Free Agent U7: Keegan (The D.I.R.E. Agency Series Book 7) by Joni Hahn

agonizing death.
    It wasn’t a question of who, but why. “Yes,” Clint said.
    Monica took a seat with ginger movements, Austin at her elbow. “J.B. is a clone.”
    “Yes.” Mitchell nodded with vigor, as though he were trying to reiterate Monica’s words as the truth. “The question is why do they have a clone of Jim Monroe? Does that mean they have his weapons technology— our weapons technology?” His glare swept across Clint’s face.
    Clint steeled himself against it. Anger frosted his insides, his teeth clenching until he thought they would break. How did he get here? He had been nothing but fiercely loyal to D.I.R.E. since day one. To think Mitchell thought him a traitor rankled like nothing else. Not even his tie to Cyrus.
    Except, maybe, Keegan’s rejection.
    He didn’t know what had come over him earlier. Taking that phone from her hand had been a stupid mistake. At the time, his mind had told him that. Yet, something else had driven him. Something deeper inside had to wipe the fear from her ghostly face, to bring calm to her trembling body.
    He wouldn’t lie. Not to himself. He’d wanted to talk to Cyrus, to see if he recognized his voice. To let the bastard know he was here and doing everything in his power to stop him. Most of all, to dispel his friends’ doubts about his allegiance.
    Still, it hadn’t been enough to convince Keegan.
    Wincing, Monica rubbed her shoulder. “If they have the weapons tech, I’m not aware. But, J.B. reported only to The Madam. He acted as her right-hand man. I was only given information I needed to know.”
    Clint stared into the suspicious depths of Mitchell’s hard gaze. “If they have it, it wasn’t through me. I think a more pertinent question is, how did they get his DNA?”
    “Agreed.” Mitchell glanced at the screen again as he uploaded Austin’s video feed. “But, right now, I’m more concerned with what we’ll face when we find the girls.” His gaze swept the room. “Because they want us to find the girls.”
    A trap. His friends, D.I.R.E.’s elite, would walk into a trap and they knew it.
    Austin leaned a hip against a desk. “If they have Jim’s technology along with Cyrus’s knowledge, we’re walking into a freakin’ suicide mission.”
    “There is no we about it, Rose.” Mitchell pulled his gaze from the screen to nod at Clint, Keegan and Monica. “You’re escorting these three to headquarters for safety. I’m counting on you to keep them there until this blows over.”
    Resentment mushroomed inside Clint, clouding his words with sarcasm. “HQ will also monitor all of my communications and keep me away from Cyrus—in case I’m on their side. Isn’t that right, Mitchell?”
    If he’d expected a reply, that made him all the more a fool.
    Rising from her chair, Keegan shook her head adamantly. “There’s no way I’m leaving San Diego while Natalie is missing. I want to be here when she returns. I want to do my part.”
    “What makes you think she’ll return?” Mitchell’s tone held a cynical edge. “They’ve stolen our most prized possessions right out from under our noses. Most likely, they aren’t even in California any longer. Do you think your father wants to worry about you, too? Hasn’t he—all of us—been through enough without you adding to our list?” His eyes blazed with wild blue flame. “Don’t you get it, Keegan? They’re a step ahead of us. Hell, miles ahead. They could’ve gotten Cyrus out of prison at any time but they chose right now. Why? Hell, if I know. But, I do know he’s coming for you. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t want to go back.” The usually calm commander nearly shouted his words. “Am I right? Or, are you in on this, too?” Curse words tumbled out of his mouth like dice from a can, before he stared at the footage playing on the screen.
    Keegan swallowed over the lump in her throat. Clint knew what she was thinking. This could all be eliminated if she just turned