Page 99 of Rescuing You

“I am quite sure of that.”

The man’s arrogance set Michael’s teeth on edge. “Leila saw a map of Munich in an office with some markings on it. As soon as I can get ahold of a similar map, I’m going to have her try to remember where the markings were. This is what we’ve been looking for. We knew Vortex was up to something in Germany. Now we’ll be able to figure out where. And once I get the women out of Turkey, I can question them more thoroughly, find out what else they know. Leila’s twin was trapped at that compound for a long time. It’s possible she heard something that can help.”

“All the more reason for you to come clean about your whereabouts. Maybe you can still walk away from this.”

Going against orders might get him fired from the CIA, but it wasn’t against the law. Neither was traveling to Iraq. Sure, he’d broken laws in-country, but Brock couldn’t prosecute him for those.

But if Brock suspected him of conspiring with terrorists, he’d be taken into custody and questioned.

Leila and Jasmine would be too.

Michael had to protect them from that.

Somehow, he had to prove the women were on the right side of this battle. And he had to do it before Brock caught up with them.

“I have a name for Vortex.”

The tension between them ramped up, nearly palpable across the miles.

“Where’d you get it?”

“Leila told me.”

“What is it?”

He was tempted to keep it to himself, but lives were at stake. “Khalid Qasim. He’s an old friend of her father’s and a relative of her best friend. His family owns the compound where she was being held.”

“We’ll check it out,” Brock said. “The longer you remain AWOL, the worse this is going to be for you.”

“Considering you put me on leave yourself, I’m not AWOL. What did you expect me to do?”

“Tell your team what’s going on, that’s what I expected.” The words were cold, angry. “Because you are part of a team, remember? A team that could’ve gotten in and out of Iraq in a matter of hours.”

“You would’ve sent the team in?” Michael couldn’t help the disbelief in his voice.

“We’ll never know because you didn’t give me a chance, just went off on your own. From the looks of the so-called friend you dumped at that hospital⁠—”

“I didn’t dump him⁠—”

“You could’ve gotten yourself and Splat killed. All because you don’t trust us—me—enough to do what’s best.”

“Why would I? You think Leila is a terrorist.”

“We’d have gotten her out. And questioned her, yeah. But if she’s innocent, we’d have figured that out too. We’d have a lot more information now than you’ve managed to get.”

Michael couldn’t argue with his team leader’s logic. Maybe he should’ve told Brock what he’d learned, let him send in the team.

If only he’d been certain Brock would. But if he hadn’t, Leila would still be a captive. Jasmine, too. And they still wouldn’t know who Vortex was.

He’d done what seemed best at the time, and so far, it’d worked out.

“This is why I didn’t want you on my team,” Brock said. “If not for your relationship with the White House, you’d be on some nothing assignment somewhere.”

Michael clamped his mouth shut. Brock was wrong—Michael hoped, anyway—but arguing wouldn’t help his cause.

“But there’s no way you’re slithering out of this one,” Brock said, “even if you are friends with the chief of staff’s son.”

It always came back to his friendship with Travis Price. Michael wasn’t sure if Brock envied it or if he really believed all of Michael’s advancement had come because of Travis.