“Before she betrayed me, you mean?” Bryce’s nostrils flared.
This was going to be harder to watch than she’d expected. Bryce clearly held more animosity against her than she’d ever imagined.
“Let’s start there,” Frank said.
“Layla initially reported to me, but then she was promoted quickly. Way more quickly than anyone else I’d ever seen, by the way. We became peers and worked together on multiple projects, even though I’m a good ten years her senior. She was my go-to analyst and helped me get prepped for multiple missions.”
Frank looked down at the papers in front of him. “I wasn’t the person running the investigation that took place into your behavior and ultimately resulted in your expulsion from the Agency, but as I understand it, Layla, your friend, was the one who went to our office about what she believed you were doing. Am I right?”
“Yes.” Bryce ran his hands through his hair, only making it messier.
Nick leaned forward. “Why don’t we cut right to the chase, then? Did you retaliate against Layla because you were angry with her?”
Bryce averted his eyes and then reconnected. “You better believe I did.”
Layla gasped at Bryce’s forthright admission. He must have realized that they had him over a barrel, and he wanted to get out his version of the story. This could get really ugly. Fast.
“Tell us about it,” Nick said.
“Layla was my friend. We had each other’s backs. I watched out for her when people got mad about her climbing the ladder so fast. I could tell she was gifted, and I tried to show her the ropes. I stood up for her time and time again.” His voice started to get loud. “And what did I get in return? A big, sharp knife right into my back.”
She held her breath, waiting to hear what he was going to say next.
“Go on,” Nick said. “What did you do, Bryce?”
Bryce straightened up in his seat. “I came up with a strategy to get Layla investigated. I wanted her to feel the heat just like I did. I wanted her to feel that kind of pain.” Then he called her an awful name that made her sick.
“So you created these photos of Layla with Omar Assad?” Frank slid some photographs from the folder in front of Bryce.
He studied them for a moment. “Technically, I didn’t create them, but I hired someone to. I’m good with photo manipulation but not nearly good enough to make it look completely legit like these do.”
“So you wanted to get Layla in trouble?” Frank asked. “Really bad trouble, right? Because you would have known the consequences for this type of activity. If these pictures were true, then it could’ve been catastrophic. Much worse than the consequences for your conduct.”
“After all she did to me? How she destroyed my CIA career? Absolutely.”
“But that’s not the worst of it, is it?” Nick asked. “It gets much worse than that, doesn’t it?”
Bryce shifted in his seat. “When Layla came to me, asking if I was involved in the IG investigation, everything came flooding back. Her betrayal and the end of my Agency career. All those years of blood, sweat, and tears that I spent building up my reputation. And she just threw it all away like I was trash because of some moral high ground she thought she had. So, yeah, when she told me about the cartel attack, I thought I might have a golden opportunity.”
“An opportunity to take her out. Kill her, you mean?” Nick asked.
Bryce’s face turned bright red. “You’re right. I wish the cartel had killed her.”
Nick stood so quickly that his chair was knocked backward across the room. Layla sucked in a breath. She’d never seen Nick this angry.
“Maybe we should take a brief break,” Frank said.
“No way.” Nick walked around the table so he was on the same side as Bryce. He yanked Bryce up out of his chair and threw him against the wall. His hands closed around Bryce’s throat.
Nick was going to kill him. Layla jumped up from her seat, but Monty touched her arm and pulled her back.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “They’ll be okay. We have to let this play out.”
Much to her surprise, Frank didn’t do a single thing to try to stop Nick. Thankfully, after a few moments, Nick dropped Bryce from his viselike grip. “Tell me what you did.”
“I used a friend here who owed me big-time to get Layla’s safe house location, and then I reached out to an old cartel source and gave him the info.”
Nick muttered some curses that made Layla’s skin crawl. She really feared what would happen to Bryce, even if he had almost gotten her killed. She stared at Bryce. This cold, unwavering shell of a man was not the friend she’d once had. She didn’t even recognize the person he’d become.
Nick’s jaw twitched. “Because of what you did, a hit man killed two members of an Agency security detail and almost killed Layla. Their blood is on your hands.”
Bryce looked defiantly at Nick, not showing any remorse. “I don’t know what else you want me to say.”
Nick walked out of the room and a moment later entered the surveillance room where she sat. “Can I talk to Layla alone?”
Monty nodded and exited.
“I thought you were going to hurt him,” she said.
Nick groaned. “He deserves that and a lot more. What a sorry excuse for a man. I could’ve strangled him.”
“You kind of did. Now what?”
“We’ll get you completely cleared on the IG side of things, but the cartel is still seeking payback.” He took her hand. “I’m sorry about all of this, but we’ll get you through this and back to work. I give you my word.”
“Thank you, Nick. Thanks for stepping up to the plate and fighting for me. What’s going to happen to Bryce?”
Nick let out a low whistle. “I’ll have to get the Agency lawyers involved, but if it were up to me, he’d be locked away in
