Brody's Vow (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 1) (16 page)

Except whoever had sold her out at the CIA was still alive. She’d lay odds it was her contact for this job, since he’d been the one directly involved with the operation.

Wyatt’s jaw was tight as he turned onto a road that would take them toward the highway. She relaxed slightly when she saw the cop cars coming toward them, lights and sirens on. He pulled over to let them pass, then kept going. “Anything happens to him, it’s on you,” he told her in a cold voice.

I know.
“I need your phone.”

He frowned, didn’t look at her. “For what?”

“I need to call a friend of mine.” He gave her another of those distrustful looks and though it went against her self-protective instincts, she realized she needed to give him more. He and his family weren’t out to get her, and she’d just put Brody in terrible danger then left him in an awkward situation. “She’s married to Brody’s commander.”

“Why do you want to call her?”

“Just give it to me,” she said, holding out her hand.

He shot her a dark glare before pulling his phone out of his pocket and handing it over. She dialed Briar. It went straight to voicemail. Of course she wouldn’t pick up if the number wasn’t familiar, so she left a message. “Briar, it’s Trin. Call me back at this number right away. It’s an emergency.”

She ended the call and set the phone in her lap, frustration and worry coursing through her. Wyatt had just turned onto the highway when the phone rang. Trinity picked up immediately even though she didn’t recognize the number calling. “Hello.”

“It’s me,” Briar said. “What’s wrong?”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Long story. Where are you?”

“Just got into D.C. I’m on my way home from the airport.”

“Is Matt with you?”

“No, he’s still away on an op.”

Damn. “I need you to meet me in person as soon as you can.” Trinity looked at Wyatt. “I need Brody’s address.” He aimed another suspicious glance at her, and while she understood his feelings about her, she didn’t have time to piss around. “It’s for Brody,” she said, and he relented and gave it to her.

“You get that?” she asked Briar when Wyatt was done.

“Yeah. What’s going on?”

“Rather not say over the phone. How soon can you get there?” She pulled off the wig, sighed and scratched at her head.

“I’m heading there now, so around twenty-five minutes or so, depending on traffic. You need anything?” Her voice was laced with concern.

She knew Briar meant did she need a disguise, IDs, weapons, ammo. Medical care. “No. I’ll fill you in when I see you. Bye.” She hung up, mind racing. Brody would be talking to the cops right now. She had to have someone intervene on his behalf before the investigation gained momentum. Calling Matt directly might work, but she’d rather talk to Briar about this first, see what her friend thought.

“Why did you call her?” Wyatt asked, his tone curt.

“She and I go way back. We were trained together and she works for the NSA now. If anyone can help us, it’s her.” Well, her boss. Alex Rycroft.

Wyatt didn’t respond, just kept driving. Twenty minutes later they arrived at a brick, ranch-style house in a quiet neighborhood outside Quantico.

He pulled into the driveway, got out and entered a code into the keypad to open the garage door. Then he drove inside, got out and closed the garage door. He eyed her. “You’re gonna fix this for Brody, right?”

“Yes, I’m going to find a way to take the heat off him.”

“Come on then,” he said, his abrupt tone letting her know she was the last person he wanted here, and that he’d much rather be with his brother right now. He lifted the dog out and carried him inside.

She followed him through a door and into a bright, modern kitchen. Wyatt didn’t walk through into the living room to sit on one of the couches. He planted himself at the end of the kitchen counter and stood there glowering at her, feet braced apart, arms folded across his chest. He was even bigger than Brody, would have been downright intimidating if she was the sort to be intimidated, even with Grits there at his feet to soften the image.

Giving him a level stare, she mimicked his stance and waited. They stood there staring at each other through a tense silence and she had to give him credit.

His grim expression never once changed, and he never moved a muscle. Yet she knew if she made one move toward the door, he’d be on her before her hand ever touched the knob. Brody had told him to stay and watch her, and that’s exactly what he was doing. She hid a smile, admiring that kind of loyalty.

He pulled his phone out when it buzzed with an incoming text. “She’s here,” he said to her.

Trinity was already heading for the front door when a brisk knock sounded. Wyatt was on her like a shadow as she stopped in front of it and checked the peephole, Grits right behind him. “It’s her.” She swung the door open and Briar breezed through. After locking it, Trinity made the introductions.

