Untraceable. Janie Crouch

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СКАЧАТЬ to be the support team leader, so I can use my experience to assist him.”

      She spoke to Burgamy as she said it, but saw Evan’s surprised look out of the corner of her eye. It was no wonder; for the year that she’d been working as a handler, she’d never volunteered to oversee any of his cases. She’d done some strategy and analysis support for him, but never anything that would keep them in daily contact.

      Working as Evan’s handler would definitely bring the two of them in regular contact. She’d just have to deal with that. Juliet frowned and rubbed the back of her neck. Maybe she was too much of a coward to go back out in the field, but she could at least help him from the safety of Omega Headquarters. She knew staff support wasn’t what Evan really needed from her. Plenty of people were qualified to act as his handler, her two wounded brothers being prime examples. What Evan needed from her was in the field.

      Disgust with herself pitted her stomach.

      Burgamy, having evidently failed in his purpose for being at the meeting, excused himself and left. His assistant trailed after him. With them gone, some of the tension left the room, and quiet conversations started up.

      Juliet looked over at Evan’s handsome face as he spoke to Sawyer about Vince Cady. Evan’s brown hair, cut short and stylishly, and his beautiful hazel eyes, were in sharp contrast to her brother’s darker looks. A small scar marred Evan’s cheek, hardly a centimeter from his left eye. He’d gotten it during a case they’d worked on together, three years ago.

      Evan had fought the bodyguard of a drug lord they’d been investigating. The huge, muscular guard, having found out the two of them were law enforcement, had decided Evan needed only one eye. The thug would’ve been successful in that little venture if Juliet hadn’t helped wrestle the knife away.

      She still smiled a little whenever she thought of that case. Evan had joked a few weeks later, at a Branson family barbecue, that the scar was okay because it finally made him as ugly as her brothers. As if any of them could be called ugly.

      It had been a long time since Juliet had been to one of her family’s barbecues. She wondered if Evan still went, even without her there for the past year and a half. Probably. Her brothers were his best friends.

      The next couple hours were spent discussing details of the case. Evan would meet Vince Cady two days from now, at a place yet to be determined by Cady in Baltimore, which was less than an hour away from DC. There were a lot of unknowns in the case, things Evan would have to figure out on the fly, not unusual in undercover work.

      The primary objective of the case wasn’t the arrest of Vince Cady. Leaving him in play in order to get information on his other contacts and pipelines took precedence. So, although they’d all like to see him behind bars as soon as possible, that wouldn’t happen immediately. Instead, recovery of the surface-to-air missiles—the SAMs—that Cady wanted to sell would be the primary objective. Omega couldn’t allow them to be sold to enemies of the United States.

      And Evan would be the sole person stopping that from happening.

      Juliet ignored the tiny voice inside her that said this mission was too much for one person, even someone as capable as Evan, to handle on his own. Evan would be just fine. And he wouldn’t be alone; he’d have plenty of support from the team here at Omega.

      Juliet pretended that was enough. Because what else could she do?

      Eventually, the meeting wound down as they worked out as many details as they could. The team trickled out one by one, each sure of his or her own assignments. Sawyer and Cameron both hugged her as they left to go back to their own cases, wishing Evan luck, offering their support whenever it was needed.

      Juliet grabbed her own items, preparing to go to her office. She had a lot to do before Evan’s meeting with Vince Cady.

      “Can I walk with you?” Evan asked her.

      “Sure.” They stepped out of the conference room together and down the hall. It had been a long time since Juliet had talked to Evan, just the two of them. It felt...weird. But not as awkward as she would’ve expected.

      “I just wanted to let you know I had no idea Burgamy was going to say all that junk,” Evan told her. Juliet noticed he was careful to keep a distance from her and not touch or crowd her in any way as they were walking. “I mean, I knew I would be resuming the role of Bob Sinclair, but I didn’t think Burgamy would suggest you go back under as Lisa.”

      Juliet swallowed and tried to make light of it. “You know Burgamy, always willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

      “More like, always willing to do whatever it takes to get credit and recognition from his superior officers.”

      Juliet nodded. Burgamy definitely had his eye on a position much higher than the one he currently held.

      They arrived at Juliet’s office, one of the few perks of working as an analyst was having an office rather than just a desk like active operatives, and she entered. She thought Evan would say his goodbyes and head out, but he followed her in. She placed the case files on her desk and turned to him.

      “You look very nice today,” Evan said, leaning against the wall near the door. “Professional.”

      Compared to the jeans and sweater she normally wore, that was probably true. “Thanks.” Juliet half smiled. “I wanted to put in an effort, since Burgamy was attending the meeting. Although if I had known why, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

      Evan grimaced. “I don’t blame you.”

      “So you feel ready to take on Bob Sinclair again?” As soon as Juliet uttered the words she wished she could take them back. She didn’t want to talk about Evan’s feelings regarding Sinclair any more than she would want to talk about hers if she was resuming the role of Lisa.

      “Yeah, sure.” Evan shrugged. “Can’t miss an opportunity like this with someone like Vince Cady.”

      “Good.” Juliet didn’t know what else to say.

      “Look, Jules...” Evan took a step from the wall. “I just wanted you to know, make sure you know, that nobody, even Burgamy, expects you to resume Lisa Sinclair. Burgamy wanted to try, had to try just in case, but he didn’t really expect you to do it.”

      Juliet appreciated the sentiment from Evan, although she wasn’t sure if he was correct.

      “I know your brothers want to protect you, which is why they were so adamant in there this morning,” he continued. “They love you and don’t want anything bad to happen to you again.”

      “Thanks, Evan.” Juliet was tentative, not sure what his point was.

      “And, of course, I never...” Evan ran his hands through his hair, seeming to need a moment to gather himself. “I never want you to go through anything like that again.”

      Anguish was evident in his face. Juliet hurt for him. Ironic, since he was hurting for her.

      “Evan—”

      “But I want you to know something, Jules,” he added. “Although I would never try to talk you into going undercover against your will, you are capable of much more than you give yourself credit for. You can be a good agent again, if you decide to be.”

      He СКАЧАТЬ