Page 43 of Drowning in Darkness

I blink at the screen. James is gone, and I didn’t even realize. “I’m fine.”

She scoffs. “No one is fine in this situation, but I appreciate your lack of freaking out more than you know.”

“Can we talk about the pink?”

She nods at her phone on the charging console between us. I grab it and swipe to turn it off completely.

“Now we can,” she says.

I wave my hands in the air. “The vehicle passes inspection?”

“Yep. But my phone does not, on purpose. There is, however, a second phone in the glove compartment. Can you grab it and message James the number? Tell him that’s the secure line.”

“You’re worried about the AD?” I wonder as I find the other phone and switch it on. I type a quick message to him, letting him know this is the safe one to use.

“With a mole, you start at the top, not the bottom. Once he’s tested and deemed safe, I can bring him onboard. So no, I’m not worried any more so than the others I need to check. If it’s not the five people I figured out knew where we were, I’ll go back to the drawing board.”

“How does telling James help?”

“Now that I’ve picked one out, a team will be sent to prepare it. James has eyes and ears on the house and will pick up on any sign it’s being set up. If it’s leaked again, they’ll want to try something the second we arrive when I’m not familiar with the property.”

“And if this is leaked?”

“Nowhere the FBI has is safe.”

“What happens then?”

Her grip tightens on the steering wheel. “We burn the fuckers down to the ground. I’m done playing nice.”

I frown. “But if they’re part of the cult or whatever you want to call it, then they know James is working with you.”

“Very, very few know about James.”

“The AD?”

“No,” she sighs. “He’s never been in a more dangerous position. He’s working with us, and he has a codename to all but four.”

“A cool name like The Kola, or boring like Leonard?”

She glances at me, and her lips twitch. “The latter. Everyone else who needs to know is only aware there’s an informant, but they can’t ever suspect it’s him.”

“Why?”

“It would be a death sentence.”

“But he’s the leader, right?”

I’ve not pried too hard into his past or even his present. It’s dark and twisted, and there’s enough of that in my life. Doesn’t stop my heart racing every time we meet.

“The leader of a group of the worst criminals walking free. If he messes up, he dies, and someone else takes his place. They have too much at stake to walk away.”

“If he hates it that much, I don’t understand why he stayed when Ellie ran.”

“He stayed because she ran.”

“I’m not following.”

She twists her lips to the side as she decides what to tell me. “Eleanor became Ghost over the years, but before that, she was a terrified girl with no understanding of the way the world operates and was at her most vulnerable. Those first years, Jonathan could have snatched her back with a snap of his fingers.”