“He does have rights.”
“He sure didn’t care about yours, did he? He gave you up, Layla. Even if he wasn’t the one pulling the trigger, he killed those men on your security detail and tried to kill you.”
She nodded. She knew he was speaking the truth.
“Hang tight in here for a few more minutes while we sort some things out.”
Her heart broke at Bryce’s betrayal, but she feared that all of this was far from over.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
While Layla was at the Agency, Hunter was spending his time on the DEA investigation. He had decided to take a different approach, so with DEA intel plus the help of one of his hacker friends, he had gotten into the texts of some of the actual cartel members.
If they found out he was messing around with their stuff, he’d be as good as dead. But he was confident in the firewall and all the extra protections they’d set up, thanks to an additional level of security from the CIA.
He didn’t have Diego’s or Roberto’s texts, but he had messages from a variety of guys below them, and he was reading and trying to synthesize as fast as he could.
Currently, he was reviewing texts from Mateo Lopez. From everything he had gathered, Lopez was one of the direct reports to Diego. Most of the texts were operational in nature, and he had the feeling that if he stuck with it, he might get enough intel to provide the DEA with more leads on how to find Diego.
As he was reading the next string of messages, the tone suddenly changed. These weren’t business texts. They were romantic. And very steamy, at that. He almost stopped reading because he didn’t feel like it was right to invade these highly personal conversations. But the next word he saw on the screen made him freeze.
“What?” he said out loud. “No way.”
He read the words again. Scarlett, mi amor.
His mind went into overdrive, and a sick feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. He was far from an expert on Latin America, but he felt fairly certain that Scarlett was not a common name in the region.
Could Layla’s friend and mentor be working with a cartel deputy? He hadn’t even considered the possibility that the mole could be at the State Department. But hadn’t Layla said that Scarlett had worked at the DEA for years?
He scoured through the other texts, searching for references to Scarlett, but came up empty. It was highly possible that the one message had been a slipup. They probably never referenced each other by name for this exact reason.
How in the world was he going to break this news to Layla? She’d already been betrayed by Bryce, and now this. He had to be sure before he took this to her, but how could he be?
Immediately, he started researching Scarlett. He called his hacker friend and explained that he needed anything he could get on Scarlett ASAP.
Two hours later, he still didn’t have a rock-solid case, but he had enough puzzle pieces that he couldn’t hide this from Layla. There was far too much riding on this.
He had called her cell multiple times with no answer. It was so hard to be patient, but he knew that she would be safe as long as she was at the Agency.
He would just have to wait, and so he kept digging.
Layla was on autopilot. There was too much hurt and betrayal for her to deal with her roller coaster of emotions. Bryce had not only threatened her career, he had wanted to take her life.
When Scarlett walked into the Agency conference room, Layla gave her a big hug.
“Man, I’m glad to see you,” Layla said. “I’m sorry to have called you, but I needed to talk.”
“I got a partial download from Nick.” Scarlett squeezed her hand. “I am so sorry.”
“Thanks.” Layla held back the tears. “Can we get out of here?”
“Absolutely. Let’s go to my place. We can get your security detail to follow us.”
“Thank you.”
Layla’s hands were still shaking as they made the quick trip to Scarlett’s house in McLean. She saw she’d missed calls from Hunter, but she’d call him back after she got done with Scarlett. She sent him a quick text telling him where she was going and then put her phone in her purse.
“Here we are,” Scarlett said.
Layla had been to Scarlett’s ranch home many times. She loved the house and felt comfortable there. Layla needed a place where she could decompress for a few minutes and shed some tears in a no-judgment zone.
She thanked the two-man security detail standing guard on the premises. Knowing she had them and Scarlett, who was a highly trained operative, beside her, she felt safe—or as safe as she was going to feel.
They walked inside the house, and Layla let out a huge breath.
“Go put your feet up in the living room. I’ll bring in some tea,” Scarlett said.
“Thanks.” Her phone buzzed in her purse, and she pulled it out. Hunter was being persistent in his texting. As she started reading his words, her heart dropped.
Scarlett is the mole. Be careful. I’m on my way and have called in reinforcements. I’m so sorry.
She read the message again, but her brain didn’t compute. This couldn’t be right. Hunter had to be mistaken. Bryce was a traitor, but not Scarlett. Scarlett was her friend.
Scarlett walked in with the tea. “Layla, you’re pale.”
Layla put her phone back in her purse and looked up. “Yeah, I’m feeling a bit weak right now.”
Scarlett sat down next to her and handed her the tea.
Layla picked up the cup but stopped short of taking a sip. She looked into Scarlett’s eyes. “Do you have a weapon on you?”
“Not on me, but my gun is right over there on the table.” Scarlett inclined her head in that direction.
“Do you mind if I take it? I’d feel safer with
