Fated Identity (Red Star #6) (8 page)

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G
rady heard the
ringing of his SAT phone right when he’d pushed off the bed to retrieve the condom he’d planned to put to good use. His gaze connected with Brienne’s before he reached down to where his clothes lay. The black device had ended up near her shirt, so he immediately snatched it up and addressed the person on the other end after first glancing at the screen.

“Crest, what have you got for us?”

Grady motioned for Brienne to crawl underneath the covers, but she was too intent on hearing what was being said from the other end of the line. He couldn’t blame her and sighed in resignation, coming to stand near the side of the bed where she’d come to rest on her knees. The sensual pose would have had him disconnecting the call had this not been such a dire situation.

“The entire family of Brienne’s informant has been terminated.”

Brienne slowly closed her eyes and then rested her forehead in sorrow against his chest. Grady wrapped one arm around her while keeping the phone upright in order for her to still hear the conversation. Loss in the field was never easy for an agent to accept because the people putting their lives at risk were doing so for the very families who suffered.

“And Raheela?” Grady asked, not even bothering to inquire how the murders were committed. It didn’t matter. Death was death. “Was she among the casualties?”

“No,” Crest replied confidently, delving into the next topic of importance. Grady could literally feel the relief wash over Brienne. “She’s gone underground somewhere, but we have our contractors on the ground looking for her. I’ve also touched base with Starr, although the only thing I told her was that you were otherwise occupied and would be calling her soon. I want confirmation of the location of the lost Red Starr unit’s bodies before going to her with this. We have the potential of recovering both Brienne’s asset and the remains of the founder’s unit if we have to do an amphibious operation in theater using those assets.”

Starr wouldn’t appreciate the gesture of protection Crest was offering her, but Grady agreed it was the right thing to do. There were too many irons in the fire and someone was bound to get burned. The Agency had all of its divisions searching for who could possibly be the one responsible for betraying Brienne, Telfer was taking a closer look in-house at his own team, and Grady had hired Crest to figure out a way to minimize the threat posed by ISI’s mission to terminate Brienne. Several time-critical issues needed to be resolved before tugging on the string she’d started to unravel.

“Any progress with the ISI team?” Grady asked, backing up a step so that Brienne could move off of the bed. She made her way to the bathroom, retrieving both white robes he’d seen hanging behind the door. “Brienne informed me that Raheela is married to Shujaat Qalat, an ISI Major. The connection is there. Brienne and I went over some things this evening and we’ve come to the conclusion that members from ISI might have been the ones to halt Red Starr’s insertion in the region and Qalat is doing his best to cover his tracks. It’s the only reasonable explanation.”

“It would also explain why Raheela was able to gather intel on such an old mission. Qalat has gone off the radar, but we’ll find him wherever he ends up.”

Crest didn’t need to say it wouldn’t be a legal interrogation. There was no physical evidence Shujaat Qalat had anything to do with Red Starr’s fated mission or the threat on Brienne’s life. It was all assumption through the bits of intel coming through. There were things that American citizens didn’t need to know regarding the safety of the very Agents who worked to keep the United States free of terrorism.

“Raheela most likely already knows about her family, but she’ll do what needs to be done to escape,” Brienne offered up, knowing more about the underground conduit. “She uses the port of Karachi to slip the women and children out of the city. She’s either close by Karachi or she’s already at her destination.”

Grady could tell by Brienne’s voice that she wasn’t sure where that final destination was located, thus not fully illuminating the path they had to follow. She had belted her robe and then handed him the other. She took a hold of the SAT phone, but he laid the garment on the bed. He wasn’t one to wear robes. She still had enough spark in her that she lifted a corner of her mouth in humor as she watched him don nothing more than the pair of jeans that had been in the go-bag.

“We’ll check that out immediately,” Crest answered, covering his end of the phone to give the order to one of his agents. It was his next statement that caused Brienne to freeze in her steps. “I think we’re all in agreement Brienne’s name was leaked by someone inside the Intelligence Division. Raheela had too much to lose. As a matter of fact, it was most likely done by someone assigned to Brienne’s own section.”

“Telfer is taking care of that issue,” Grady said, not bothering to hide his skepticism. It was damned hard to be objective with the piles of shit that were being dumped on Brienne’s supervisor’s desk. “He’s solid, Crest. I can vouch for him.”

“You and I both know he’s not got the time to brush his own teeth, let alone find out who within his department is the guilty party.”

“Brienne can’t get within a mile of Langley without becoming a target in someone’s scope, and you damn well know it,” Grady asserted irritably, not backing down on this. It was apparent Brienne was actually giving it thought from the way she was touching the bracelet on her wrist, so he grabbed the phone from her and took it off speaker. “Find another way.”

“I have,” Crest replied without hesitation. This man was the embodiment of a warrior. If he said he had a solution, he did. It just wasn’t what Grady had expected. “You, Kenton. You have to go back to Langley and finish this so Brienne can get her life back.”

