Free Operation: Midnight Guardian by Linda Castillo Page B

want him to see. That was one of the talents that made him such a good agent. The problem was he just couldn’t see this woman contacting and dealing with terrorists.
    “Probably,” he said thickly.
    “What do we do if he—”
    “Look,” he said harshly. “I don’t know the answers to all your questions.”
    “I think we should have some sort of plan,” she said. “You know, a worst-case scenario.”
    “We do have a plan.”
    “What is it?”
    “If that son of a bitch shows up here we run like hell.”
    “Oh, that’s brilliant.”
    “You got a better idea?”
    “You’re the secret agent here, not me.”
    “You’re the genius scientist. You should damn well know that if you mess with fire you’re going to get burned.”
    She stood abruptly. “Why do you hate me so much?”
    “What I feel for you is not nearly as personal as hatred.”
    “I did not do any of what I was convicted of. If any of the police agencies that had worked mycase had been able to see past their noses, they would have noticed that the case was too perfect. Too…airtight.”
    “You’re not going to convince me of anything, so you may as well give it up.”
    “Look, Cutter, I have an IQ of 150. I graduated from high school when I was fourteen. I graduated from the University of Michigan when most of my friends were still in high school.”
    “So you’re smart,” he said. “Big deal.”
    “The point I’m getting at is this: if I had wanted to sell secrets to some terrorist organization, there’s no way I would have left a trail of clues Helen Keller could find!”
    Her words echoed within the confines of the cabin. She stared at him, her eyes wide and flashing, her nostrils flaring with each breath. And in some small, gullible corner of his brain, he wondered if she was telling the truth.
    Because he didn’t want to deal with that question at the moment, he dipped a clean cloth he’d torn from his shirt into the water and scrubbed it against the tiny bar of lye soap he’d found on the counter. “This might sting a little,” he said.
    “That’s hardly of consequence when my life is totally destroyed.” She winced when he setthe cloth against her temple and began to gently scrub at the dried blood. The cut was deep. He could see the dark bruise rising on her pale skin. All he could think was that he hated to see such pretty skin marred.
    “I was framed,” she said abruptly.
    Cutter’s hand stilled. “And who is this mysterious person who allegedly framed you?”
    “Daniel Savage,” she replied. “My coworker.”
     
    MY LOVER , a cruel little voice added.
    It had taken Mattie months to figure out what had happened. How ironic that the person she’d trusted the most—a man she’d trusted with her heart, her body—would be the one to betray her.
    “How do you know it was him?” Sean Cutter’s gaze met hers with such intensity that for a moment Mattie had a difficult time meeting it.
    “I don’t know for certain,” she said. “But Daniel is the only person who had access to the information—much of it highly restricted.”
    “What kind of information?” Cutter finished cleaning the cut on her temple and let his hand fall away.
    “Everything you ever wanted to know about the EDNA Project but were afraid to ask.”
    “Mattie, that’s not an answer.”
    “He accessed my laptop without my knowing it, Cutter.”
    “Aren’t there security measures?”
    “I had my ID and password taped to the bottom of my pencil drawer.”
    “Not too creative.”
    “I wasn’t expecting my coworker to commit treason.”
    “What else?”
    Feeling like a gullible fool, she looked away. “Whoever framed me knew things only Daniel could have known.”
    “Like what?”
    “Well, Daniel and I talked quite a bit. We were…close, you know? He was the only person I knew who was as passionate about the EDNA Project as I was. Only, now I realize that passion was about betrayal and money, not science.”
    She raised her