Authors: Allie K. Adams
"C—prom-sed. Rep—t.
Compromised
."
"How? What can you tell me?"
"N—d cont-ct. I'm -n Col—bia."
"You're here? Where?"
"H-tel."
"Stay there." Dan slammed his phone closed. Now he had a gimpy ex-field agent to retrieve before he blew all their covers.
This couldn't have come at a worse time. Peck would be arriving soon, and Dan would bet his last bullet Mercado's surprise visitor had something to do with him. Now he had to leave JT with that monster.
Hold the phone. He turned back to Snyder. For one of the first time since Gessler's death, he was glad to be working with someone. "I need you to go back to the hotel. Donovan is here. Get him and get back here. I'll hold down the fort."
"Here? In Colombia?"
"That's what he said. We could use him on this. He can't shoot worth shit, and running is out of the question anymore. But we could use the set of eyes for relay." Dan paused and thought about how to break the news to Snyder about the mission. There really wasn't any way to sugarcoat it. "The mission's been compromised."
Snyder visibly paled. "How?"
"The mole, probably. If Donovan came all the way down to Colombia, he must have something big for us." Dan slapped Snyder on the shoulder. "Drive fast. There and back shouldn't take you more than an hour."
Snyder stood, nodded. "Right-o, boss." And was gone.
Dan sat back and let out a long sigh. It was so quiet. Not even the jungle felt like talking tonight. He had to be losing it. For some insane reason, instead of enjoying the peace, he wanted JT there next to him, talking his ear off.
Dan drifted in and out of sleep, every little noise bolting him back awake. Since arriving in Colombia, he'd had a total of four hours sleep. Four hours in two days. Damn he was tired.
He was also anxious. He hated the wait. From the consistent deep breathing in his ear, JT had fallen asleep. At least one of them would be well rested when the shit hit the fan. Dan had a bad feeling, one he couldn't quite put his finger on. It wasn't just one thing per se, but a combination of too many coincidences.
He'd found Peck after searching for two years, only to have him slip through his fingers again. He'd recovered
His gut wrenched. He didn't want to make the connection. He didn't want to believe it. All the signs were there. Only one person with high enough clearance in NASSD could have pulled something off like this. And that man was now down in Colombia, on his way to see him.
Ron Donovan had been Dan's friend for almost as long as Steve Gessler. To think Donovan would betray him like this felt like a thousand pound dagger plunged into his chest and just sat there, weighing him down. Dan knew what he had to do, and the weight of his decision made it hard to breathe. He'd never had to make a harder choice in his life. Kill the mole and save the world, or allow his friend to remain amongst the living.
Jesus, man. Why did he do it? Dan had every intention of finding out. He couldn't stand to think Donovan had anything to do with any of this, but there was no other explanation.
He prayed he was wrong.
A twig snapped behind him. He pushed himself down and removed the safety on his sidearm. If Mercado's men decided to take a stroll after dark, that was their problem. The jungle could be very dangerous at night.
Three tongue clicks. Dan replaced the safety and tucked the gun back inside his belt. "You're late."
Snyder appeared from behind a tree, Donovan hobbling behind him. Dan's blood cooled as he rested his eyes on the true enemy. Donovan returned his look.
And Dan knew. The nervousness, the darting of his eyes. The look on his telltale face. The bastard.
Donovan raised his hands in front of him in an attempt to ward off the inevitable attack. "Weber, I know what you're thinking. It isn't me."
"Shut up."
Donovan swallowed and nodded, even snapped his mouth shut.
Snyder jumped in. "I scrambled the scanners and sprayed him down."
That didn't do shit for Dan's trust. He remained silent, reading Donovan's body language like an open book. The guy shook more than a leaf in high wind. And he was sweating. Innocent people didn't sweat.
He stood and took a step toward Donovan, and caused him to retreat a step. His disbelief moved to anger, which moved to almost a blinding fury. This man had set them up. He'd turned against his country, his fellow agents. His friends.
Dan took another dangerous step toward him, causing Donovan to stumble back.
Go ahead, asshole. Try to run. Dare me.
