Bridal Armor by Debra Webb Read Free Book Online Page B

implications?”
    “Bogus. Dangerous. That’s why I’m here.” If Thomas Casey was a traitor, she’d tender her resignation as soon as the weather cleared. “We learned about the outbreak, discovered the virus you recovered from the Germany mission is missing and...” Her voice trailed off. It made her sick just to think it. She didn’t want to say it aloud.
    “And?”
    She swallowed, but it did nothing to clear the bad taste from her mouth caused by the outrageous accusation. “And received an anonymous tip that you plan to sell another vial of the virus while you’re here for the wedding.”
    “Any kind of confirmation on that tip?” His quiet tone did nothing to dull the lethal edge behind the question.
    “Your supposed buyer has been in the country for several months with a diplomatic detail.”
    “Whose diplomatic detail?”
    Inside she cringed. “I was told I didn’t need to know. However, four weeks ago with the support of U.S. officials, the criminal known as Whelan entered the country to assist with the takedown because he claims he can identify the buyer.”
    “Convenient excuse.” Thomas flexed his hands on the steering wheel.
    His reaction worried her. She’d heard the rumors about his history with Whelan, but her search for accurate details had come up empty. Considering the close call at the airport, her personal vendetta theory was gaining traction. But that didn’t explain away the outbreak or the potential virus sale. “The agency that arranged for his assistance needs the deal to go through so they can arrest both the seller—you—and the buyer.”
    Expecting an outburst, an immediate protest or at least another question, she found his prolonged silence at that revelation unnerving. She knew he was processing, had been trying to figure the angle on all of this since she led him away from his anticipated wedding agenda.
    He downshifted to get up the next hill. “So the armchair quarterbacks and their perfect hindsight vision have decided to dig my grave, literally and figuratively, when I’m distracted with my niece’s wedding. That’s cold. Even for the Initiative.”
    “As a committee we are not behind this.”
    “Says the woman who doesn’t know the source.”
    “I admit that looks bad, but I purposely took this on in order to protect you and prevent what looks to me like a more personal vendetta.”
    “Protect me,” he muttered. “From the Initiative or from something else?”
    How to tell him? How was less important than what, she decided, and sharing what she knew might help him trust her faster.
    “My committee received intel that you already sold the virus to one extremist group and this new buyer is a line back into the Isely family.”
    “Bull. We eliminated them as a player five years ago. That was the whole point of the Oberammergau mission. It was considered a successful takedown.”
    “I remember.” All too well. She remembered the bruises and burns on his body when he’d made it—two hours late—to the rendezvous point. She’d driven through the night across the mountain and into Austria while he pretended he wasn’t wounded. He’d joked about padding the expense account when she checked into the most extravagant hotel in the area.
    She remembered turning up the music on the radio as she dug a bullet out of his back, the marble and mirrors of the luxurious bathroom serving as cold, silent witnesses. It hadn’t made the task easier. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the bright red trickle of his blood swirling in the drain of the white porcelain bathtub.
    “Which is why I’m here. Someone thinks they are back in business. I thought you might take the news better from me.”
    “Who’s the source? What are your orders?”
    “As I said, the source was need-to-know, but I was assured the information is verified and legitimate.”
    He swore. She couldn’t blame him; she felt the same way working in the dark like this. “My thinking was