“Briar, this is Wyatt, Brody’s brother. Wyatt, Briar.” They nodded at each other, then Briar turned her dark gaze on Trinity, scanning her from head to toe. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled into a low ponytail and she had on black cargo pants and a black long-sleeve T-shirt. Clearly she’d just come back from some kind of op.

“Are you okay?” Briar demanded.

“Yeah.”

Frowning, she reached out and pulled Trinity into a tight hug. “You scared me. You’ve never called in an emergency before.”

Trinity squeezed her in return, warmth and affection welling up inside her. They rarely got to see each other, and when they did, it was usually because something had gone wrong. “Well it’s kinda been an unprecedented couple of days,” she admitted, running a hand through her hair. “Come on, I’ll fill you in.”

Briar and Wyatt followed her into the living room. Briar sat next to her and Wyatt perched on an easy chair across from them, Grits on his lap, keeping watch while Trinity relayed all the events that had happened over the past few days, leaving out the intimate details about her and Brody.

When she got to the intel leak, Wyatt dragged a hand through his hair. “The CIA? Jesus Christ…” Grits wagged his tail feebly, an almost worried expression on his sweet little face as he sensed the tension in the room.

She ignored Wyatt, her focus on Briar. “I need you to call Rycroft and alert him to what’s going on,” she finished.

Briar’s boss was one of the NSA’s most powerful agents. Trinity had met him once before, when she had been on the run. It had given Rycroft the opening he needed to try and recruit her. But Trinity didn’t know him well enough to contact him directly, and trusted Briar’s discretion about how to handle this. She also knew Rycroft had a big soft spot for Briar.

“What if he says no?” Briar asked.

“Then I’ll handle this on my own.” Even if she didn’t know how yet.

“By doing what?”

“Expose my contact at the CIA.” She’d alert the media, leak the story and all the information she had about Salvatori, tell them that a dirty CIA officer had jeopardized the life of a government contractor. It would spread like wildfire. “Someone there had to have leaked intel for Tino and his goon to find my apartment. And if they’ve leaked info now, then they’ve done it before. The CIA won’t want to deal with the scandal or the dirty officer.”

“You do that, they’ll target you. You’ll have to go on the run.”

“If I have to I have to.” She’d done it before. “I’m hoping Rycroft will step in. I want him to get in touch with his contacts at the CIA and force them to cover Brody.”

“And you,” Briar added in a stern tone, a worried frown on her face.

She shrugged. “I knew what the risks were when I signed up for this op. Brody got dragged into this blind.
I
killed Salvatori.
I
killed Tino and his goon. Brody hasn’t done anything wrong and I’m not going to let him take the fall for any of this. I’m willing to play hardball with the Agency if necessary, but I’d rather try Rycroft first.” It helped to have friends in high places during a situation like this. “Will you call him for me?”

Briar stared at her a moment, measuring her. “All right. But I’m gonna have to bring Matt in on this too.”

She’d expected that. “I know.”

Briar pulled out her phone and called her boss. After a brief explanation of what was going on, she handed the phone to Trinity.

Trinity answered each of his questions in detail. Normally she’d never reveal the details of her operation to a government agent, but Rycroft had the highest security clearance of anyone she knew. At the moment he was her best hope and she couldn’t ask him to get involved unless he knew all the facts.

“Agent Colebrook risked his life and his career to help me,” she finished. “My prints will be all over that rifle and there’ll be other evidence that I was at the scene tonight. Once they start digging, they’re going to uncover all kinds of threads and they’ll all lead back to me.” They were the freaking CIA, so there was a good chance they could find her if they threw enough money and assets into the hunt, even if she went on the run. “I don’t want him to put himself in any further jeopardy by lying for my sake.”

“Understood.” He paused a moment and she realized she was holding her breath as she awaited his answer. “You tired of running solo contract ops yet?” he asked, his tone level.

The question threw her momentarily. “Maybe.”
Come on, say you’ll help me.

He grunted. “All right, I’ll make a few calls and do what I can. Given the circumstances the CIA is going to want this whole thing to go away before anyone gets wind of it. But if they’ve got another dirty agent, we want him or her exposed.”

