wasn’t typically something they’d be in a rush to do.
“They’d rather cover it up,” she said when he told her that. “So me making that recording was more insurance on me for Darius than for me.”
“I hate to say it, but yes, it was. It’s probably in one of the safe deposit boxes he keeps, but it’s not going to help us now.”
* * *
At his words, Grace smiled tightly, and maybe she’d realized that from the beginning. Not being trusted was a state she’d lived in for so long, she was used to it, and that made Dare’s gut clench. Mainly because he hadn’t trusted her either. Not until today.
He’d watched her twisting her hands together as she told the story. She’d been to hell and back. Held on to her secret like it was the only thing that could save her. Whether it would or wouldn’t hadn’t mattered as much as her belief that it could.
“I know how hard it must’ve been to keep all this from me—from Darius and Adele,” he told her.
“My mom used to say that everyone had a secret persona—she just gave hers a name . . . and a paycheck.” Grace shrugged. “I’m beginning to think she was right.”
“You were scared. For good reason.”
“It’s not a perfect science. It’s not something I want. I like the practical magic aspect, the healing, but the other stuff—I never want to be so vulnerable and used.”
Dare could understand that because his urge to use her gift to save both her and Avery and Darius was undeniable.
His desire for her safety was a larger entity, and he contented himself with the knowledge that he hadn’t turned into a total monster.
“You believe me that it just started coming back. That I haven’t been in contact with him.”
“I believe that you haven’t been in contact with Powell. But I don’t think it just started coming back.”
She looked so frustrated. “I can’t explain it. I don’t want it. It’s gotten me in trouble my entire life.”
He could believe it.
“I felt a twinge right before you came here,” she admitted. “But it was dread—and I don’t have to fear you, right?”
“You did,” Dare said. “But I think you were feeling something else. Someone else.”
She didn’t deny it, asked, “Where do we go from here? Do you want me to tell you what I know about Rip? What Darius and Adele and I discussed?”
“We could start there.”
“Rip’s deals were bad for the U.S.—he was selling secrets. After some of S8’s agents got killed on a personal mission for Rip, S8’s mission became discovering the identity of and destroying the man who’d created them. I was collateral damage . . . but Darius told me that they decided they couldn’t leave me behind. At first they thought I might be working with Rip. That I escaped with them purposely to spy on them.”
“And then they saw your scars.”
“Yes. They were still pretty fresh. It was the way he kept me in line. He kept trying to break me, but I wouldn’t break. And that made him try all the more, because that interested him. He told me I was a lot like him.” She shook her head, then drew in a deep breath and pushed forward. “Rip knew they’d discovered him, but he couldn’t take out the whole team at once. Even for a top-level agent, it would draw suspicion. S8 had been squeaky-clean until that point, Rip’s pride and joy.”
“He was a double agent, just like Jem said.”
“Is,” she corrected. “Jem’s right. His cover’s always been international wealthy financier. Which means his deals wouldn’t always be on the up-and-up—part of his cover. Makes things really convenient for his dirty games. He’s gotten the CIA some of their best intel in forever. Darius believed it was probably less than a quarter of what he actually knows. To be alive, he’s got to be smart and play both sides of the fence. His CIA background check shows he’s a distant cousin of a rich Boston family,” she said. “But that’s the biggest lie of all.”
“You’re sure?”
“I had a lot of time on my hands as a young girl. I got into more places than I should’ve because security thought I was just playing.”
“You got into his safe?”
“I watched him do it a million times,” she admitted. “At the time, his security cameras weren’t what they are now. He felt more secure in his own home with a lot of muscle. It changed as I