Spy Games (Tarnished Heroes #1)(86)

“Who—who could have done this?” Mitch glanced between them, eyes wide.

“If Charlie isn’t dead, why hasn’t he made contact yet?” Irene asked. She hated to point fingers, but so far the one person they couldn’t account for was their only solution.

“No. No, Charlie wouldn’t.” Mitch stared at the coffee table without seeing it.

Irene didn’t say anything, and neither did Carol. They didn’t have to. The war of reality was being played out on Mitch’s face.

Charlie was their mole.

Or at least a mole.

And now, most likely, a free agent. One with infinite knowledge of how they worked, who their people were and what their weaknesses were. He was their worst nightmare.

…

Rand jumped from the boat to the dock.

It’d taken them a while to maneuver the little speedboat into the marina and find a place to dock between the huge cargo ships.

Sarah was here somewhere; the key was finding her before it was too late. As soon as the Chinese figured out their man was captured, they’d have to act. Remove the threat, get her out of the country, something. Which meant Rand and his little team couldn’t hesitate.

“We split up.” Rand turned in a circle. “Matt, come with me. Noah, Andy, you guys take the south side of the marina, we’ll go north. Check in every fifteen minutes.”

“Hold up. You aren’t going in there with a pop gun and a Rambo knife.” Noah turned to the speedboat’s bench seat and pulled it up. “These white supremacist guys like to keep everything fully stocked. This gig has a few perks.” He tossed a black vest at Matt, then two more at Andy and Rand.

“Kevlar is standard issue for them? Really?” Matt asked.

“These guys think everyone is out to get them.” Noah dug down deeper and hauled out two long, black cases. He grinned. “Suit up, boys. I might have planned ahead for this.”

If Rand didn’t need Noah as back up, he might have decked the stupid smile right off his face. This wasn’t an adventure, they weren’t out for thrills. This was a woman’s life. Someone who mattered to Rand and Matt, but Noah didn’t know what it was to actually care for a human being.

“Lighten up. We’re going to get your girl back.” Noah handed the sleek assault rifle up to Rand.

Shit.

If this was what Noah could ferret away without raising suspicions, Rand didn’t want to know what else these people were holding onto. It wasn’t his problem right now, though. Getting Sarah back safe was.

Once they were outfitted with what Noah had to offer, Rand and Matt headed for the north side of the marina. They couldn’t just blend in. They had to go unseen, which meant slow going.

“You’ve made some interesting friends,” Matt said after a while.

“They aren’t my friends.”

“Right, because you don’t need friends. My bad.”

“That’s—” Rand sighed. “I work with Andy and Noah when I have to. It doesn’t mean I like them. They…aren’t like us.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Andy’s…broken. Noah might as well be an adrenaline addict. I just want to do the right thing.”

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black if I ever heard it. You’re such a goddamn martyr, Rand, you know that?”

He didn’t bother replying to that question. He wasn’t a martyr. Sure, he’d done some things wrong, he could have done better, but he’d made the choices he had based on what he thought was best for everyone. His mistakes had long ripples.

“We all make mistakes, Rand. It was war. Shit happens. Get over yourself.”

“You think I don’t know that?” He turned, and Matt nearly walked into him.

“I’m not sure you do.”

“The difference is, when I make mistakes, people die. Sarah will die if we screw up. Get it? You could have died. Emily could have died. Your kids. Your parents. Because I screwed up.”

“It’s not always about you.”

“It’s about Sarah, okay?”

“Not even that. Look—I don’t know what the hell’s going on here, but I find it really hard to believe you’re totally at fault for this. For before. For anything. Don’t tell me, but ask yourself who else is responsible?”

Rand couldn’t tell Matt about the mole. About any of it. But he was right. Someone had burned Sarah, sold out their country, and now whoever that person was, they were working against them. It could be Irene. Hector. Mitch. Hell, for all Rand knew it could be Noah, Andy, or even Matt.

They’d been stuck reacting to what was going on. Even now, they were responding to Sarah’s abduction and the knowledge that the house was being watched. What Rand wouldn’t give to strike back. To do something.

“I’m not going to pretend that I like the idea of my best friend with my sister. Just—let’s bring her home first?”

My best friend.

Even on his good days, he’d never thought to hear Matt say those words again.

“Come on.” Rand turned and strode through the shadows.

They could figure everything out when they found Sarah again. If they found her at all. So far, all he’d seen was a sleepy security guard.