Free Sworn to Secrecy (Special Ops) by Capri Montgomery

isn’t your fault. You did the right thing. You helped save lives and you know that.”
     
    “But I cost her hers,” she turned her head to look up into his eyes. Those emerald balls of truth pierced through to her soul.
     
    “She would have been working on this even without you. You know that.”
     
    He was right; she did know that. “Why would they kill her? She’s not the only person investigating them.”
     
    “But she is the only person with access to you. I’m guessing they planned to get your location out of her.”
     
    “But she didn’t have it; did she?”
     
    “No she didn’t. But they wouldn’t have known you hadn’t contacted her yet. They can’t find you and they’re reaching for whatever possible connection they can.”
     
    “So it is my fault.”
     
    “No, it’s not.” He placed the palm of his hand on her cheek and smiled at her. He had the most calming way about him. She imagined it was difficult for anybody to be afraid around him because he just had an abundance of goodness that made him seem safe.
     
    “Come on,” he scooped her up in his arms. “It’s time for you to get some rest.” He carried her to the bedroom. She hadn’t wanted to rest before, but right now she felt as if she needed to. She needed to close her eyes and sleep because it was the only possible way to shut out the memory of the current events. At least she hoped the memories wouldn’t haunt her in her sleeping world.
     

 
    Chapter Four
     

     
    P reston was smart enough not to walk into the lion’s den. He knew too much about self preservation to do something so stupid. So instead of going into Ronald Jones’ office or home, he made sure Ronald Jones found his way to him, Or more like, he and Jet made sure they yanked the man out of the parking garage and took him some place isolated. Thanks to Micah they had taken care of the security cameras in the garage long enough to claim the treacherous bastard.
     
    When jet pulled over to the side of the deserted stretch of road that’s when the conversation began. Preston sat there giving Ronald the death stare; letting him know if he moved he would get hurt. Ronald looked like any other man whose day of reckoning had come. He obviously knew his secret was out, and now what Preston wanted to know was just what lie he planned to tell about it. Would he try to continue to say Carissa liked to make things up?
     
    “Overthrow the Government,” Preston sat back in the rotating chair in their SUV. “Was it worth killing your only daughter for?”
     
    “She’s dead?”
     
    “Was it worth it?”
     
    “I…” Preston watched the baldheaded man struggle for words. Ronald had been going bald at one point, but Preston could tell the completely bald look was partially genetics and partially due to a razor. “I asked you all to go in for her because I knew they would kill her. But I couldn’t tell you why.”
     
    “You expect us to believe that?” Jet narrowed his ash eyes and stared at Ronald.
     
    “I didn’t have a choice. I had to help them. I never expected her to find out and when…when Dallas Ferguson saw her coming out my office, and he saw that I didn’t have to unlock my desk drawer to get in it, he just put it together that the leaks must have come from her.”
     
    Jet snorted in disbelief.
     
    “Start from the beginning,” Preston growled. “And try not to lie to me.”
     
    “Fifteen years ago they approached me— Dallas Ferguson’s father actually…before he was killed in that attempted subway bombing. I said no then and I meant it…but…Eleanor—my wife,” he shook his head and lowered it. “I told her about them and what they wanted. I told her I thought it would be best if she and Carissa stayed with her mother for a while. Eleanor wanted to go visit her anyway. She was planning for it…but she didn’t want to leave me. She wanted me to go with them. Nobody knew they were going for the visit because we didn’t