Fatal Diversion (The Keeper's Series #4) - Stephanie St. Klaire Page 0,8
because these guys look a little suspicious and might have a hard time getting invited to the table.”
“Right. So send lipstick to the table.” Dillon had the rest of the team laughing at this point. “What did you think would happen when I put on”—she waved her hands over her body—“all this shit? I’m dressed like fucking Barbie, and he’s single and ready to mingle. I don’t think you thought this through.”
“I didn’t think he’d be attracted to you.”
Dillon’s hand landed on her hip as it shifted half-cocked. “And why is that, Merce? I’d love to hear the rest of that sentence, but keep in mind I can still kick your ass in a skirt.”
“I don’t mean it like that. I just mean…you’re like a sister to me, and I don’t see you that way.”
“Right. Sister to you. Ransom only knows a chosen few of us,” she reminded. “You knew he wouldn’t let the guys get close enough to run undercover protection, so you must have thought something about me would…”
“Jesus.” Mercy began to pace. “I guess you’re right. I didn’t think this shit through. When the stuff started going down around the Valdez Cartel case and we uncovered the dirty backroom club they called Chalice, which was mostly government and around my brother, I got concerned. Credible threats are everywhere, and one lands right here in the administration.”
“Then back to what I said in the beginning…tell him,” Dillon reasoned. “Tell him he isn’t safe and that there’s a reason for concern.”
“No. He’ll do something about it, and that’s the last thing we want. He’ll blow the whole case for us, and we’ll never get to the root of this shit. We need to get as close to it as possible and blow it up from the inside out.”
Killion chimed in. “Everyone we’ve taken down so far has stopped talking. We got deep into this thing, but not deep enough.”
“Why? Why aren’t they talking? Get me up to speed,” she asked.
“Fear?” Gannon offered. “It seems they were willing to turn on each other to a certain point, then it just stops. There’s a layer they aren’t willing to expose.”
“So offer their families protection and get it out of them.”
“We have, love,” Eli chimed in. “We are still uncovering what appears to be an endless list of characters, and we have teams dismantling everything they come across, but we can’t get past this one.”
“The White House.” Dillon knew they were right. Hell, she was at the center of what seemed to be some sort of conspiracy to take the Wyatt administration out in a full-blown assassination attempt. They didn’t have to tell her that. She watched it unfold as she slammed against the ground while shattered glass rained around her. “The only one here I trust is Kroy.”
“What have you noticed? Who else should we have eyes on? We can plan more operatives if we need to,” Mercy said.
“That’s just it. I don’t have reason to distrust anyone specific, but I also don’t have reason to trust them either. My gut says half this place is dirty. Are we getting anywhere with financials, digging into backgrounds, or…anything?”
“It’s all clean,” Killion said. “I’ve been able to crack codes all along and find hidden money in offshore accounts, shell companies, you name it. But for some reason, I can’t get through the layers of bullshit when it comes to those who serve alongside the man himself. The White House is a damn fortress.”
Killion was smart and confident, but something in his tone had Dillon’s attention. He wasn’t confident, not this time, and that scared her more than knowing someone with a deadly agenda was walking the halls of the White House at that very moment. If there was a trail, Killion sniffed it out. Mostly because he was behind the technology the White House used. He’d designed it alongside one of the Brother’s Keeper owners Liam O’Reilly, who was also his cousin. It was clear to everyone in the room that Killion was beyond the point of frustration and was downright pissed off, even if he didn’t show it outwardly.
“You’ll find it, Kill,” Dillon said. “You always do. They’re just using your brilliant mind against you by using the technology you designed. You’ll get it.”
“The problem is I’m just too damn good at this. This stuff is so secure that I even locked myself out in a way.” Killion didn’t beat around the bush and what was often mistaken for ego was really