“So you”––my attention snapped to my old handler––“rigged the IED and when the crash didn’t kill me, you shot me. Why?”
He shrugged. “Money. Between Murray and Ashland, they offered me more than I could make in ten lifetimes sitting behind a desk. The only reason I didn’t finish the job in the hospital was because you lost your memory. I was in the clear, and ole Roger here could keep his best agent. It only cost me twenty grand to get the surgeon to change his report. Win-win.”
“Why did you have Niall tell me Sloane was dead? She didn’t have anything to do with the investigation.”
“You never would’ve left Ireland or the investigation behind otherwise.”
“Fucking dick,” Lanie said over the comms.
“Sometimes it’s best to leave the past in the past, Agent Palmer.”
“You won’t get away with any of this. Either of you.”
“We already have,” Niall scoffed.
“Have you though?”
Director Ashland scanned the room, looking nervous. Niall, on the other hand, didn’t know when to shut his mouth.
“Of course. And when I leave here, I think I’ll go visit your little baby momma. She was pretty damn hot nine years ago. I bet she aged well.”
I had him pinned to the wall by his neck before he could blink. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Stand down, D. That’s an order,” Waverly commanded in my ear. I ignored her though, too busy plotting his death to care about the consequences. “Shit. I’m moving in. The rest of you, get ready.”
“Let him go, Agent Palmer.” The gun, which had been pointed at my head earlier, was pressed firmly against my temple. With no other choice, I released my grip. “Good. Get on your knees. I’ll make this quick.”
“FBI. Put the fucking gun down.”
Waverly rounded the corner with her Glock aimed at Roger’s head. He reacted quicker than I thought possible for a man his age, moving behind me, using me as a shield.
“No shot. No shot.” Koen’s voice was steady and calm as he spoke over comms. “I’m switching to a secondary location.”
“Special Agent Mitchell,” Roger sneered.
“Director Asshole.” She returned his greeting. “It’s over. Let him go.”
“Now why would I do that?”
“Shot reacquired," Koen announced.
“Because if you don’t, my sharpshooter’s gonna put a bullet in your brain.”
The front door flew open, smacking against the wall. Keaton, Lanie, and Noah stalked through it, two of theirweapons trained on the man behind me, the other at Niall. We were in a standoff. One wrong move and bullets would start flying.
“Are you willing to take the chance that I wouldn’t get a shot off first, Waverly?”
Her green eyes locked on mine as she gave Koen the command, “Neutralize.”
Glass shattered a micro-second before Roger grunted in pain, his gun tumbling out of his hands. I caught it mid-air. It wasn’t a kill shot. He needed to pay for his crimes. The bullet hit the axillary nerve in his shoulder, taking away his ability to hold a gun. There were only a handful of people in the world who had the same pinpoint accuracy Koen did behind the scope of his rifle. Damn glad he was on our side.
“Gun,” Lanie yelled.
I didn’t even think. I spun, aimed, and pulled the trigger before Niall pointed his weapon at anyone I loved. He was dead before his body hit the ground.
It was over.
Sloane