Disavowed(88)

He focused his attention back to the briefing and what DeLuca was saying about their target. Will Balducci, a senior CIA officer and former Naval intelligence officer.

Whoa. Nate forgot all about the woman standing against the wall for a moment, totally engrossed with what his CO was saying. This was huge. A plot that had been unfolding for a long time, possibly years, considering the arms deals.

“I think you all know NSA agent Alex Rycroft,” DeLuca said, “but you haven’t been formally introduced to Briar Jones.”

Everyone’s attention turned to her. She didn’t acknowledge the introduction. Not a smile, not a glimmer of nervousness at being singled out. She scanned the room almost impersonally but something told Nate she’d just memorized each and every one of their faces. Or maybe she’d already known them all before showing up today.

“The FBI has frozen the offshore accounts, so while Balducci’s going to be at this party, he might suspect something’s up. He’s proven very hard to catch at this and he’s got plenty of contacts to draw from who could lend assistance. There’s one other important piece to this,” DeLuca added, pausing to survey the team. “He’s former SWCC.”

Nate raised his eyebrows and looked around at his teammates. A Special Warfare Combat Crewman, one of the guys who provided backup, infil and exfil for the SEALs. Way more highly trained than their average tango. That was gonna make this op a little more interesting than usual.

“He’s also a pilot and he’s had lots of practice hiring contract killers so it’s not out of the question that he’s hired his own personal security team in addition,” DeLuca went on.

“We’ll assume he’s armed and that he’s got protection. We’ve got eyes on him now, we’ll have eyes and ears on him at the party, as well as eyes on his vehicle. We’ll be taking him at his house once he gets home, then doing the search and seizure right after. His wife will likely be there as well, but she’s not a suspect at this time.”

Celida took over, showing more pictures of Balducci and schematics of his house. “This intel could be leaked at any time,” she warned. “He’s got a lot to lose here and he’ll likely fight to keep that from happening.”

DeLuca took over again. “Agent Rycroft, Miss Jones and I will be your lookouts at the target location. This is a tight timeline but that doesn’t mean we go in there without having a rock solid operational plan.” He looked at Tuck, nodded once. “It’s your show.”

Tuck took the spotlight and began going over approaches, infil and exfil strategies, emergency contingencies as he pointed out various spots on the satellite images of Balducci’s house and the surrounding neighborhood.

When Nate glanced over at Briar, he was surprised to see his CO standing close beside her. He was resting against the wall, arms folded across his chest, but the way he leaned toward her, the way they looked at each other as they whispered about whatever they were talking about, spoke volumes. They knew each other well and he obviously trusted her, if he’d brought her to the briefing and planned to include her as a lookout before and during the op.

It was clear to Nate that they were more than just acquaintances and it floored him. Everyone knew their CO hadn’t gotten over his wife’s death. He’d become increasingly withdrawn over the past few years, didn’t hang out with the team much anymore, and if he’d dated at all since his wife died, none of them had ever heard about it.

Putting it out of his mind for the time being, he focused back on what Tuck was saying, mentally envisioning the op as he laid it out and finished with, “All right, what do you guys think?”

Tuck always asked for the team’s input, always listened to their ideas before they came up with a final plan and passed it by DeLuca for approval. A few of them offered an opinion but Nate kept his mouth shut.

DeLuca joined Tuck at the front of the room again. “We’re still waiting on warrants, so even though we anticipate Balducci arriving home between twenty-three hundred and oh-two hundred hours, we don’t move until we get the paperwork.”

Fuck that. Those court orders had better come through in time. If this bastard was guilty of everything DeLuca had told them, Nate wanted to bring him down, hard, before he had time to prepare.





Chapter Twenty-Three





All night he’d been struggling to shake the feeling of unease that wouldn’t leave him alone. Will took a break from visiting with the guests and headed over to the bar. To settle his nerves, he ordered a double and knocked it back.

The party had been a huge success so far, with two notable exceptions. Alan and his wife hadn’t shown up. And when he’d slipped into the men’s room to check his accounts from his phone, he hadn’t been able to access them, instead receiving an automated message that the system was experiencing technical problems.