“Mess is a good word for it. Oh, and call me Ari, most people do.”

“All right, Ari it is. Riot told me a little, you were involved with a guy who was a mole for the Chinese. Is that right?”

“Apparently. I still can’t believe I was so stupid…” Just thinking about it make her want to curl up in a ball and hide.

“Hey, none of that. These people are trained to hide in plain sight. It would have been almost impossible to know he was up to anything. Don’t beat yourself up, baby,” John said as he pulled her onto his lap.

It should have felt weird, but it didn’t. Then again, she’d been crushing on him hard for months, so it was more like a dream come true. Too bad all this other crap was going on at the same time.

As she squirmed to get comfortable it triggered a moan from John. A flush of satisfaction heated her cheeks. It was good to know she could still turn a man on. She’d doubted everything about herself after Paul.

“He’s right, Ari. You weren’t the only person he decieved. Try and remember that.”

“Maybe not, but I was the one person he tried to frame.”

“That’s what Riot mentioned but he didn’t have any background. Can you fill us in?”

Ari turned her head to look at John. He nodded his encouragement. She wondered if he’d change his mind about her when he realized how stupid she’d been with Paul.

“We were both working for the same contractor on base and about three years ago he asked me out. I’d seen him around but we hadn’t really spoken other than saying hi. We were in a lot of the same meetings but didn’t really work on projects together. Most of my projects are classified.”

“Okay. So you started dating. Was there anything suspicious about his behavior at that time?”

“No, nothing yet. It wasn’t until a year or so later after we got an apartment together. At first, everything was great.”

“When did it change?”

“Probably about six months later.” Ari couldn’t stay still any longer. She needed to move around, to wring her hands, to do anything but sit there in John’s arms feeling comforted. Dredging all of this up was aggravating and embarrasing. It didn’t matter what anyone said, she’d been through the training to get her top secret clearance, she should have seen this coming. She’s lucky she hadn’t lost her job and her clearance, though it could still happen.

Mr. Darcy’s head rubbing against her leg surprised her. She hadn’t realized he’d gotten up. It was amazing how in sync he was with her. He was the best thing that had happened to her since this mess started, and now John too. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve these two souls but she was thankful they were in her life.

“Ariana, baby?” John’s voice startled her, she’d been in her own little world, one where she’d done things differently.

“What happened next, Ari?” Wolf’s voice was kind, like John’s.

“Just little things that made me wonder about him. Late night meetings with friends I’d never met. Lots of phone calls and he’d always hang up if I came within earshot.”

“Okay…” John prompted when she stopped talking. She hated rehashing the whole thing. It would have been easier to have Colin explain it all.

“It was weird. I thought he might be cheating on me. I asked him and he denied it of course. The calls died down for a bit after that.”

“Did you ever find out who he was talking to?”

“Nope, never. And what’s weirder now that I think about it, is it wasn’t on his regular phone. We both had the same one but the few times I caught him on it, he was using a different one. I don’t know why I never realized that before now.”

“Do you know if the FBI got both of his phones?”

“I have no idea. Remember, at first they thought I was the one stealing the information. They scared the shit out of me when they came bursting into the apartment and cuffed me.” She’d been rubbing Mr. Darcy’s fuzzy head for comfort. When she stopped he licked her hand and she smiled. Thankfully, he hadn’t let any rip since they’d been at John’s. But she knew it was only a matter of time, and that made her smile. She really did have an evil streak.

“Okay. Go on,” Wolf prodded.

“A few months after the calls had started again, I caught him in my office at work, sitting at my computer. He said he was leaving me a note, but it didn’t make sense. He could have texted or called. I didn’t notice anything about the computer then, but the FBI said he’d attached a device that recorded my keystrokes. It was on the back of the computer itself and I never saw it.”

“How long after that did the FBI arrest you?”

“About a month I think. I don’t really remember the time frame, it wasn’t too long. But long enough for him to get quite a bit of classified information. When they searched our apartment they found a couple of flash drives hidden in a false wall in his closet. I think that they only had his fingerprints was what cleared me.”

“They would have realized it wasn’t you if they did a deep enough dive into his background. I’m not sure what these companies are thinking about when the give classified access.”

“Well that’s just it, he didn’t have the same level of access I did. The FBI is convinced that’s why he pursued me. So he could get access to my computer.”

“Wolf, that’s enough for tonight. Ariana is tired, it’s been a long day. I think we have enough to start with, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry all of this happened to you, Ari. But Riot and my team will get to the bottom of this. Just hang tight.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“Night. Riot, I’ll call you in the morning after Tex has some updates. Or he’ll call you, you’ll hear from one or both of us either way.”

“Thanks, Wolf. Say goodnight to Caroline for me.”

“Will do.”

John disconnected the call and came up behind Ari and wrapped his arms around her. With him behind her and Mr. Darcy in front, she was like the filling of a male sandwich, and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t feel comforting.

“Do you hate me now?”

“Why would I hate you?”

“Because you spend your life fighting to keep our country safe from people like me, people who expose our secrets to foreign countries.”

“Wait, you didn’t do any of that. The asshole Chen did. He picked you for a reason, your clearance. They should never have hired him in the first place. A good background check would have set off all kinds of flags. You did nothing wrong.”

“But…”

“Nope. Listen, did you leave your computer unlocked ever?”

