guy, and they forced Mendez’s hand to declare Ana a fugitive.”
“The timing of the release of both the video footage and Ana’s real last name only solidifies that someone at the Bureau has been moving pieces in place, maybe to put Ana right where they want her.” Porter? His gut said not to trust the man. And if Porter had anything to do with setting up Ana, the last thing he wanted was to use her as bait to draw out Ivan Smirnoff. Well, assuming that’s who kidnapped the sources. But based on intel, they were fairly certain The Huntsman was their guy. “Anyone know about me? That Ana and I are together?”
“Aside from Kyle’s poor description of you to Ana’s unit, no,” Harper answered. “And speaking of Kyle, right after news broke about Ana, he was called back to Budapest.”
“Wait, what?” At the moment, A.J. was too out of sorts to process the significance of Kyle’s sudden return to Hungary. “Are we sending Owen to follow?”
“Admiral Chandler wants to wait and see what happens Friday at the safe house,” Harper replied.
At least the admiral was still on their side. “Maybe we should cancel the meet on Friday? Too many unknown variables.”
“No!” Ana exclaimed. “If I don’t show up, I’ll lose my chance with Anthony and to see if Porter is okay.”
“Can I, uh, call you back?” His shoulders slumped when his eyes connected with Beckett, now standing off to his side in a watchful stance, hat back on, hand still on his holster.
“Of course, but you need to pack up and leave ASAP. I’d rather you leave the rental vehicle there. Grant have something you can drive?” Harper asked.
“Yeah,” he said quickly, needing to de-escalate the tension in the room. “Call you soon.” He ended the call and stuck the phone back into his jeans pocket. “We’ll talk about Friday,” he said to Ana. “But first—”
“You need to tell me why I’m not handing the Russian spy over to the FBI.” Beckett and his straight-edge, no-bending-the-rules attitude, damn it. It had always been a source of contention between them over the years.
Ana faced the TV screen again, grabbed the remote, and turned it off. Probably a good idea. She didn’t need any reporters getting into her head, not after she was finally freeing herself of some of the guilt she’d held on to about her parents’ lives.
“She’s undercover, but things went sideways,” A.J. rushed out.
Beckett shook his head. “Trouble follows you everywhere you go, Alexander James.”
He didn’t need a lecture from his forty-year-old brother. Beckett may have been older, by a mere two years, but he wasn’t A.J.’s dad, though he often acted like it. “And you haven’t made any mistakes?” he challenged, which was a low blow because he didn’t want to throw Beckett’s past in his face right now. The man had his own demons. A.J. hung his head and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. His brother wasn’t the enemy. “Can we start over? Ana’s not a threat to anyone in the family, and you must know I’d die before letting anything happen to my niece.” How could Beckett ever think otherwise?
Beckett’s hand slipped from the holster and relaxed at his side, but just because he didn’t want to shoot him anymore, didn’t mean he didn’t want to throttle A.J. for bringing a “fugitive” to the ranch, innocent or not.
Ana snatched her bra and panties from the floor, apparently just noticing they were there, then held them behind her back and stood next to A.J.
“You two were here having sex at Grant’s house, meanwhile her face is on every major news outlet in the country.” Beckett curled his hands into fists at his sides. Tension gathering like an impending afternoon storm.
“Since when do you watch the news? You hate the media.” Not the point. Focus. “We have to go. I’ll explain everything once it’s safe to do so. Please, just don’t report we were here, not unless you want us getting killed.” He hoped his brother would set aside his high-and-mighty moral compass if it meant keeping A.J. alive.
Beckett’s mouth opened, prepared to speak, but then he tightened his lips.
“I really am so sorry.” Ana stepped forward, keeping her undergarments hidden behind her back, and reached out with a tentative hand in Beckett’s direction, but Beckett walked back a step.
Beckett stared at her with such contempt it had A.J. wanting to knock his brother in the jaw for daring to hurt Ana’s feelings.