*

Brienne recalled Grady’s
sentiment regarding the lengths he would go to in order to keep her safe. She understood at the time, but now it was different. She was a seasoned agent, this case was regarding her career, and her life was literally on the line…she had a right to hear the other side of the conversation.

“You have no right to cut me out of this, Grady.”

Brienne had never had the pleasure of meeting Gavin Crest, or even Catori Starr for that matter. She was sure that would change, but right now it didn’t matter. These people were making choices for her and that had to stop.

“Telfer is getting flak from the higher-ups within the Agency, especially those with important connections to the Pakistani government.” Grady snatched his weapon, which was still in its holster, and walked out of the bedroom. Brienne’s stomach rolled a bit as she realized Crest had told him something of importance. She followed close behind, not willing to allow Grady to make decisions without her. It was as if the last hour they’d spent together hadn’t even taken place. “Crest is under the assumption he doesn’t have time to flush out the guilty party.”

“We’re assuming the person responsible is within the section based on some reasonable suppositions,” Brienne pointed out distractedly, already feeling their time together slipping through her fingers. She didn’t want to be proven wrong and have her death occur before they ever stood a chance. She swallowed down the desperation and tried to compose her emotions. She needed to treat this like any other assignment. “It could very well have come from one of my own sources. I could have slipped and—”

“You didn’t do anything of the sort, Brie,” Grady replied, resignation in the tone of his voice. He set his weapon on the counter and then retrieved a bottle of water from the refrigerator before leaning back against the hard granite. He unscrewed the cap and took a long drink of water, a droplet of condensation immediately falling onto his chest. It trailed lower to where she’d been earlier, to when they’d pushed aside all that was wrong and loved one another. “Crest is suggesting I go into Langley.”

“And do what?” Brienne couldn’t believe Grady was even considering such a reckless motion. “The ISI already knows about our association. Either they will take you out on sight or they will have every available source they have here in the United States glued to you, waiting for an opportunity to bring you in and do God knows what in order to get you to talk. You and I both know something of this magnitude takes time. Didn’t you sit here during dinner and reiterate those same words?”

“We
don’t
have time, Brie.”

Grady was considering putting himself in the crosshairs of ISI to gain their attention…on purpose. Brienne needed to find a way to change his mind before he ended up being chained up to a ceiling, beaten, and tortured. That wasn’t going to happen.

“You aren’t going.” Brienne was firm in her stance, ignoring the dark gaze Grady was shooting her way. He never did like being told what to do, but he wasn’t calling the shots around here. Neither was Crest, for that matter. She crossed her arms and stood in the middle of the small kitchen, daring for Grady to argue with her. “I won’t be responsible for the most likely outcome should you and Crest try to do this. Telfer might be dealing with his superiors and putting out the firestorm this has all caused, but he’s good at his job. He will have people in place, such as those within the Technical Collections Section in the Science and Technology Division, to ferret out whoever disclosed my identity.”

“This isn’t a normal operation and you know it,” Grady countered, slamming his half-empty bottle onto the counter. Water droplets sprayed and she wasn’t surprised when the plastic practically collapsed beneath his grip. “Damn it, Brie, this is your life we’re talking about. People are out there doing their best to see it snuffed out. Crest has multiple angles covered, but Telfer has a leak inside his section. How far do you think he’ll get without knowing who he can trust?”

“ISI had to have bought the intel from someone and left—”

“A paper trail?” Grady was already shaking his head in response to what she was implying. “Those agents within your department are seasoned. There is no way in hell they left evidence of their ties to ISI. This is going to come down to traditional methods of investigation. I need to be onsite.”

The evening had been an emotional rollercoaster and it was as if the ride had never been brought to a stop. Their coaster car was still on the tracks and about to go another round. Brienne wanted off, but Grady was in the first seat with his hands high in the air. She wouldn’t allow him to ride alone.

“Brie, you and I know how this works.” Grady was now standing in front of her, his strong arms pulling her to him. Brienne closed her eyes, wishing she had half the strength to physically prevent him from leaving this sanctuary. “Should ISI be monitoring the approaches to Langley, they’ll eventually spot me. It’s better we have the upper hand. Maybe they’ll make a mistake and call whomever it is they have in their grip. Telfer has those tech boys monitoring every individual cell phone of every person you’ve ever had contact with.”

They could stay up all night discussing this, but it wouldn’t change a thing—at least the facts. Brienne needed time to mentally go through everything regarding Raheela, from every word spoken to those that weren’t. Had she known? Had she already been in a safe place, knowing her husband was about to eliminate any remaining threat to a mission that had never truly been completed? Crest needed to reach the port before Raheela was able to fade into the masses as if she’d never existed. In the meantime, Brienne wouldn’t allow the time she and Grady had left to be wasted by discussing what-ifs.

“Take me back to bed, Grady. Make this all go away for a few hours, at the very least.”

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