Page 126 of Shadow

“Destiny was telling the truth.” Her voice was certain. Absolute. “Roger is the mole. And I’m not sure if he’s working with Draven or against him, but he’s definitely in contact with whoever attacked us.”

He stared at her. “I don’t⁠—”

“I found this.” She held out her hand.

He stared at it. The burner phone from the house, the one he’d put in his pocket before the fight with Dmitri.

The one he’d lost.

“Destiny found it in the back seat of the SUV. Roger’s been communicating with them. He’s the mole.”

Aw. He took a deep breath.

“No,” he said quietly. “He’s not.”

Daphne looked at Asher Morrison, and a stone dropped through her.

The secrets. The careful answers. The way he’d said “You shouldn’t trust me,” even while asking her to.

The guilt in his eyes every time she’d questioned him. The way he’d looked at her last night like he was memorizing her face before losing her.

Oh no—no⁠—

“What do you mean ‘No, he’s not’?” Daphne kept her voice steady.

“No. Roger is not the mole.”

She blinked at him. “Then—what’s this?” She pointed to the phone. “Whose⁠—”

And then she saw it. The way he swallowed, looked away from her, sighed.

Her knees wanted to buckle. Her hand went to a chair, her chest tight…

“Asher…?”

“Just, take a breath and listen.”

But a terrible whirring had started in her head, like ocean waves rushing over her. She took a step back.

But she was the stupid one here.

She’d known. Some part of her had known from the beginning that Asher Morrison was keeping secrets—had even told him that.

She’d thought it had to do with something he’d done…like maybe Draven had a personal vendetta against him.

But really, she’d just wanted to trust him, hadn’t she?

Oh, she was stupid.

And she’d even kissed him!

Maybe he saw that realization on her face, because Asher’s jaw clenched. Something flickered across his face. Resignation. Guilt. The look of someone about to lose everything.

“I’ve been doing more than working my informants,” he said quietly. “I’ve been undercover.”

That didn’t sound so bad…

“Playing both sides—that’s the part you didn’t know. Infiltrating the Shadow Syndicate for the RICO case, that part you did.”