Page 74 of Gwen's Delta
Merlin didn’t blame her. They put their lives before their daughter’s. It was wrong on so many levels, and he’d like nothing more than to show Arthur Dedmond just what he thought of him. It was the primary reason he’d avoided a committed relationship. It gave the enemy leverage. That they were field agents and had a child blew his mind.
They pulled up in front of the safe house, and Merlin helped Gwen out.
“I wish I didn’t have to leave you, but I’ll be back as soon as possible. Zip will get you patched up, and then, you should rest. I have a few things to take care of.” Merlin pulled her into his arms for a kiss.
“Go, do your job, just don’t be a hero. You need to come back to me,” Gwen said with a nod. “I’ll be waiting.”
“You are amazing. Listen to Zip. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Zip jumped out of the front passenger seat. “Let me know what you find out.”
“Copy that. Take care of her,” Merlin said with an edge to his voice he couldn’t control.
“I’ll keep her safe.”
Chapter 20
As their CIA driver headed toward the black site, Merlin seethed in the front seat of the van. He didn’t know their destination, and he didn’t really care. The Dedmonds had tried to get the Deltas to answer their questions, but none of them did. The tension in the vehicle was palpable.
Livid that they’d put their daughter in danger, Merlin figured it was better to stay quiet than risk his career. Soon enough, he’d have to give in and speak to them, but with any luck, he’d have control of his temper by then. It was ironic that Gwen had totally destroyed his control. Or maybe it wasn’t.
The Dedmonds had a lot to explain, starting with how Sand played into this clusterfuck—because Merlin knew without a doubt that Sand was knee deep in it. If there was any good here at all, the Dedmonds would know the location of the pending bombing. If not, then hopefully, the interrogators could get it out of the tangos they’d captured.
Finally, the van slowed down and pulled around the back of a rundown building in an older section of Cairo. It appeared to be deserted and the perfect location for a black site. No doubt why it had been selected. Merlin couldn’t imagine anyone noticing them or calling the local authorities.
“You can’t hold us. We are Americans,” Arthur Dedmond demanded for the fifteenth time.
“When you get inside, you can talk to the agent-in-charge. It’s up to him,” Merlin responded coldly.
“And what about your daughter? You haven’t even asked what will happen to her,” Duff said.
It surprised Merlin that of all the team members, Duff was the one to speak first. He couldn’t wait to hear the answer.
“It was a mistake,” Arthur said. “She shouldn’t have been here. We’ve always made sure she was separate from all of this.”
“And you didn’t think anyone would find out you had a child? What about your parents? Did you think about what they’re going through?” Merlin asked.
“You don’t know anything about our family,” Stacey Dedmond responded.
“If you’re smart, you’ll be quiet. You’re poking the tiger,” Woof said as he unhooked the three tangos in the back and pulled them out of the van.
Duff and Jangles helped drag the men into the building.
“C’mon, your turn.” Merlin waited for the Dedmonds to give him any trouble as he led them inside.
Gwen’s parents exchanged glances and looked uneasy. Finally, an emotion other than outrage appeared on their faces. There were some orders he wished he could ignore, and turning the Dedmonds over to the CIA for debriefing was one of them. But they needed to uncover the details of Rashad’s plot. Time was not on their side, and that was the only reason the CIA allowed the Deltas in the debriefing instead of sending them back to the safe house to await their orders.
Their driver entered a code and leaned into the eye scanner next to a metal door. Merlin hadn’t expected the sophisticated set-up. There must be a lot of covert activity in the area.
After verifying his ID, the door unlocked, and they stepped into the building and stopped at the security checkpoint. The guard on duty nodded to their driver and picked up the phone to alert whoever.
Frustration tightened Merlin’s shoulders, and when he glanced over at the rest of his team, they didn’t look any happier. This was taking too long. There was a bomb waiting to detonate somewhere in the city. Finally, three agents walked through another door and took the tangos—hopefully to an interrogation room.
Another showed up to take their group through another door and down a hallway. The agent stopped at a door and let them into a conference room. It surprised Merlin that they’d left the Dedmonds with them instead of taking them to another room for a debriefing.
“Do you want to share what the hell is going on?” Merlin asked the Dedmonds, his voice cold as ice. “Because Sand sure as fuck hasn’t.” He was finished with waiting for the CIA to make a move. Without having to worry about Gwen’s safety, he was in full operations mode.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Arthur Dedmond responded.
