The Safe Bet (Hidden Truths #1)(59)

She didn’t dare approach him and found herself feeling a bit afraid that he might see through her, as well. He might realize she was keeping something from him.

She spent her afternoon eavesdropping on Jake, Connor, and Michael as they studied the movements of Erick Jensen and Nathan Williams and followed up on leads with the FBI in regards to Dustin Scott. But she didn’t feel like involving herself in their conversation. Their talk of intelligence and software was a bit over her head. Still, every once in a while, she crept down the hall and stopped shy of view from the living area, to catch up on the details.

On her fourth time down the hall, her ears perked up.

“Michael, I understand you don’t want Kate on her date, and she postponed her date earlier today, but I think you should still go on your date,” Jake said.

She couldn’t see Michael’s reaction, but she could envision his body tensing and his facial muscles growing taut. His body gave away his emotions far more than his words, particularly when the emotion was anger or lust.

“Why the hell would I do that?”

Jake didn’t respond right away. Kate pushed her hands against the wall and moved her body a little closer to the edge. Still, she kept enough distance to avoid being seen.

“Let Dustin believe you’re going about business as usual. Since you won’t let me parade Kate around, at least let him think that you aren’t worried about him.”

“Why do I care what Dustin thinks?”

“We have to play his game a little, or we won’t win. We can’t beat a psychopath if we sit back and twiddle our thumbs.”

“You think I am sitting here twiddling my Goddamn thumbs?”

“Come on, Michael. This is my job. This is what I’m trained for. We’re talking about Dustin Scott. He’s been on FBI and Homeland Security’s radar for a while now. We need to catch the SOB.” There was a pause. “If anyone understands this, it should be you. You spend your life helping the government catch scumbags like him.”

“You think whoever hired him is a terrorist?” Disbelief echoed in his voice.

“No, but next week he might be working with ISIS or freaking Vladimir Putin for all we know. He needs to be stopped.”

“Don’t make me regret asking you for help. I will not let you use Kate. If you’ve turned this into some OP for your sake—”

“Sooner or later I need to report that Dustin is in Charlotte. I can’t keep this a secret.”

“Fuck. I’m not asking you to, but I want this to be about keeping Kate safe and not about Dustin.”

“Don’t the two kind of go hand and hand?” Jake shot back.

Kate placed her hand over her mouth as shock plowed its way through each of her organs before slamming into her heart.

Can I really help bring down a traitor?

“Michael, Jake has a point.” It was Connor. He was usually the quiet one in the room. But every once in a while, he spoke up, his words slicing the tension in the air—or creating new waves of it.

“I need to think. It’s been a long day. I’m gonna lie down for a couple of hours. Wake me if you have news.”

She hurried back to her room and shut the door behind her. She needed to give Jake an answer, and she needed to do it while Michael was sleeping.

But what would she say?

*


“So?” Jake stood at the sight of Kate as she entered the kitchen.

“You wear glasses?” she asked, avoiding the question.

He smiled and removed the black rimmed glasses from his face. “Only when reading, or if I’ve been staring at a computer screen for hours.” He gave her a small smile.

“Where’s Connor?” she asked while taking a seat at the kitchen table, drumming her fingers as she considered her decision.

He sat across from her and leaned back in his chair. “Tailing Nathan.”

“Oh. Well, I’ve thought about your proposal.” She took in a nervous breath. “I’ll do what you think is best, but Michael will flip.”

“I’ll take the heat. I can handle it.” His voice was calm.

“I don’t want him angry with you.” She moved her hand to her mouth and examined him. He looked every inch as intimidating as Michael. Well, almost.

“Trust me, everything will work out. This is my job.” He stretched his arm out and reached for her hand. With his touch, she felt calmer. Safe.

When in fact, he was putting her in danger.

“What was that?” he asked as his body straightened.

Kate tilted her head in the direction of the sound. Her shoulders slouched forward, feeling Michael’s pain—the pain he wouldn’t share with her. “He’s having a nightmare.” She started to stand.

“I’ll handle it.” Jake motioned for her to sit back down, and then he left the room.

A few minutes later, she heard a commotion coming from down the hall. And then something broke. A lamp, maybe.

“You okay?” she asked when Jake came back in the kitchen with a bloody lip.

“Yeah.” He grabbed a paper towel, wet it, and brought it to his mouth.

“Is Michael okay?” she asked, her voice stitched with worry.

“He will be.”





CHAPTER NINETEEN