Chapter Four
Brienne removed her soiled white blazer and tossed it on the couch before sitting on the edge of the middle cushion. The décor of the beach house located on the Jersey shore was modern, but she was too exhausted to care if she scuffed the cream twill fabric with her dirt-stained pants. This morning’s events had certainly put things into perspective. She rested her forehead onto the palms of her hands, wondering how her day had spiraled so out of control.
It had taken Grady and Brienne around six hours to reach their destination, but two of those had been used to switch vehicles at no less than three different locations. She’d only ever worked with Grady on overseas missions, so seeing his impressive reach with little to no notice here in their homeland was quite a sight.
It was no wonder the Agency, along with the FBI and other notorious government organizations, hadn’t wanted him to retire. She would have taken the time to state how impressed she was had she not been so damned busy trying to figure out who was responsible for leaking her identity and doing their best to eliminate her.
“Why don’t you go and take a shower?” Grady said, finally stepping away from the front door where he’d been resetting the security alarm code. The beach home they were currently using did not have a garage, so they’d left the last car Grady had borrowed near the boardwalk with hordes of other tourist vehicles. They eventually made their way to the beach and walked the winding sand trail as if they were nothing more than the typical vacationers. Her high heels had been dropped on the tile he was now vacating as he made his way to the kitchen. “I have a few calls to make.”
“Don’t you mean we have a few calls to make?” Brienne restated his declaration, finally having enough of the brushoff. She stood, in spite of the fact that her body protested, and made her way into the pristine cream shoreline kitchen with light gray granite countertops. Everything else in here was cream as well, if she discounted the bowl of green apples sitting on the stone-topped island. The owners could have done a lot more if the adornment was to add color. The somewhat sterile design matched her mood though. “I’m more than capable of conducting this investigation as if it were any other assignment. You need to trust me, Grady.”
Brienne couldn’t stand the clip in her hair any longer, especially considering the taut prongs were only adding to her pounding headache. Someone wanted her dead and it was all related to Brendan “Red” O’Neill. She had no other connection to Pakistan or to the ISI. She finally released the clip, running a hand through her hair and closing her eyes in relief as some of the built-up tension faded away as her hair fell.
“I never said you weren’t capable, Brie. And you know for a fact that I trust you with my life.”
Grady’s affectionate nickname for her was unexpected. Brienne stilled her movements as their gazes connected across the small island and the little appalling bowl of green apples. His dark eyes were narrowed, as if daring her to dispute his statement. His normally immaculate suit jacket was wrinkled from the long ride and his tie was slightly askew. He’d been by her side this entire time, doing everything needed to ensure her safety. She had no doubt that he cared for her, but his love for Madison was holding him back from living his life with someone else.
“I know,” Brienne admitted softly, conceding a bit and accepting the fact that she was relatively safe here. She’d always been independent, but she’d have to continue to stand on her own two feet now that she’d made the decision to be reassigned away from D.C. and the memories she and Grady had made together. Only she didn’t have that escape route anymore. “I’m not a victim, Grady. I refuse to be a victim for anyone.”
“But you are a target,” Grady reminded her, taking the time to remove his suit jacket, fold the sleeves just so, and lay it across the counter. She couldn’t help but look at the wounds on his left hand, wondering if there were any shards of glass still embedded into his skin. She was surprised when he came around the island and tenderly slipped his fingers in her hair until his thumbs were underneath her chin. “Your safety is my primary concern. You. This is my specialty, Brie. I don’t mean to take over and exclude you from any decisions, but—”
“It comes naturally,” Brienne finished in a whisper, giving in to what she needed. The warm comfort of his touch was everything she required to breathe easy and release the built-up tension running through her. “I’m so scared, Grady. The ISI? What the hell did I get caught up in that would cause this kind of reaction?”
“Your source apparently had some very accurate and meaningful information, making the ISI a little too uncomfortable with what she revealed. The first thing we need to do is confirm she is still alive. There are too many balls in the air right now and some are going to crack when they hit the ground.” Grady smiled tenderly, the way he usually did when he told her he was leaving town on assignment. He didn’t say that this time, but instead leaned forward and softly brushed his lips against hers. “Go and use the SAT phone I gave you to make contact. I’ll follow up with Telfer, since he’s going to be rather displeased at the fact we didn’t follow direct—and might I add lawful—orders. We’ll then clean up and decide afterward what our next move will be.”
Brienne breathed deeply to capture the subtle masculine fragrance of Grady’s cologne. He’d worn the same brand since she’d known him…he was a creature of habit. She didn’t appreciate the emotional wavering she was experiencing at having made the decision to end their relationship. It was the right thing to do and yet the regret for what could have been was beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Her throat constricted when his fingers gradually drifted away from her. It was as if their ship had sailed into the mist and the gathering darkness was what was left of their relationship.
Grady moved silently across the tiled floor and into what Brienne assumed was the bedroom. The width of his back told her more than the size of his lean upper body, but of the baggage he carried from his past. Could he not see that she was more than willing to carry some of the weight?
Brienne hadn’t expected Grady to stop before crossing the threshold into the next room, but he paused and turned only enough so that he could see her expression at what he had to convey. She now wished more than anything that he hadn’t.
“You deserve more than what I’ve been giving you. On that we can both agree.”
