Page 55 of Undercover Shadow
She gathered her things and headed for the door, then paused with her hand on the frame. “We’re going to stop them. Whatever Labyrinth is planning, whoever Janus is—we’re going to stop them.”
“I know.”
She left, and I sat wondering how much longer we could keep working together like this—close enough to touch, but too broken to reach each other.
I was about to head outside for a walk when Vanguard appeared in the doorway.
“Got a minute?” he asked.
“What is it?”
He glanced down the corridor where Nightingale had disappeared, then stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him. “We need to clear the air.”
“About?”
“I would think that would be obvious.” He crossed to stand on the other side of my desk, meeting my eyes directly. “I want you to know that when Nightingale and I were in Syria, she let me know loud and clear that she wasn’t interested. When I asked if there was someone else, she said there was.”
I steeled my expression, even as my chest tightened. “Your point?”
“While she didn’t say it specifically, I got the impression it was someone she was in love with.”
I held Vanguard’s gaze, refusing to give anything away.
“For what it’s worth, if she was in love with me, I’d move heaven and earth to have her in my life.”
He walked out before I could respond, closing the door quietly behind him.
I remained where I was, his words echoing in my head.Move heaven and earth to have her in my life.I wished I could. But the vow I’d made when my father died still held me like iron, and I didn’t know how to break free.
Twenty-two hundred hoursfound me still at my desk, surrounded by evidence, trying to make sense of what we’d found beneath Glenshadow. How many other facilities were hidden down there? How many times had whoever was runningLabyrinth walked beneath my feet or Ash’s or Con’s while we remained completely oblivious?
The whiskey bottle sat within reach, but I refrained. I’d learned that lesson already.
A few minutes after midnight, my mobile rang with a call from Gus.
“Tell me you found something,” I said in lieu of a greeting.
“Every transaction funnels through Luxembourg before dispersing. I’m working on penetrating the shell structure, but this one isn’t as easy to hack into.”
“How long do you estimate it will take?”
“Days, maybe a week. These accounts have layers upon layers.” He paused. “I’ll send updates as I find them.”
The call ended, leaving me alone once again. I stood, needing air, movement, a change of scenery before I went mad staring at the same documents, hoping they’d reveal secrets they didn’t contain.
The library lights were on when I passed, warm against the darkness of the corridor. Through the partially open door, I could see Nightingale bent over the large table, maps spread in front of her, cross-referencing them with what looked like architectural surveys.
I should have kept walking and left her to work in peace.
Instead, I detoured to the kitchen, poured two cups of coffee, including one for me, from the pot Mrs. Murray had left warming, and returned to the library.
Nightingale was focused on tracing a line between two points with her finger and didn’t look up when I entered.
“Thought you might need this,” I said, setting a cup beside her.
She raised her head, and surprise flickered across her face. “Thank you.”
I took the chair beside her rather than across the table, close enough to see what she was working on, but not so close I’d be tempted to touch her. “What have you found?” I asked.
