corner of his mouth lifted. âI always hated being in the dark. Unfortunately, I often was. And right now Iâm pretty much in the dark, so I canât offer you much. Suffice it to say, Ryker put my phone on a truck heading to Denver yesterday, then some friends of your sheriff crashed my car somewhere along the same road.â
She drew a sharp breath. âYou think someoneâs tracking you electronically? Who would...â She trailed off as more lights went on in her mind. âOh God. I donât like what Iâm thinking.â The kind of organization that could track one man that way? It couldnât be just anyone.
âNeither do I,â he said frankly. âWe donât know for sureâitâs only a possibility, but one we canât afford to ignore.â
âThatâs what put Ryker in high gear, isnât it? What he suspects?â
âYou could say so.â
She stared down at her hands, absorbing it all, then said quietly, âI donât think I like the people you work for.â In fact, between this and Johnnyâs death, theyâd be easy to hate. She never wanted to hate anyone, but she had been steadily discovering her capacity for it since Johnny died.
âRight now, I donât, either. But again, we donât know for sure. All we know is that someone is after me. Could be anyone. We simply took evasive action so I couldnât be tracked easily.â
She nodded slowly and realized that the dark world she had always known was out there somewhere, a world she had so far successfully avoided, now sat in her apartment with her. She knew those jobs needed doing; she wasnât a fool. But it had never been something she wanted to participate in. Now, as he had said, she was in it up to her neck. For Marisa. For the people Marisa loved. Well, sheâd just have to survive this brush with the ugly side of the world.
âIâm sorry, Julie. We never wanted you involved.â
âI kind of involved myself,â she admitted. Slowly she raised her gaze, trying to smile. âThere are threats, and there are threats. Iâd like to think that people who are working for me, for my country, arenât being exposed to them by the very people who should be protecting them.â
âWeâd all like to think that. And most of the people Iâve worked with would never dream of doing something like this. But there are always some... Anyway, maybe thatâs not whatâs happening. Weâll find out.â
âHow?â
He looked rueful. âIâm supposed to think, according to your sheriff. He says that information can look very different in light of a new perspective, and heâs right. So somewhere locked inside my head is the answer. Who wants me dead? And why? Iâll figure it out.â
She bit her lip, forgetting her own shock and feeling sorrier for him than she could say. Wounded, cut loose and left to his own devices. Not a pretty picture. âIt must be awful, knowing someone wants to kill you.â
âIâve been here before.â
She studied him, knowing he probably had been. It was almost beyond imagining. âYou ever think about quitting?â
âIâm in line for disability retirement right now.â
She nodded. âThen what?â
âWell, thatâs a good question. But right now I need to survive this.â
Indeed he did. Rising, she went to get more coffee, seeking to settle her upset and keep a cool head. It was the only way she could be helpful now. âHowâs that sling doing? And can I help you with your thinking?â
âThe sling is great. I actually believe it might be helping. Less blood running to my hand. As for the thinking part, Iâd have to reveal...â
âOperational secrets,â she interrupted. âI get it. Iâve heard it before. So Iâm living with a ticking time bomb, nobody knows when it might go off,
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