Grady lifted one corner of his mouth as if to convey his understanding, but did he? Brienne couldn’t draw air until he finally turned on the heel of his dress shoe and quietly closed the door behind him. She continued to stare at the barrier, knowing there was much more than a wooden portal between them. Madison’s essence lingered like another woman’s perfume, but it wasn’t Grady’s wife who was the issue…it was his inability to let her go from his everyday existence.
Brienne wiped away a tear that had escaped and then did her best to compose herself. She’d always had the ability to mentally compartmentalize her life and she did so now out of necessity. She’d like to be alive come tomorrow morning to be able to face the same obstacles she was now. She wasn’t sure that didn’t make her an emotional masochist, but that was the only way she could view things at the moment.
“Get yourself together,” Brienne whispered to ground herself, sometimes wishing Grady wasn’t ten years her senior. Their age difference had never really played a part in their relationship, but his life experience far surpassed hers and she’d come to realize maybe that was part of the problem. He’d already experienced his proverbial love while she’d found hers too late. “Focus, Brienne. Stay alive to deal with this tomorrow.”
Survival had become day-to-day at this point. Brienne understood how this situation worked, seeing as she’d been a liaison to several missions with the same types of dangers they faced now. She identified what needed to be done and walked across the cold floor to where she’d set the SAT phone on top of her jacket. Grady had taken possession of them from the last person they’d had contact with, along with a go-bag filled with a change of clothing for each of them, weapons, plenty of ammunition, and a few additional items that might come in handy.
Brienne took a minute to rehearse what she would say over the line, hoping her contact comprehended the severity of what had taken place. She dialed the number that would connect her to another time zone in another country, another source, and the woman who might very well have information that could keep them both alive. It took over a minute for the connection to finally establish a link.
“Raheela,” Brienne started out, ensuring the tone in her voice conveyed conviction as she continued to nurture the personal connection she’d established with the Pakistani woman long ago, “there’s been a slight problem. Have you spoken with anyone else besides me in the last few months?”
Brienne listened carefully to Raheela, her broken English not too hard to understand if the time was taken to string the words together. It had taken a couple of years to form this give-and-take relationship. Raheela had become a very reliable source for the CIA, handing over information in exchange for cash payments in rupees. Whatever the woman was doing with the currency was of unimportance. That didn’t mean the CIA wasn’t aware of Raheela using the payments as a means to conceal the movements of women wanting to escape the tyranny of their families or their husbands.
“…you are in danger. The man was asking…”
Raheela’s broken words finally strung together at the end, giving off a dire warning that came a little too late. Brienne had learned a lot from this brief exchange, but not the name of the insider who’d leaked her identity. The more she thought about it, the more she realized there hadn’t been a cyber attack on the Agency’s network to uncover her identity. Someone had personally given up her name and it was only a matter of time before her source was eliminated as part of a mass campaign to eradicate her influence in the AOR.
“Raheela, I want you to cease contact with everyone,” Brienne stressed her order, ignoring the sound of Grady reentering the room. “You won’t hear from us again until it’s safe.”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Grady asked in a somewhat harsh tone, conveying his displeasure at the way she was managing the conversation.
Brienne turned her back to Grady to finish what she’d started. Another group of agents was already well-positioned within Pakistan and was currently using Raheela, along with several others, as their information source. Brienne didn’t have the authority to terminate such a viable informant, but she would deal with the fallout at a later time. Raheela’s life was in jeopardy and it was still Brienne’s duty to ensure this woman’s safety.
“I’m not sure who to trust on my side, Raheela, so you’ll have to do this on your own,” Brienne revealed, knowing that warning alone would be enough to make Raheela cautious. “I’d suggest implementing precisely what you’ve been setting up for other women. Good luck.”
The line disconnected and Brienne didn’t have to wait long for the censure.
“You don’t have the authority to—”
“I have every right to warn my source that she has a chance of being compromised in the same manner I was,” Brienne stated, spinning on her bare feet to face Grady and wanting answers. “What was Telfer’s explanation to our assertion that ISI was involved with this morning’s events?”
“Telfer wants you in protective custody, as well as a rundown on all your most recent dealings in Pakistan.” Grady wasn’t one to show his frustration, but he ran his fingers through his military cut and then rested his palm on the back of his head. The peppered grey on his sideburns only made him appear more distinguished, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t of some influence as well. “He’s under the assumption—”
“That I somehow foolishly let my source know my real identity,” Brienne finished, already seeing how this was going to play out. Only no one was aware that she was holding an ace. “I’m good at my job, Grady. Telfer knows better than that. Just as he knows there wasn’t a cyber attack on a secure network. As a matter of fact, my source had nothing to do with the leak, of that I’m certain. We were right all along with thinking there was a turncoat within the Agency, especially since those operatives had my exact location…which was with you.”
“I’ve already reached out to some people who can help with that, but it still doesn’t explain why ISI—”
“My source is the wife of an ISI Major. It’s the perfect framework to ensure my termination. I basically handed them both me and my contact over on a silver platter with all of the trimmings.” Brienne tossed her SAT phone back on the couch, wishing she could collapse into the cushion and hide away from the world in the same manner. She couldn’t and now Grady’s life was on the line as well. “You see, I’m the only one who is still actively engaged in trying to locate the remains of the former Red Starr HRT unit, which means someone within my own department is actively trying to prevent me from discovering exactly what happened to Brendan O’Neill on that ill-fated mission. Red must have discovered our turncoat and was eliminated to secure their identity.”