Donovan's hands came out farther. "Honest to God, Dan!"
Dan ignored his pleas. He motioned for Snyder to take over monitoring JT inside the compound. Snyder nodded and took his position, though the look on his face as he darted his eyes back and forth between Donovan and Dan asked a thousand questions.
Reaching up and watching Donovan almost collapse as he flinched, Dan patted him down.
"Let's take a walk," Dan said, keeping his voice even and calm. If he did have to kill Donovan, he didn't want to do it in front of Snyder. Hell, he didn't want to do it. Period.
Donovan's shoulders visibly sank. His face paled. Nodding, he turned as Dan placed his hand on his shoulder and led him away.
He called him by his first name. Donovan never used his first name. That bugged him. Jesus. Why did he have to go and do something like that? As if this wasn't already hard enough. Donovan had to go and personalize it.
Before he did anything, Dan wanted to hear him out. Donovan at least deserved that much. Dan led them over to a nearby covering where they would be hidden from any prying eyes.
They settled and he turned to Donovan. "Was it worth it?"
Donovan shook his head. "I'm not the mole. I swear."
He started to shake. No, not shake.
Sob
. He then lowered his head and buried his face in his hands, sank to the ground. "I didn't know what to do. I couldn't tell anyone. You're the only one I can trust enough to help me."
Whoa. The last time he saw a grown man cry was at Broadway's funeral. Hell, they all cried. Did someone else die? Who was left? Dan knelt down and waited for Donovan to collect himself enough to explain.
Finally, Donovan drew in a deep breath and raised his head, his lazy eyes bloodshot and swollen. His entire face now covered with tears and snot, the man really was an ugly crier. "I'm such an idiot. I've been feeding information to the enemy this whole time and never even knew it. I actually thought she was genuinely interested in my work. I had no idea."
A shockwave of disbelief coursed through Dan as he realized who Donovan was talking about. "Your wife.
She's
the mole?"
"I thought she was just playing the role of the supportive wife."
"Was it her idea to get me back in? Am I the common factor in all this?"
Donovan nodded. "When
Dan cursed. "She's the brunette. That's why you were hell bent to pin this on JT."
"I didn't want to accept the fact my wife could betray me like that. Deep down, I knew. But yesterday confirmed it. After Cole called, Lexi took off, said she had to meet a friend for coffee or something. She came back late last night. While she was sleeping, I started looking through her purse. God, I felt like such a jerk. I found a cell phone. I didn't even know she had a cell phone."
"The point, Donovan?" Dan urged. As much as he found Donovan's ramblings about his wife simply fascinating, they really didn't have the luxury of time to talk about this. Dan wanted the facts. How did Donovan figure out his wife was the mole? That's what Dan wanted to know.
"I started scrolling through the numbers. I found Aims'. Cummings'. Johnson's. And one I didn't recognize. So I called it." Donovan looked at Dan. "It was Jason Peck."
Dan made that connection as soon as Donovan told him about his wife. Of course she was in with Peck. The dickhead didn't deviate. He liked women for partners. Killer brunettes. Dan ignored the throb as it shot through his scar. "Did you confront her about it?"
"I needed time to think. I went for a drive to clear my head. When I came home about an hour later, she was gone. All of her clothes were gone. Her jewelry. Gone. Except this." He pulled a diamond solitaire ring out of his shirt pocket. "This she left on my pillow."
"She knows you know. Any idea where she went?"
"No."
So now they had yet another player in the game. Dan had a pretty good idea they'd find her as soon as they found Peck. He slapped Donovan lightly on the back, squeezed his shoulder. With the news about Donovan's wife, the weight on Dan's chest lifted. He felt for Donovan's loss, having been there. But damn it felt good knowing his friend didn't betray him after all, at least not intentionally.
"I'm sorry I ever doubted you, my friend," Dan started. "Are you going to make it?"
Donovan nodded. "I'll recover. It's just such a kick in the head, you know? Loving a woman one minute, only to have her rip your heart out the next. I figured you would understand."
Yes, Dan understood. All too well.
