Raising Innocence: A Rylee Adamson Novel(6)

Agent Valley stood, but paused mid-step. “Have you heard anything from O’Shea?”
“No, he hasn’t contacted me.” That, at least, was the truth.
“But you could Track him, couldn’t you?”
“I don’t Track adults.” Well, that was fudging it a little, but I owed Valley nothing.
He nodded. “I don’t suppose I can ask you another question?”
Agent Valley was about to drop something on me. What, I could only guess; most likely something he thought would push me into a corner. Right then, I should have just said no, escorted him out and locked the door. But no, I had to nod and say, “Yeah, sure.”
“We brought in a young hacker last week. He was the source of a major leak in our department, and was caught selling information on our confidential Arcane Arts division. Of course, we stopped him before it was able to get out to the world via the black market.”
My muscles tightened and my brain was screaming at Kyle. The little prick, after I paid him so fucking well? Now at least I knew where the print out I’d had disappeared to, the little bastard! I’d never even had a chance to go over the papers on the AA division before they’d gone missing while I was on a salvage. Kyle must have snuck out to my place, knowing that I’d be indisposed. But why wouldn’t he have just hacked in and re-printed the information?
The next time I saw him I would have to ask; then, I would kick his ass into next year for crossing me.
“Hmm. I don’t see what this has to do with me.” I stilled my nerves, forced myself to stand relaxed and at ease. Jail was not somewhere I wanted to end up; I’d been on the wrong end of the law once in my life. Once was enough, thank you very much.
“Well, I just thought you’d like to know.”
“That’s not a question,” I said, my voice even and calm.
“Isn’t it?”
We were in a stare off, him waiting for me to break. It would be a freaking happy day in hell when I didn’t win a staring competition. I shrugged. “You are one strange little man.”
He glanced away. Point for Rylee. I had to give him credit. He was pretty good at trying to get what he wanted without full on asking for it. But it wouldn’t work with me.
“Can you at least tell me if he’s alive?”
Back to O’Shea again.
“Now that’s a question.” I leaned one hip against the wall. “Yes. He’s alive.”
Agent Valley nodded. “Is he coming back?”
That was an even better question, one I’d like the answer to as well.
I took in a long slow breath, let it out as I formed words I hated to say. “I don’t know.”
The agent nodded and then headed for the front door; he made it all the way there before turning around, a smile on his lips. He was way too happy after I’d just turned him down. I felt the first niggling of fear along the back of my neck; he’d been holding back.
“It’s a shame you aren’t interested in the case.”
I nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile, but said nothing else.
Tapping his folder against his leg, his eyes seemed to twinkle, his hand on the open door.
Shit, here it comes.
“The team’s main source of help is in the hospital, too sick to move anymore.”
My eyebrows lifted, confusion flitting through me. “And this would be important to me why exactly?”
Agent Valley smiled and I felt the hook set in mouth as he said, “Because he’s a Tracker.”

3
I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. Agent Valley said nothing, stepped out onto the porch, and shut the door firmly behind him.
There had never been another Tracker that I’d known about, no one to learn from, no one to tell me how not to do things, or even what other things I might be able to do. I couldn’t let this pass by me, even if he was bluffing. Shit, shit, shit.
Grabbing at the door I flung it open to see the agent smiling up at me. “Shall we start again?”
Flustered and irritated that he’d played me like a freaking harp, I stepped back to let him come back inside. Once again seated in my living room, he held out his hands.
“I thought you might turn me down, this isn’t the kind of case you typically go after. You like to find them alive, not long past their expiry date.”
Snorting, I sat on the edge of the coffee table, the wood corner pressing into my thigh. “After finding your first half-rotten child corpse, you wouldn’t be so eager to go after them, either.”#p#分页标题#e#
He blanched.
That had been one of my earliest salvages, and it had left me with nightmares and flashbacks for weeks. Even now, I could still smell the putrid mix of decaying meat and baby powder to cover it up. No, that was not something I willingly went after. If a kid was missing, and I took on the salvage and they died before I could get to them, I did my best to bring them home. But taking on a salvage willingly, knowing that the kid was gone? Nope, not as fun as it sounds.