Page 34 of Cast in Shadow
“What makes you think anything’s wrong?” she asked easily.
“Besides the fact that you look like you went ten rounds with a UFC fighter?”
“It’s not that bad. You should see the other guy.”
“Seriously, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It looks worse than it is.”
He snorted.
“I’m fine. Listen, T, I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I need you to find out what you can about a woman who goes by the code name Charley.”
He raised a perfect eyebrow, but otherwise, he didn’t seem surprised by the request. “Isn’t cyberstalking your thing?”
She shook her head. “Under normal circumstances, yes, but this is different. I’m pretty sure she’s associated with a secret society. Way, way off the books. That’s more your area of expertise than mine.”
His eyes practically glowed. “Why are you asking about an operative?”
“She sent a mercenary to find me and bring me in for a chat.”
His lips quirked. “No one finds you unless you allow it.”
“Usually, that’s true, but not in this case.”
“Do you know why she wants you?”
“Probably for my mad skills,” Aggie replied without a trace of arrogance. Her brother knew exactly how good she was. “Want to hear the weirdest thing?”
“Hit me.”
“She knew where I was, and she somehow connected enough dots to associate me with prior, seemingly unrelated, socially-fortuitous events.”
“That is weird.”
Seconds ticked by in silence.
“Is Charley one of yours, T?”
“No.”
“Is she a friend of yours?”
“You know I don’t have any friends.”
His eyes held amusement, and that was when she knew. Her brother had been keeping tabs on her.
“Why?” she asked. “Not that I’m not appreciative, but I thought we had an agreement not to stick our noses in each other’s business unless warranted.”
“We do, but this was warranted. You inadvertently stumbled into a work in progress and ended up on the radar.”
“How so?”
“The mill’s union leaders recently appeared on the FBI’s organized crime watch list. A task force was working with a source on the inside.”