Donovan studied Dan's eye. "You look like shit."
Dan grinned and winced as the smile reached his eye. Damn, that hurt. "You don't look any better."
"What happened? You get jumped or something?"
"Yeah. By Turner."
"Did she not get off a good shot?"
That comment reminded Dan of what Donovan ordered JT to do. Instead of demanding answers—they'd have it out during the debrief—Dan accepted the fact now was not the time.
"I take it your wife knows we are in Cartagena, and knows why."
Miserably, Donovan nodded.
God
damn
him and his loose lips. "But does she know JT is inside?"
Donovan looked at him, his expression still and serious. "She is? I didn't know that."
Dan thought it odd on how quick Donovan recovered. His suspicious nature started to creep back to the surface. "What does your wife look like?"
"I've got a picture of her." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, flipped it open. "She's blonde in the picture. She changes the color to fit her mood." He laughed at himself as he sifted through his wallet. "Or, I guess, to fit the op she's on."
"Can't you find the picture?"
"Of course." He stopped frozen and stared down at his wallet.
"What is it?"
"It's gone."
Figures. It would have been too easy for Dan to actually know what the mole looked like before he added her to his shit list. And if she didn't arrive with Peck, then Dan wouldn't have a clue as to who she was. He needed Donovan to identify her.
Swell. As if his hands weren't already full enough. He had a rookie on the inside to watch over, a technical gadget expert he didn't trust, the guy's brother he'd never met, and now a broken-hearted ex-field agent with a gimpy leg.
Wait. Snyder. He'd made a pass at Donovan's wife. He'd know what she looked like. "Come on," Dan ordered. He led them back to the foxhole. Snyder nodded once as a greeting. "Anything?"
"Nope. Your lady got up, paced for a bit, mentioned a few places she wanted to send Mercado. She now sleeps. She has the cutest little snort thing she does. And she makes these little whimper noises." Snyder wiggled his brow.
Dan glared at him with his one good eye. He didn't like Snyder taking that much of an interest in the way JT slept. "Good. So it sounds like Mercado will be spending the night with his new guest. Good. That's good." He ignored the skip in his chest.
Donovan and Snyder both eyed Dan. It was Donovan who commented. "
Your
lady?"
Damn it. "She's not my lady."
"What are you doing? Have you completely lost it?"
"Not now, Donovan." Dan hit Snyder's legs for him to move over. He sat and shoved the piece into his ear. As soon as he could hear JT breathing deeply, his nerves calmed.
Donovan shook his head, mumbled something about history repeating itself. Dan didn't appreciate the comment, but said nothing.
"Glad to see he didn't kill you," Snyder commented, always the brown-noser.
"Me, too," Donovan replied.
"The night is young, boys." Dan checked his weapons, keeping his hands busy and his eyes down.
"Care to brief me on what in the hell went on between you two?"
"He's not the mole," Dan offered, never looking up.
"Then who is?" Snyder's tone grew edgy.
Dan looked up at Donovan. "His wife."
"No shit."
"No shit," Donovan repeated, the defeat clear in his voice.
Dan finished checking his weapons. With nothing else to keep his attention off Donovan and grilling him for more information, he picked up the first gun and started checking them all over again. "Here's the deal. Peck may have company with him. They are on their way down to Colombia with
They both started to protest.
"He's no good to us now," Dan said, cutting them off. "Snyder, you've seen his wife. Can you identify her again if you had to?"
Snyder nodded. "You bet your ass. And hers."
Donovan narrowed his eyes at him.
"Good. In the meantime, I have to find a way in there."
"What?" Snyder argued. "No way. Not without me."
"We've got to plant a bug on Mercado. We need to hear this deal, know where in the hell it is."
"What about the earrings?" Snyder looked at Dan.
No way. If JT planted the earrings on Mercado, Dan would lose any verbal communication with her, as well as tracking ability. He would lose
her
. "There's got to be something else."
"It's the best choice and you know it," Donovan cut in. "This is why you should have kept your dick in your pants. It's too personal now. And you of all people should know when you're too close, you make mistakes."