, man.”
He left, and Mason stood alone in the room, his pulse thundering harder than it did in combat. He’d faced enemy fire, explosions and the ghosts of some missions gone wrong.
Now he was about to face something more dangerous.
The woman he’d left behind.
* * * * *
Elin’s mind was whirring, spinning like a hard drive about to crash.
Sophie and Dante were talking—something about encryption protocols and back door access points—but their words barely registered. She nodded at what seemed like appropriate intervals and murmured agreement when Sophie paused for confirmation, but she hardly heard a damn word they said.
Liam was somewhere in this enormous mansion.
The base itself had surprised her. She’d expected some underground bunker, all concrete and fluorescent lighting, the kind of sterile military compound she’d seen in movies. Instead, they’d brought her here with a black hood over her head to disorient her—to a mansion. An actual mansion with high ceilings, crown molding and windows that probably overlooked manicured grounds she hadn’t been allowed to see yet.
The special operative named Dante mentioned the base in passing while setting up her workspace. The government had seized the property years ago, some white-collar criminal’sestate forfeited after a lengthy trial. Rather than auction it off, they repurposed it.
And this computer lab was nothing less than a dream to a hacker like Elin. If only she could concentrate on something besides Liam.
“Elin?” Sophie’s voice cut through her spiraling thoughts. “Did you catch that?”
“Yes,” Elin lied smoothly, pulling her focus back to the monitors in front of her. “Absolutely.”
Sophie’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t push. Smart woman. She’d probably figured out that something was very wrong with their new consultant, but she was professional enough not to pry.
