Disavowed(14)

And so yeah, he really didn’t like the idea of his CO alone and unguarded with that woman.

With a snort of laughter Cruz reached up and scrubbed his knuckles against the top of Nate’s head. “Don’t worry, Doc, he’ll be okay.”

Nate grunted and batted his hand away, his narrow-eyed gaze pinned on the glowing taillights two vehicles ahead. With the seven of them following close behind, DeLuca had plenty of backup should he need it. If that woman tried anything funny, she wouldn’t make it down the mountain alive this time.



****



Only ten minutes into the drive and the tense silence was already beginning to grate on her nerves. Briar was used to working alone and often went a week or more without human contact, which was fine by her. Being trapped in this SUV with DeLuca, the lack of control over the entire situation, was making her crazy.

She shifted gingerly in the seat and pulled on the strap of the seatbelt where it kept digging into the bandage above her hip. At least her hands were free and she had a weapon again. Her 9mm SIG was strapped to her thigh in its custom-made holster. Her sniper rifle was stowed in the back with the rest of her gear. She didn’t have much—the rest she’d left in a stash she’d hidden on the mountain that she obviously wouldn’t be getting to any time soon. Still, the cold weather gear, weapons and ammo were good enough to get her to the safe house.

“So,” he said as he steered down the icy gravel road that wound its way down the mountain. His team was following them in two other SUVs. The others would accompany them for a few miles up the highway past Golden, just in case anyone tried to follow them, then head back toward Denver while she and DeLuca continued on. “Where are we headed?” She didn’t miss the underlying sarcastic edge to his seemingly pleasant tone.

Her eyes darted about the cab of the truck. She’d already watched him turn off his phone and take the battery out of it, but… “How do I know there are no bugs in here?”

He shot her an incredulous look and raised one dark eyebrow before looking back at the road. “Seriously?”

She shrugged, not caring if he thought she was overly paranoid. He hadn’t been shot by an unknown sniper and his life wasn’t on the line here. She wasn’t going to apologize for being suspicious and even his team couldn’t know their final destination. Her so-called paranoia had kept her alive so far.

He sighed. “There aren’t any hidden microphones anywhere, unless you count the Bluetooth system and since I already disabled my phone, I won’t be using that. So again, where to? Denver? Boulder?”

“Glenwood Springs.”

“Where’s that?” he asked, frowning.

She looked out her window, fighting the urge to fidget. They were just outside of Golden now. She’d left her getaway vehicle a few miles west of this very road, tucked away off an access road in the woods. She’d been careful not to leave prints behind but she’d intended to give it a thorough wipe down tonight after the op. The chances of anyone finding her DNA or prints in it were minimal but she still felt uneasy leaving it there.

“About two-and-a-half hours west. In this weather, could be double that,” she said. It was already almost one in the morning. They should be able to get to the safe house before the sun came up.

“Have you been there before?”

“Yes.”

When she didn’t say anything else he gave a humorless laugh. “Can I at least get your real name now? You know, since we’re about to be stuck together for a few days at least?”

With his security clearance and background she decided it wouldn’t hurt to tell him that much about herself. “Briar. Jones.”

He flashed her another dubious look. “Is Jones really your last name?”

“Yes.” Not the one she’d been born with, but he didn’t need to know that or anything else about her past. As far as she was concerned, once he got her to the safe house and Janaia—he’d been told her name was Lily—arrived, his obligation would be fulfilled, then he could leave and they’d never see each other again.

“Who do you think’s after you?”

“I already told you, I don’t know.” Coupled with what Deputy Assistant Harrison and Janaia had said on the phone, that unknown was enough to make her stomach churn with worry. Other little pieces of the puzzle were bothering her too. Someone had intentionally leaked Ramadi’s location to the Feds, knowing she’d already be up here hunting him.

Maybe the same person who’d sent the sniper after her. It was too much of a coincidence for it to be anything but a setup. But why? Why would someone from her own agency want her dead?