Page 53 of Cast in Shadow
He didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded. They drove through lush farmlands amid rolling hills, working their way up into the mountains of Pennsylvania to a town called Pine Ridge. He looked really confused when she directed him to a local garage there.
“What are we doing here?”
“Trust me.”
He grunted and exhaled, not entirely pleased with the situation but willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Aggie got out of the rental and walked toward one of the open bays, where a large, muscular man with close-cropped black hair worked on a classic Chevelle. He looked up and tracked her approach.
Aggie heard the car door close behind her and knew that Zeke had spotted the guy, too, and decided to follow. The guy working on the Chevelle straightened slowly, assessing them both with the skill and experience of the operative he was.
She’d heard so much about Sean Callaghan from her brother. Mostly complaints. Though T respected the hell out of his former SEAL teammate, Sean was the one who had “compromised”—T’s word, not hers—one of his best agents.
“Can I help you?”
“I hope so. I’m looking for Nix.”
Outwardly, the man didn’t change, but the air around them seemed to cool about twenty degrees. His eyes went to Zeke, then back to her.
“Sorry, can’t help you.”
Rather than be deterred, she smiled. “Yeah, Taser said you’d say that.”
Sean’s intense blue eyes narrowed. “Taser? Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
Aggie continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Taser also said if you did say that, I should respond with, Honduras.”
His eyes widened almost imperceptibly.
“Sean, what’s going on?”
A woman came out from the bay and went up to the man’s side, slipping her hand into his back pocket. She was a little older than she had been the last time Aggie saw her, but she was still beautifully striking. Long jet-black hair. Lithe and toned. But it was her eyes, nearly colorless, like diamonds, that Aggie remembered most.
“Robin?” Nicki Callaghan—known to Aggie by her Chameleon name, Nix—said. “Is that really you?”
“Hey, Nix. Been a while, huh?”
“I’ll say! What are you doing here?”
“We could use some help.”
Aggie felt Zeke shift beside her, momentarily drawing Nix’s attention. Nix took in his hair, his piercings, his visible tatts, and then she looked back to Aggie and raised an eyebrow.
“He’s with you?”
“He is.”
“I approve,” Nix murmured. “Come on in. Let’s talk.” She looked back to Zeke. “You, stay here. Sean, baby, why don’t you take him down to the pub while Robin and I have a chat, will you?”
Without waiting for an answer, Nix turned and walked around the side of the garage.
Zeke reached out and touched her arm. “What the hell?”
“Go have a beer with Sean, okay? I got this.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Look, I know you have questions, but you’re just going to have to trust me.” Neither her brother’s nor Nix’s secrets were hers to share.
