if The Falcon had allowed it.
And he hadn’t.
“It won’t always be like this. I plan to transfer to another position, and then I can have him with me all the time. I’ll contact you tonight for some face-to-face with Drake. Ask Dad. He knows how to do it.”
“I know, I know. Your father knows everything.”
“Thanks, Linda. Safe travels.” Sue blew a kiss to Drake as her stepmother hustled him toward the line for security.
She waved until they got to the front of the line. Knowing her father would be stationed at the airport in South Carolina to pick them up was the only thing that allowed her to turn away and leave the airport. Drake lived with her sister, Amelia, and her family, but they were in the Bahamas and Sue hadn’t wanted Drake to go along, so she sent him to Dad and Linda.
Linda could take care of Drake’s physical needs and keep him safe, but she trusted only Dad to meet Drake’s emotional needs. Her stepmother didn’t have the capacity for that job, as Sue suspected she trash-talked her to Drake whenever she got the chance.
If Sue had one more incident like the one she’d faced in Istanbul, she had no doubt her stepmother would move against her to take Drake away from her completely and declare her an unfit mother.
Sue clenched her teeth and exited the airport. She’d just have to make sure she didn’t have any more of those close calls.
After she fed her parking receipt into the machine and the arm lifted, Sue flexed her fingers on the steering wheel of the car and glanced in her rearview mirror. With Drake’s visit over, she could finally breathe…and find out who was following her. The possibilities were endless.
She navigated out of the airport and drove straight to her office. She had to confront her supervisor, Ned Tucker, about her suspicions. She’d already been debriefed after the kidnapping. Why was the CIA still dogging her? And if it wasn’t the CIA, maybe Ned could help her figure out who it was. She hadn’t wanted to tell The Falcon about this new development.
He thought she was a pro who could handle anything. She could, but handling everything on her own all the time had gotten old. Sometimes a girl just needed a shoulder to lean on. She’d had that shoulder…once.
She rolled up to the parking gate of the office and held her badge out the window.
The security guard waved her through, and she parked her car. Slipping her badge lanyard over her head, she marched toward her office building. She’d taken the day off to drop off Drake and Linda at the airport, but she couldn’t wait any longer to get to the bottom of this mystery tail.
She punched the elevator button and almost bumped into one of her coworkers coming out.
Peter held up his hands. “Whoa, what’s the hurry?”
“Sorry, Peter.” She stepped to the side.
“Thought you were out today.”
“Half day. I need to talk to Ned.”
“I think he needs to talk to you, too.”
“Why? Was he looking for me? He knows I’m out today.”
Peter shrugged. “You might wanna turn around and go home.”
“Why?”
Peter pivoted away from her and called over his shoulder, “Take someone’s advice for once, Sue.”
If Peter thought his cryptic warning would send her home, he didn’t know her very well. She dropped her hand from holding open the elevator doors and stepped inside.
Good. If Ned wanted to talk to her, maybe he wanted to explain what the hell was going on.
The elevator deposited her onto the fifth floor, and she badged the door to the cubicles. The hum of low voices and keyboard clicks created a comforting welcome.
As she turned the corner to her row, she stumbled to a stop. A man she didn’t know was hanging on to the corner of her cube and Ned’s head bobbed above the top.
She bit the inside of her cheek and continued walking forward.
At her approach the stranger turned, and his eyes widened. “Chandler.”
She stopped at the entrance to her cubicle, her gaze darting from Ned to a woman sitting at her desk, accessing her computer.
“Wh-what’s going on here, Ned?”
Her boss ran a hand over his bald head, his forehead glistening with sweat. “I thought you were out today, Sue.”
“So, what? You figured you and a couple of strangers could get into my computer in my absence?”
The guy to her right straightened up and pulled back his shoulders. “Ms. Chandler, we’ve noticed some irregularities on your workstation.”
“Irregularities?” She shot a look at Ned, who refused to meet her gaze. “I don’t understand.”
The woman sitting in front of her computer twisted her head around, a tight smile on her face. “I found another one.”
“Another one what?” Sue stepped into her cube, hovering over the woman seated at her desk.
The man placed a hand on Sue’s arm. “Perhaps it’s best we talk in Ned’s office.”
Sue had noticed a few heads popping up from other cubicles. She lifted her own chin. She knew damn well she didn’t have any irregularities on her computer. The Falcon would make sure of that—unless these were communiqués from him.
“Let’s go, then.” She shook off the man’s hand and charged out of her cubicle and down the aisle to Ned’s office in the corner.
She reached Ned’s office before the two strangers, with Ned right behind her. She swung around, nearly colliding with him. “What’s going on, Ned?”
“They received an anonymous tip about you forwarding classified emails and documents to your home computer.”
“What? You know I’d never do anything like that. I’ve been in the field myself. There’s no way I’d put anyone in danger.”
“I know that, Sue.” His gaze darted over his shoulder, and then he sealed his lips as the two investigators approached.
Sue shuffled into the room as Ned sat down behind his desk. “Take a seat, Sue.”
“That’s okay. I’ll stand.” Folding her arms, she squared her shoulders against the wall.
The two investigators remained standing, too.
The woman thrust out her hand, all business. “I’m Jackie Templeman.”
Sue gripped her hand and squeezed hard, her lips twisting as Jackie blinked.
The man cleared his throat and dipped his head. “Robert Beall.”
He
