“I’ve already said too much. You need to talk to Layla about Nick. It’s complicated. Very complicated. And the last thing I want to do is get in the middle of it.”
Hunter realized Bryce wasn’t going to give him anything else, so he thanked him for his time and hightailed it out of the building. He wasn’t sure who this Nick character was, but he intended to find out.
But first he had to get back to his work on who had stolen the cartel money.
He made his way back to his office and booted up his computer. One thing he had discovered rather easily was that Zane Carter came from serious family money. It appeared that he might be estranged from his wealthy father, but that hadn’t changed the amount of money Zane received from the family empire. The interesting thing from the cash flow that Hunter examined was that it didn’t seem like Zane ever touched the money. It was spread out among multiple accounts with various banks, but the amounts only increased in time with interest—there were no withdrawals. He figured there was a deeper story there, but it wasn’t one he needed to jump into, because he’d found out what he needed: Zane was clean. He had more money than he seemed to know what to do with and no cash influxes from any other source. Hunter couldn’t be certain that Zane wasn’t the mole, but his gut told him no on that score.
He’d finished rummaging around in Mason’s and Cass’s finances as well, and so far there was nothing tying anyone on the team to the missing money. Cass did have money troubles, it appeared, but he hadn’t yet found any evidence connecting her to the cartel money.
He’d learned early on in his career as a PI that paper trails could be hidden, especially when dealing with offshore accounts. He intended to focus on the dark web and other means to ferret out the real thief. It wouldn’t be easy, but they needed answers.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
That evening Layla sat in Hunter’s SUV in the driveway of the CIA safe house in Arlington. The two-story light blue colonial didn’t give any sign that it was an Agency property.
“We have to assume there’s audio surveillance inside,” she said. “So we need to be careful what we say.”
Hunter nodded. “I’m going to bring in my detection equipment to sweep for bugs so we can speak more freely inside.”
“That’s a great idea. We can sweep daily to be on the safe side. How did it go with Bryce?”
“He’s pointing the finger at some guy named Nick—and he said to talk to you about it because it’s complicated.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Who is Nick?”
“Nick Foster’s one of the deputy chiefs in the DO. He’s about ten years older than me, but he’s on the fast track to be at the top. He reports directly to Riley Brown.”
“You can’t be serious. How does Nick play into all of this?”
“Nick has been the loudest advocate for getting me into the field. He’s been taught by Riley that the real top people at the Agency need to be in the field, not behind a desk.”
“Okay. Well, at least this sounds like it may be a promising lead.”
She looked away, dreading the conversation that was about to ensue. “It’s not so simple.”
“What?”
“It’s not good.”
“Just tell me, and we’ll work through it. None of this is any good.”
She prepared herself for a negative reaction from Hunter. “Nick and I were romantically involved.”
Hunter’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t say a word. His face said it all.
“Yeah. I told you it was bad. Let’s get out of here and take a walk, and I’ll explain.” They got out of the car and started down the neighborhood sidewalk.
“It was an actual relationship?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah, but we had to keep it under wraps, given the optics. We weren’t in the same chain of command, but still, I didn’t want anyone to know. That was part of the appeal, I guess. And he was so interested in me and my career, I kinda got wrapped up in all of that. When things got a bit too intense for me, I bailed, and it didn’t go well.”
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier? He could be the one targeting you.”
“Because I knew you’d think less of me.”
He put his hand on her back. “Layla, that’s not possible. We’re human. So you dated this guy. It’s not the end of the world, but it could have a big impact on this investigation. Did others know?”
“Bryce figured it out. That was another reason I was so hesitant to ever get involved with him. I’d been down that road once with someone at Langley, and I wasn’t doing it again. Beyond Bryce, I don’t know if Nick told anyone. If I had to guess, I’d say no. He liked to play things close to the vest in all aspects of life. It made him feel more powerful. I was naïve. He was so smooth, and I fell quickly.”
“How long ago were you with Nick?”
“About a year. I ended it. In total, we lasted about four months.”
“Bryce thinks Nick could be out for revenge. Would Nick be aware of the IG investigation?”
“Before I saw the content of it, I would’ve said no, but if they’re saying I’m working with Al-Nidal, I’d have to think that someone has briefed him or will brief him very soon on that, given his seniority level.”
“I think you have to talk to him.”
She groaned. “I can’t get into Langley.”
“I assume you know of other ways to contact him?”
“Yes.” Although that wasn’t what she wanted to do. Dealing with Nick was never a simple task. His complex nature was one of the many things that had drawn her to him, but that felt like a lifetime ago now.
Hunter put his hand on her shoulder and turned her toward him. “Look, this isn’t easy, but
