Code Name: Ghost - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,48
I leave… nothing from her at all.
CHAPTER 16
Anna
My mom does me a solid by meeting me close to Jameson so we can hand off Avery, saving me a good half hour on my commute to work. I want to get in early because I have important things to do.
Not anything to do with my actual work duties for Kynan and Jameson, but important all the same.
I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. Malik’s confession left me reeling, my thoughts running in a hundred different directions as I tried to make sense of his bombshell. After hours of tossing and turning—punctuated by feeding Avery and getting her back to sleep—I finally realized there could be no clarity until I knew the absolute truth.
The only thing I knew for sure is I only had one side of the story—Malik’s—and there’s always more than one side. Or maybe I’m so desperate to disbelieve Malik that I want to believe he’s wrong.
But how could he be?
He was there.
And why would he tell me something so awful? Just to sabotage a potential relationship? That doesn’t make sense, because even though we’re both a little wary, the kisses we’ve shared revealed the utter truth that we have the potential for something amazing. Besides that, Malik’s not the type to come up with a whopper lie just to end things. He has integrity. He would tell me the truth, which means what he told me last night was completely his truth.
It just doesn’t mean it’s the complete one.
I’m not the first to arrive—that’s always Kynan. I see him in his office as I walk by. He looks up, I wave, and he lifts his chin in response. He’s not the type of boss who expects me—his assistant—to get him coffee, but I still call out through his door, “Need me to get you anything?”
“I’m good,” he replies with a smile. “You’re in early.”
“Yeah,” I reply distractedly, taking a moment to stop and lean back a bit to give him my attention. “Got a lot going on.”
“Then don’t let me keep you.” The smirk I get has me moving away from his office and straight to mine, bypassing the tiny kitchenette one door down that has a small coffee pot set up and a vending machine. I don’t drink more than one cup of coffee a day, and I’ve already had my allotment.
No need to flip on the light in my office as I enter. They’re on motion sensors. The overhead sputters to life, burning brightly. I set my purse down on my desk, shrug out of my winter coat, and plop into my chair to boot up my computer. Drumming my fingers impatiently on my desk, I wait for the login screen.
“Morning, Anna,” I hear from my doorway.
I glance up to see Saint walking by as he throws an arm up in greeting. He’s gone before I can even respond, so I call after him, “Morning.”
My gaze moves back to the monitor, and I see the login fields. I scramble to input my credentials, then I’m inside the secure Jameson database.
There’s a slight flush of guilt creeping up the nape of my neck as I move to the mission files we keep. A digital retelling of every case every agent here has ever worked on, from something as simple as protective services to infiltrating a terrorist regime. This information is a collation of all reports, which will eventually be input into Dozer’s new AI database, along with the physical files I’m currently still working through. Because it’s my job to move this information, Kynan has given me full access.
Even though I have every right to be here, it’s the purpose that has me feeling slight regret. I’m not here to do the assignments I’ve been tasked with. Instead, I’m snooping for information about Malik. It feels like a violation of trust, yet I’m not deterred. I need to know what happened that night Jimmy died.
Even if Malik is right, I need to decide how my heart feels about it. Is it possible I could hate him?
My chest feels like it’s about to implode from the possibility, and tears prick at my eyes.
I find the folder I’m searching for, an innocuous-looking thing simply labeled as JtTaskSyr 6.12.19. I’ve never wanted to enter this realm, preferring to accept the brief overview of what happened. Kynan provided mine and Jimmy’s, Malik’s, and Sal’s families with explanations. They were glossed over since some of it was classified months ago