She pulled back a little but still held on to him. “Sorry if I’m being needy. It’s totally not my style.”
He smiled. “I know that.”
Cass looked away, and he could’ve sworn that her cheeks reddened. He wasn’t sure what was going on here, but he needed to put a little distance between them. He let her go, reluctantly, and went to the refrigerator, pulled out two bottled waters, and gave her one.
“Were you able to sleep at all?” he asked.
“Only a few minutes, but maybe that means I’ll actually get some rest tonight.” She took a sip of water. “I want to go in to work tomorrow. I can’t just sit here all day. I’ll feel better if I can focus on something else.”
“We’ll just have to be extremely careful getting back here to make sure we’re not tailed.”
She grinned. “We’re pros. I think we can handle it.”
“All right. We’ll go to the office in the morning.” He was glad she was joking around. It was better than the alternative. He could handle the lighthearted banter much better than those big brown eyes that seemed so fearful.
“I’m starving. They said they stocked this place with groceries. I’m going to whip something up. You want in?” she asked.
“You know I never turn down food.”
“Isn’t that the truth? If you stay in here with me, though, I’m going to put you to work.”
“Whatever you need, but you know I’m pretty incompetent in the kitchen.”
Cass laughed. “Lucky for you, I’m not. C’mon. Wash up, and let’s get to work.”
First thing Monday morning, Hunter showed up unannounced at Bryce’s office, but this time he’d come alone. He’d expected Layla to put up more of a fight, but she’d readily accepted him rolling solo.
There was no doubt a shift had occurred between them once he’d told her the truth, but he still didn’t know if the damage was irreparable. He hoped it wasn’t. He even found himself praying it wasn’t, but he wasn’t sure that God was paying attention to his prayer attempts. Although he knew deep inside that he hadn’t made a true effort at reconnecting and most of his reaction was based purely on fear for Layla. If going back to God meant He would keep Layla safe, then Hunter would consider it.
He’d opened up to Layla about his faith struggles, and true to form, she had pressed him to examine why he felt this way. He wasn’t an examine-his-feelings type of guy. He was more of the lock-it-away-and-try-not-to-think-about-it type.
And that was exactly what he did as he was led back to Bryce’s office.
Bryce stood. “I figured I’d hear from you again.”
“Do you know why I’m here?”
“I assume it’s still about the IG investigation into Layla.”
Hunter’s instinct to come at Bryce a second time had been right. “So you do have more information.”
Bryce motioned for him to sit before he did the same. “I hate to say this, but there are some nasty rumors that Layla is playing both sides of the fence.”
“Rumors from who?”
Bryce’s jaw twitched. “They’re coming from Agency sources, but I’m not going to name names. You should know this is very serious, though.”
“Do you have any further insight into what, specifically, they are claiming she did?”
Bryce ran his hand through his hair. “Not many specifics, but it had to do with her work regarding Al-Nidal.”
This whole thing stank more and more by the minute. “Do you believe any of it?”
Bryce laughed. “C’mon. Layla is great at many things, including being one of the best subject-matter experts that Langley has. She’s able to see the big picture and understand all the details. She speaks the language, she understands the culture. But a super spy? No way. She’s too honest. She doesn’t have the edge to work assets in the field—at least not yet. And to tell you the truth, I don’t think she wants to have those skills. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. Her heart is too big for subterfuge.”
“Then why the push for her to be in the field?” That was a nagging question Hunter couldn’t answer.
“Because the higher-ups believe they can take raw talent in any form and mold it into what they want, even with reluctant recruits. The problem is that Layla doesn’t want that kind of life and is set in her ways, and that’s where the tension lies.”
“Shouldn’t the Agency be satisfied that she’s so good at her analyst job and leave her be?” They were already demanding so much from her. Had taken so much from her.
Bryce cocked his head. “You’d think. If you want my opinion—and I assume you do, or you wouldn’t be here—Layla crossed someone and doesn’t even realize it. And now they’re out to get her.”
“Quite an elaborate scheme for revenge, don’t you think?”
Bryce leaned forward. “You might not understand just how cutthroat the intel community is. I still sleep with one eye open.”
Hunter needed to push him again. “But you wouldn’t hold such a grudge?”
“Of course I would, but it’s hard to dislike Layla. I was seething after she ratted me out, but I eventually got over it. She has principles, which isn’t something we see very often these days. I care about her and would never want something to happen to her. That’s how friendship works. You might blow a gasket, but at the end of the day, you move on because they’re your friend.”
“But the two of you haven’t remained friends.”
“Look, it has taken me a good long while to get over it. But I am now, and if she reached out, I think we could be friends again.”
A shot of jealousy went through Hunter.
“I’ll tell you this,” Bryce continued. “If you really want to get at the person who could’ve done this to her, you need to check out Nick. He had a lot of reasons to set her up.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about him
