Expired Getaway (Last Chance County #7) - Lisa Phillips Page 0,26
office I work at is not an accountant’s office.”
“You mean he doesn’t know it’s a front for an international company that protects and safeguards former spies and the like?” She knew she sounded snarky, but she was still coming down from their “happiness” conversation.
Millie shushed her and looked over her shoulder, as if they weren’t the only ones in the apartment.
Bridget held back a smile. “No one is listening, Millie. Are you going to tell him you’re still in the spy business?”
“He doesn’t have clearance to know. Kind of like how there are things about his work with the FBI that I can’t know. It’s not keeping secrets, just operational security. We both know that.”
Bridget wasn’t sure it was that simple.
She spoke maybe too much and words were powerful. It seemed like Millie didn’t speak enough sometimes. They all had secrets. Theirs was a messy line of work, and not just the fact Bridget was currently nursing several injuries.
The worst was the bruise from being hit by a car. She could handle almost anything from an enemy. She’d proven that to be true enough times. But getting struck unintentionally by a man who was at one time her ally? She had dreaded seeing him again, and yet it had happened, and in the worst of circumstances. She was sure he hated her for leaving. Or maybe he was completely indifferent over the fact she’d simply disappeared one night, never to be seen or heard from again. Until last night, that is.
She didn’t know which was worse, but knew she would likely never find out. After all, Bridget didn’t plan on seeing him again.
“We need a way to find Clarke.”
Millie nodded. “Before he finds us. But what does he want besides carnage? He didn’t need to kill your father yesterday…”
Bridget’s hairbrush fell from her hand to the floor.
“…but he did.”
“My dad is dead?”
Millie started to speak, but stopped herself. “You didn’t know.”
“I didn’t know.” Emotion started to swell in her. Bridget pushed it down enough she could say, “Where’s Butch? Who has my father’s dog?”
“I can find out, but is that the priority here?”
To her it was, but Bridget didn’t expect it to be a priority for anyone else. However, considering the dog was now an orphan just like her, it was on the list of things she was going to be concerned about. “Like I said, we need a way to find Clarke. Can we use the phone system somehow? I know it’s designed to be completely secure, but isn’t there a way somehow to access it where we can get a GPS location for him?”
Millie thought about the question for a second. “The person who designed the system is no longer…available.”
“Burned, or dead?” Once the transaction had been paid for, Millie usually kept a client viable for future products. Whatever happened, it had to have been serious if there was no longer a way to get a hold of them.
“The FBI raided the whole operation not long after. But they didn’t find anything that would give them access to our system.”
“So, you saw how awful they were and decided to tell your husband’s people all about them?”
Millie shrugged. “They did a mediocre job, but our phones are secure. I had someone I trust confirm that. Everything else they were into?” She shook her head. “I couldn’t let them continue operating in all good conscience.”
“If I had a dollar for every time I’ve had to say that.” Bridget returned her friend’s expression. Both of them had zero tolerance for people who victimized others. She could only imagine what these guys had been into.
If Millie had made sure they were taken down, then it was because she knew they deserved it.
“I’d love to know what Clarke is after.” Bridget stayed quiet a second so she could think it through, knowing Millie would rush to answer. Some things had to be mulled over. Even though she’d spent most of the night already doing that, there were still a lot of unanswered questions.
Bridget leaned against the dresser. “Either he’s on his own, determined to find me for whatever reason, or he’s trying to take down the whole company. He could be after the database—in which case, every one of our clients needs to be warned.”
Millie nodded. “I’ve already sent the first email in the sequence. They’ll know something is happening and be on guard. But until there’s a concrete threat on any of them personally, that’s all they’re going to get.”