cased it five minutes before. It just didnât click at first.â
If Berlin had been sent to spy on Jace, it made sense the man would watch her, too. But then keeping an eye on someone and trying to put a bullet through their skull were two very different things.
Jace had taken a shower before leaving. If heâd been on time, would his contact still be alive?
âWhat did the guy look like? Do you remember?â Of course he did. Stupid question.
âCrisp suit. Clean cut. Dark hair. Looked European. I think Iâve seen him before overseas. Maybe Germany. I know he has ties to an organization in the Eastern Bloc we call Exacto.â
âBerlin?â The guy couldâve been using a relationship with Exacto as a cover, but he was Agency.
âIt very well could be.â
âThatâs the guy who came to my apartment.â Jace couldnât have sent Berlin. No way would he be talking about it with her if he had. âWhat are they looking for, Jace?â
âMe.â
âHeâs Agency.â Meaning he worked for Murdock.
âI know.â
âYou think heâs playing both sides?â She had to cover every possibility.
âItâs possible. The information I uncovered is valuable to Exacto.â
âWhat do you have?â
âIâm not talking about it over the phone.â He got quiet. âBesides, I need to see you, Erika. Will you trust me?â
Those last two words were as foreign to her as love. When was the last time she really put her faith in anyone? Allowed someone to care about her? Murdock was the closest thing she had to family, and yet, she was as suspicious of him as she was everyone else. Then again, heâd trained her to be that way. âI donât even know you.â
âI grew up in Virginia in what was supposed to be the perfect suburban family. Dear Dad was a decorated colonel. Mom stayed at home to take care of the family. We lived in a white colonial in a neighborhood with the best schools.â
âSounds nice.â
âIt wasâ¦to an outsider.â
âWhat does that mean?â
âMy parents took great pains to ensure they kept up appearances. Mom hid her bourbon in the laundry room. Dad liked to use her for a punching bag as a way to deal with his stress but he never touched her face. There wasnât much I could do about it when I was a kid. By the time I could handle myself with the old man she begged me not to. When I pleaded with her to let me do something about it she said she didnât want my help. I was smart enough to get good grades and the hell out of there. I got a degree in Economics from Boston College with a double minor in Arabic and Mandarin. Straight out of college I got a knock on the door and figured Iâd spend my life working on the CIAâs business side. I wouldâve gone into the military but the old man ruined it for me. He stained it with his actions. No way was I following in his footsteps, even though our home ran tighter than any military barracks. Two years into my new job I got tapped by Murdock.â
âAnd discovered you had a darker side.â
âYeah, something like that.â He paused. âI donât visit my parents. I was probably the only one in the agency who didnât have people show up on Family Day.â
âGiven what you told me, Iâm surprised. Wouldnât they want to keep up the facade?â
âI didnât invite them. I have no stomach for bullshit. Once I got out of their home I had nothing else to say to either one of them.â The bitterness in his tone was a knife to her chest. He was opening old wounds, hurting, and everything inside her wanted to reach out to him and somehow make it better. Pain was the one thing Erika could always relate to.
âAre you an only child?â She shouldnât keep talking to him because he was getting inside her head. And a traitorous part of her
If Berlin had been sent to spy on Jace, it made sense the man would watch her, too. But then keeping an eye on someone and trying to put a bullet through their skull were two very different things.
Jace had taken a shower before leaving. If heâd been on time, would his contact still be alive?
âWhat did the guy look like? Do you remember?â Of course he did. Stupid question.
âCrisp suit. Clean cut. Dark hair. Looked European. I think Iâve seen him before overseas. Maybe Germany. I know he has ties to an organization in the Eastern Bloc we call Exacto.â
âBerlin?â The guy couldâve been using a relationship with Exacto as a cover, but he was Agency.
âIt very well could be.â
âThatâs the guy who came to my apartment.â Jace couldnât have sent Berlin. No way would he be talking about it with her if he had. âWhat are they looking for, Jace?â
âMe.â
âHeâs Agency.â Meaning he worked for Murdock.
âI know.â
âYou think heâs playing both sides?â She had to cover every possibility.
âItâs possible. The information I uncovered is valuable to Exacto.â
âWhat do you have?â
âIâm not talking about it over the phone.â He got quiet. âBesides, I need to see you, Erika. Will you trust me?â
Those last two words were as foreign to her as love. When was the last time she really put her faith in anyone? Allowed someone to care about her? Murdock was the closest thing she had to family, and yet, she was as suspicious of him as she was everyone else. Then again, heâd trained her to be that way. âI donât even know you.â
âI grew up in Virginia in what was supposed to be the perfect suburban family. Dear Dad was a decorated colonel. Mom stayed at home to take care of the family. We lived in a white colonial in a neighborhood with the best schools.â
âSounds nice.â
âIt wasâ¦to an outsider.â
âWhat does that mean?â
âMy parents took great pains to ensure they kept up appearances. Mom hid her bourbon in the laundry room. Dad liked to use her for a punching bag as a way to deal with his stress but he never touched her face. There wasnât much I could do about it when I was a kid. By the time I could handle myself with the old man she begged me not to. When I pleaded with her to let me do something about it she said she didnât want my help. I was smart enough to get good grades and the hell out of there. I got a degree in Economics from Boston College with a double minor in Arabic and Mandarin. Straight out of college I got a knock on the door and figured Iâd spend my life working on the CIAâs business side. I wouldâve gone into the military but the old man ruined it for me. He stained it with his actions. No way was I following in his footsteps, even though our home ran tighter than any military barracks. Two years into my new job I got tapped by Murdock.â
âAnd discovered you had a darker side.â
âYeah, something like that.â He paused. âI donât visit my parents. I was probably the only one in the agency who didnât have people show up on Family Day.â
âGiven what you told me, Iâm surprised. Wouldnât they want to keep up the facade?â
âI didnât invite them. I have no stomach for bullshit. Once I got out of their home I had nothing else to say to either one of them.â The bitterness in his tone was a knife to her chest. He was opening old wounds, hurting, and everything inside her wanted to reach out to him and somehow make it better. Pain was the one thing Erika could always relate to.
âAre you an only child?â She shouldnât keep talking to him because he was getting inside her head. And a traitorous part of her
Similar Books
