Page 127 of Shadow

Playing both…“So…what does that mean?”

He sighed. “It means that…that I⁠—”

“Fed the syndicate information.”

He nodded.

“Like Martha Lintz?”

His mouth tightened. “Yes.”

Oh, she wanted to hit him—and herself. Why was she without her gun when she needed it? She backed away⁠—

“But I didn’t know they would try and kill her!”

“Are you an idiot?”

His jaw tightened. “I tried to stop it⁠—”

“You’re an accessory to her murder!”

He held up a hand. “Daphne, calm down⁠—”

“I can’t believe I trusted you. That I…that I kissed you.”

He had both hands up now. “Daphne, I meant what I said—you can trust me. No matter⁠—”

“Wait. If the cell phone is yours, what does that mean?” She stared at him, going hollow. “‘Time’s up’?” She took another step away, scanned the room. There, on the counter, a knife in the block. “Did you know they were going to hit the house?”

“No!” He swallowed then, lowered his voice. “No—that wasn’t⁠—”

“What was the plan, Asher? For you to kill the witnesses?”

His mouth closed.

She might be ill, right here.

“I wasn’t going to do it, and that’s why they came after us. Me. Them⁠—”

She just tried to breathe.

“Listen—playing both sides was the only way I could build my case. I had to get close enough to gather hard evidence⁠—”

“No wonder they think you’re dirty.” She shook her head. “I should have listened—I defended you.” She ran her hand across her mouth. “I’m such a fool⁠—”

“You’re not. Patterson knows the truth. He’s my handler. He recruited me for the operation. He’s known from the beginning. He’ll clear all this up.”

But she was back on the rain-slicked road, remembering. “So when I asked if you were compromised⁠—”

“I wasn’t lying. I’m not compromised. I’m FBI. I’ve always been FBI.”

“No. You’ve always been compromised. You put my life—our witnesses’ lives—in danger.”

“For justice!”

“For a personal vendetta against the people who killed your sister!” She took a breath, schooled her voice. “You made me believe I could trust you.”

He swallowed.