She was counting on that. “What about Agent Colebrook?”

“I’ll call DeLuca and we’ll handle the cops. I’ll call you at this number when I know more.”

“Thank you,” she said, slumping back into the soft cushions. “I owe you big time.”

“Yep,” he agreed, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Pretty sure I can think of a way for you to pay it back, too.”

She knew what he meant and didn’t want to go there yet. Ending the call, she looked at the others. “He’s on it. He said he’ll call us when he knows more.” She pushed to her feet. “I’d like to go take a shower.”

Wyatt nodded, his deep-set eyes unreadable as he stroked Grits’s head. “Master bedroom’s at the end of the hall,” he said, jerking his chin to his right.

Briar followed her into the room. The moment she crossed the threshold Trinity smelled Brody’s scent. Soap and cologne. It comforted her at the same time as it made her throat tighten.

Briar sat on the foot of the king-size bed, already on the phone to Matt while Trinity headed into the attached bathroom. She stripped and turned on the shower, waited until the water was steaming hot before stepping in and scrubbing herself from head to toe, getting rid of all traces of makeup. The whole time she thought of Brody, wondered what was happening.

Dressed in her scrubs once more, she stepped into the bedroom. Briar watched her. Her friend’s dark eyes widened when she saw the bruising on the side of her face. “You lied to me.”

“No, I’m okay. Really.” She sat beside her. “Looks worse than it is.”

Briar set her phone in her lap. “Matt’s talking to Rycroft now. They’ll do whatever they can to take over the investigation and clear you.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about, it’s Brody.”

Briar cocked her head slightly. “That’s…different for you. You’ve only known him what, three days?”

Was it only that many? Felt a helluva lot longer than that. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to sit back and let him take the fall for any of this. He’s worked so hard to rehab his leg after he was shot. I don’t want him to lose his chance of rejoining his team because of me.”

Those knowing black eyes, a shade or two darker than Brody’s, delved into hers. “What happened between you two?”

“Nothing.” She stifled the urge to glance away at the lie.

“Bullshit, nothing. Who do you think you’re talking to? I know you better than anyone. And so I know there’s something going on. You wouldn’t do this for him if he didn’t matter to you.”

“No, there’s nothing going on,” she insisted. “It’s just…he’s a good guy. I like and respect him.”

She didn’t look convinced. “Yeah, he is a good guy.”

“I’m not going to let this jeopardize his career or reputation.”

Briar didn’t answer right away, just watched her with those too-knowing eyes. “If it helps, I can see you two together. You fit. It makes sense.”

Trinity sighed, a jagged twinge spearing through her. “Briar. Nothing happened.”

She shook her head. “No. He got to you. Didn’t he?”

It seemed impossible, but yes. She made a face. “I just don’t want to see him in trouble because of me, okay?”

Briar was quiet a long moment, then her eyes widened. “Oh my God, you’re terrified.”

Trinity snapped her head around to meet her friend’s gaze. “I am
not
.”

“Yes you are, you’re afraid of what he made you feel.” A smug grin curved her mouth. “Wow, the black widow of the Valkyries finally met her match. I never thought I’d see the day.”

She huffed and pushed to her feet. “Whatever.” She was so not talking about this, even with Briar. Her feelings for Brody were complicated and scared the shit out of her. “Let’s go wait with Wyatt. He’s such great company.”

Briar chuckled. “Well he’s got good reason not to be your number one fan.”

No surprise, he was still in the same chair, manning his post. He raised a dark eyebrow at them. “Any word?”

“Not yet. What about you?”

“Brody called to say he’s at the police station and doesn’t know how long he’ll be, but not to let you leave.”

That offended her pride. “I’m not going anywhere.” Not until she’d cleared up this mess for him.

Wyatt didn’t answer, just stared at her with those dark, accusing eyes. “You better be worth it.”

She didn’t know if she was or not but she wasn’t leaving until she fixed this and saw Brody again.

They all looked at Briar when her phone rang. She checked the display and announced, “It’s Rycroft,” before answering.

Trinity was aware of her pulse accelerating as she watched Briar, listening to her side of the conversation and trying to decipher what was going on. A minute later, Briar hung up. “He says it’s being taken care of. The police will release Brody soon.”