Page 56 of Entwined With You

“We should,” she said. “After all—”

The sharp ring of Brax’s cell phone interrupted her, and he snatched it up, frowning when he saw that the call was from Ryan.

“Am I late? I thought we said nine,” he said.

“We did,” Ryan said. “But things have changed. Get here as soon as you can and come straight to my office.”

“Of course. Cami, too?” He had the call on speaker, and realized when Ryan hesitated, that perhaps he should have taken it privately.

“No,” Ryan said. “For now, it’s just you.”

“Of course,” he said, then turned to Cami after they ended the call.

“What the fuck?” she said.

Brax could only shake his head.

“Sorry. Traffic was a nightmare,” Brax said, pushing through the door into Ryan’s office. “What the fuck’s going on that Cami can’t know about it?”

Behind the desk, Ryan lifted an eyebrow.

“Sorry,” Brax said. “I just had a shitty night.”

“I’m afraid I’m about to do the same for your day,” Ryan said.

Brax pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why am I not surprised?” Honestly, his karma just kept spiraling down…

“Have a seat,” Ryan said, then pushed a button on his desktop console. Immediately, the whiteboard on the far side of Ryan’s office slid up, revealing a black screen with the SSA logo. He pressed another button, and the room filled with an electronic hiss. Then the screen disappeared and the face of Colonel Anderson Seagrave—along with the wall of his office lined with various military and governmental commendations and accolades—appeared on screen.

Ryan tapped something into the system, and Seagrave’s image slid to one side and another video box popped up. Brax didn’t recognize the man in the image, but he wasn’t in an office. He looked to be sitting at a desk in a bedroom, if the unmade bed behind him was any indication.

“Agent Reed,” the colonel said.

“Sir.”

“We’re joined by Morris Grey. Are you familiar with each other?”

“I’ve read Agent Reed’s file,” Grey said, making Brax frown. Who was this guy, and why was he poking his nose into Brax’s personal information?

“I’m afraid I haven’t had the pleasure,” Brax said, with more heat than was probably politic, but under the circumstances, he felt justified.

If the slight grin he saw on Seagrave’s face was any indication, Brax’s irritation was showing.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said grudgingly.

“Likewise,” Grey said.

“Agent Grey is one of our best operatives at the SOC. He’s particularly good at undercover work. Has a knack for blending in.

Brax just nodded, not at all sure where this was going.

“He’s currently on assignment. Undercover at Group Ultra.

“Oh,” Brax said, perking up.

“He’s not been in place long, so he hasn’t gained enough trust from his supervisors to be as useful as we anticipate. But what he does have are eyes and an incredible memory for faces. And we, of course, have excellent artists on staff.”

Brax forced himself not to urge Seagrave to cut to the chase. Even though he really just wanted to cut to the chase. Because right then, Brax didn’t have an inkling of what Grey could have seen that had anything to do with him.