Disavowed(12)

“I need you to take B out of there immediately while I assess the threat and do some digging. She’ll direct you to a safe house—”

“What? You want him to take me?” B’s eyes were wide with alarm and incredulity as she stared first at the phone, then Matt. “You can’t be serious,” she protested, a scowl on her face. “I’ll be out of here as soon as they patch me up and contact you from the safe house. I can handle myself, I don’t need anyone to—”

“Rycroft vouched for him and that’s good enough for me. Until I know who was after you, you’re going to ground. And with you wounded and the shooter still likely in the area, I’m not taking any chances so you’ll accept the protection. Agent DeLuca, I’ll get this cleared with your superiors and have them confirm it with you. B will handle the rest. And B, I know you don’t like this but this one time you need to trust someone else, at least temporarily. DeLuca has Top Security clearance, he was a Corps Scout Sniper, and—”

“I know,” she muttered, glaring up at him as if this fuckup was somehow his fault.

Matt had heard enough and wasn’t about to be ordered around by whoever the hell this Lily person was. “I don’t know who you are, but I’ve got a dead tango inside the cabin that B so thoughtfully took care of for us and I don’t take orders from you.”

B’s eyes flashed and her mouth thinned. “I can take care of myself.”

He looked pointedly at her wound then back at her face and raised an eyebrow. Not at the moment, sweetheart.

Lily let out an aggravated sigh. “Agent DeLuca, off the record, I think we could be dealing with a matter of national security here. I’ve already contacted your superiors—”

As if on cue, his second line rang. This time it was the Deputy Director of Counterterrorism. Shit. “Got another call,” Matt said.

“I’ll wait,” Lily answered. “Tell Keith I said hello,” she added.

She was on a first-name basis with the Deputy Director of Counterterrorism? Who the hell was this woman? Goddammit… Matt switched lines and answered. “You heard the news?” he said dryly.

“Yes. Did Lily call you?”

He’d bet every penny of his small but hard-earned pension that Lily wasn’t even close to her real name. Fuck, if he’d wanted to play this cloak-and-dagger shit, he would’ve joined the CIA. “I’ve got her on the other line.”

Harrison grunted. “We need you and your team to guard B. Only she and Lily know the location of the safe house. Disable all your electronics before you leave, and you’re solely responsible for her. Brief your team and get her out of there. I’ll handle everything else. You’re both going dark, I’m talking Stone Age, until we get to the bottom of all this. If anyone shows up at the safe house, shoot first and ask questions later.”

Matt frowned. “What the hell’s going on, Keith?”

A pause. “We’re getting word from another agency that they might have a leak that needs plugging.”

Matt watched B’s gaze sharpen at the words. He was ninety-nine percent certain they were talking about the CIA. A leak that involved taking out a fellow agent to cover it? Serious shit. He pushed out a breath. “That all you’re gonna tell me?” You know, since they expected him to put himself in harm’s way to protect her and all.

“It’s all I can tell you, for now, except that there could be some big players involved so right now it’s a matter of damage control and limiting the number of people in contact with her. I’m assigning you for a reason. As of this moment you’re officially on paid leave. Have Jack take over the investigation before you leave and don’t tell anyone what’s going on.”

When the Deputy Director of Counterterrorism gave you an order like that, you didn’t argue. But Christ, this was already a fucking nightmare. Matt glanced at B. From the look on her face she was every bit as unhappy about this as he was. There was a small measure of satisfaction in that, he supposed. “There’s a bad storm coming in. Roads are going to be impassible in a couple hours.”

“So you’ll need to get moving.”

“Yes, sir,” he said grudgingly, then ended the call and got back on the line with Lily. “You still there?”

“Yes. What did Keith say?”

“Keith told me I’ve been demoted to babysitter for the foreseeable future and to keep my mouth shut about it.” Hooray.

“Perfect. B, you contact me through secure channels when you’re squared away.”