“No.”

“Did you give him your password, or leave it where he could find it?”

“No.”

“Did you ever bring classified information home on a non-government computer?”

“No.”

“See, you did nothing wrong. He could have added that device on anyone’s computer, but you had information someone wanted. Now we have to find out who that was.”

“Do you really think Tex can figure it out?”

“If there is anyone in the world who can, it would be him.”

“Okay. That makes me feel a teensy bit better.”

“Good. Why don’t you get changed and I’ll pour us some wine. I’ll put on a movie and you can relax for a bit. How does that sound?”

“Great. But Mr. Darcy will need to go for a walk first.”

“Okay, I’ll take him. You’re not leaving the apartment, remember? Unless we want the Marshalls breathing down our necks.”

“Oh crap. I forgot. I’m sorry you’re stuck with all of this. Do you mind taking him?”

“Of course not, we get along great, don’t we, buddy?”

A low “woof” followed by the thumping of Mr. Darcy’s tail against the wood floor made it clear John was right.

“Okay, then. Just remember, Mr. Darcy, whose dog you are.”

As if he understood exactly what she’d said, he licked her hand and she’d swear he smiled at her. Dogs don’t smile, do they?

John chuckled, kissed the side of her neck and went to get Mr. Darcy’s leash. Did he really believe all he said, that she wasn’t to blame? If she could just believe that maybe she could move on from the guilt. People’s lives had been put in jeopardy because of that information. Living with the knowledge that someone could have been hurt or worse had been eating her up alive for the last eight months.

Once again Mr. Darcy nudged her and licked her hand. “It’s okay, I know you love me. And I love you more than anything.” She bent to kiss him on the head as John returned.

“Hold on, you love the dog more than anything? Where does that leave me?”

“Uhh, sloppy seconds?”

“Eww, make that stinky seconds, maybe. No more buttered bread for you, Darcy. That is horrific.”

Ari couldn’t stop laughing. The look on John’s face as he wrinkled his nose was hysterical. He was right though, it was a ripe one. But in all fairness it’s not like he hadn’t known Mr. Darcy was a fart cannon when he invited them to stay.

“I better get on that walk before he let’s something besides a toxic gas balloon loose in here.”

She was still giggling as John left a soft kiss on her lips and took the dog for a walk.

***

 

Yellow crime scene tape criss-crossed the door to Ari’s apartment. Mr. Darcy whimpered as they walked past it. John understood, their girl was in danger and they needed to make sure she was safe.

“It’s okay, boy. We’ll keep her safe.”

He hadn’t been worried about leaving her alone in the apartment. Colin had added an extra detail. Besides the Marshall outside there, was one inside monitoring all access on and off their floor. It was good they had her covered, but he was a SEAL and fully capable of protecting his woman. Damn, he liked the sound of that. But Colin wouldn’t back down.

Something Ariana had said to Wolf made him wonder if the second phone was what the conspirators were after. It was worth a call to Colin to check, because if they or the FBI didn’t have the phone, then it was out there somewhere, and they needed to find it.

“Rogers.”

“Hey, Ariana mentioned that Chen had a second phone. Do you or the FBI have it?”

“A second phone? Not us. It’s the first I’m hearing about it. I’ll call the special agent in charge of the case and see if they have it. That could be what they’ve been searching for.”

“That’s what I was thinking. I don’t think she remembered it until tonight when Wolf and I were asking her to tell us everything.”

“Dammit, that’s why we told her to keep a journal. So it would trigger memories like that.”

“It’s not like she did it on purpose. I’m betting the shock today might have knocked the memory loose.”

“Maybe. I’ll get back to you when I have an answer. And remember, you and Wolf are only supposed to help keep her safe. You’re not cleared for this investigation.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. But if we turn something up, I’m not going to ignore it.”

Colin’s sigh was audible even over the phone and it made John smile. He wasn’t making it easy for his friend.

“I’m going to end up losing my badge. I should never have brought you in at all. It seemed harmless enough, and would keep you out of trouble. But this has turned into one horrendous clusterfuck.”

“You said it. And you need to remember you did read me in. But I’m sure you’ll keep your badge when we figure out who’s behind this and you help bring them in.”

“If, not when.”

“When did your positivity go out the window?”

“A long time ago. You know the routine. It’s hell out there. How much shit have you seen? It makes it hard to believe that anyone is good anymore.”

“You need to take some time off, you sound burned out.”

“Maybe. We’ll see after this case. For now, let me call Landau and see what, if anything, he knows about the second phone.”

“Okay, let me know.”

“Will do. Be careful.”

“Always.” Disconnecting the call, he waved to the Marshall who was sitting in his car and headed back inside after picking up Mr. Darcy’s poop. “I sure hope this helps your digestive issues. Any more stink bombs like that last one and you will be staying on the balcony.”

“Woof.”

“Yeah, well get over it.”

“Woooooof.”

“You can whine all you want. I think you do it on purpose.”

Mr. Darcy wagged his tail and kept his woofs to himself as they headed back into the apartment building.

While he was out, Ariana had gotten changed, found a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses and was waiting on the couch for them. Even though he knew she’d be safe while he was gone, he still breathed a sigh of relief seeing her sitting and waiting for him. It gave him the warm fuzzies inside, and for the first time since he’d moved in to the apartment so many months ago, it felt like he’d come home.