Best Laid Plans(109)

Sean wasn’t going to take the blame. The blame rested on the system that couldn’t do anything to rescue a kidnapped federal agent or orphaned boys. “Donnelly would be dead. Those little boys would be dead. Some things are bigger than all of us.”

“She was shot down there! And you know how I found out about it? Today. I went to see her while she was being stitched up, to make sure she was okay because she’s my agent. And I saw the scar on her arm, still red and puckered. Fresh. Two months fresh. But even if I didn’t recognize the healing process, I would have known because I’ve read her files. I know she’s been shot before, and I know where. And she’d never been shot in that arm. So not only did a federal agent violate the law and risk an international incident, she was injured and her supervisor—me—wasn’t even told.”

Juan stepped forward and pressed a finger against Sean’s chest.

“You poked the tiger, Sean. And the next time anything like this happens, the consequences will be a whole lot worse than two weeks’ unpaid vacation.”

“Juan—”

“Lucy is a good agent, Sean. A damn good agent. She has compassion and a rare skill set where she can see a crime scene through the eyes of a cop, a pathologist, a criminal, and a victim, all at the same time. Her analytical test scores were the highest among the last seven graduating classes at Quantico. I want her on my team.

“But she’s a rookie. She’s reckless. And like Donnelly, a maverick. She doesn’t think things through. I’ve read her file. I know everything. Everything.” He let that sink in for a moment. “But what I don’t know is if you’re good for her.”

Juan started to walk away, then stopped and looked back at Sean. “I don’t know what you or your family did for Rick Stockton, but he unconditionally vouches for you. I, however, don’t trust you. Which means I can’t fully trust Lucy, either. And I don’t know if I can have someone I don’t fully trust on my team.”

Juan turned and walked away before Sean could respond.

Maybe Juan leaving was for the better. Because everything Sean wanted to say would only make the situation worse.





CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR



Lucy gave Barry a partial apology while they were driving to Adeline’s house. Brad was in the backseat and Barry hadn’t spoken for five minutes.

“Sean is protective,” she said by way of explanation. “It’s his business. Security.”

“It’s not his business,” Barry said.

“Rogan Caruso Kincaid specializes in protective services—corporate kidnappings, foreign kidnappings, hostage rescue, computer security. It’s how he was raised.” She paused. “We’ve been through a lot together. If he thinks the threat is viable, I have to take it seriously.”

“Your own personal bodyguard,” Barry mumbled.

“You’re out of line, Crawford,” Brad said from the backseat.

Lucy didn’t want an argument. “If you got to know Sean, the way he thinks, how he assesses information, you’d realize he’s an asset.”

“He’s not a cop,” Barry said. “He has no jurisdiction and I don’t care that he’s consulted with the FBI in the past. It’s a conflict of interest for him to consult on a case you’re working.”

“I can respect that opinion.”

“You don’t see it.”

“I do, but—”

“There is no but. It’s a conflict. The problem with bending the rules is that they become brittle. And more easily broken.”

“Brad and Sean didn’t get along at first,” Lucy said, wanting desperately to mend these fences, “but they built a mutual respect.”

“True,” Brad said. “I thought Sean was a prick.” He laughed, but Barry didn’t crack a smile. “But when you talk about bending and breaking rules, Barry, remember this: if it weren’t for Kane Rogan, I’d be dead.”

Brad caught Lucy’s eye in the rearview mirror.

“You don’t owe Kane anything,” Lucy said. “He did it because it was the right thing to do, not to be in your debt.”

“I know,” Brad said. “That’s why it means even more.”

Lucy glanced away. Brad had made it clear that he felt indebted to her, Sean, and Kane, but she didn’t want that. She liked to think that anyone else, faced with the same information she had had at the time, would have made the exact same decision to go after Brad. Maybe it was na?ve to think that—okay, she knew it was na?ve to think that—but it helped her believe she was just like everyone else.

She changed the subject. “I’m having a difficult time reconciling something. If Garza was behind Harper Worthington’s murder, why was he killed?”

“Assuming that he was,” Barry said.

“I haven’t seen the security tapes, but the witnesses were consistent and it’s too much of a coincidence that he would drop dead while he was fleeing the state—at the same time federal agents were looking to arrest him. We were on to him, we had Elise in custody, he knew we were pushing Adeline—she must have called him after we showed her the picture of Elise yesterday morning. So he runs. That makes sense. But if someone killed him, that means Garza wasn’t pulling the strings.”