of gats in the center of the dining table.
“What happened?”
“I got the money and Eberhardt took out the butler, but Ramsey is still alive.”
Guy shot Eberhardt a concerned look.
“Had to.” He shrugged. “She was cornered.”
“I’ll have to go back in a few days to finish the job. I won’t be safe until she’s gone.”
“I still don’t think you should.”
“Obviously, or you would have told Eberhardt to wait in the car like we’d agreed.”
Guy stared at me. “I never agreed to that. Let’s talk about your other options.”
“Scott talked about other options too. What did you say to him?”
“To help you.”
“What does Scott have to do with this job?” Eberhardt asked.
“He was there, at the party,” I said.
“What did he say to you?” Guy asked.
“He said, ‘Don’t do this,’ until I told him she’d hired me to kill you.”
Eberhardt looked at Guy. “Why was he at Ramsey’s party? Did you send him in?”
“No, I already told you. He’s military. He was invited to the party,” I explained. “He’s one of her soldiers.”
Guy spoke so softly I almost missed what he said next. “Keira, Scott’s one of us.”
I pulled out a chair and sat down, completely deflated. I shook my head. “No, he would have told me. And he’s military. Military is loyal to the Gov.”
Guy knelt in front of me. “Keira, people are just people, no matter what their career or social standing may be. Many in the military swear loyalty to the Resistance, even above their loyalty to the Gov.”
I looked at Guy accusingly. “You’re not just a member of the Resistance. Not if you have the authority to send people in.” I emphasized the last part.
He nodded. “You’re right.”
“But you didn’t send Scott in tonight. He was surprised to see me.”
“You’ll find, Keira, that the first rule of the Resistance is secrecy. Secrecy is what keeps people safe. You’ll be given information on a need to know basis only.”
“That’s why Scott never told me? Because you told him to keep it a secret?”
“You really should ask Scott about that.”
“Not all secrets are good, you know. Just think, if you had told Scott about your plans at the Ramsey estate, he wouldn’t have told me she was looking for someone to ‘take care of a problem for her.’”
“He connected you two?”
“Yes.”
Guy stood and quickly turned away so I couldn’t see his expression, but I heard an intake of breath. Then he turned his attention to my black bag and dumped the gats onto the table. He formed three equal piles.
One pile he pushed toward Eberhardt. Guy looked him in the eye and said, “For your family.”
Eberhardt nodded.
He pushed a second pile toward me. “Your payment for a job well done.”
He then indicated the third pile. “For the Resistance.”
I reached out and pushed most of my pile toward Guy. “I’ll just keep enough for living expenses. Use the rest to help someone.”
“You’re certain?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Yes. I may not agree with you all the time, but like I said before, I’m in. I meant that,” I assured him. “Guy?”
“Yes?”
“When we first met, you asked me if you could trust me. The answer is yes, you can.”
“I believe you.” He paused. “Keira…”
“Yes?”
“You can trust me too.”
I got the feeling that Guy wanted to say more, so I waited for a minute. When he didn’t continue, I said, “I’m tired.” I turned my gaze to Eberhardt. “Would you mind driving me home?” We needed to talk.
-Guy-
Killing Is Never Good
I closed the door behind Keira and Eberhardt and went to the front window. Tonight went better than expected. I watched them walk to the car together. If anyone could convince her of the benefit of team operations, it would be him.
I was glad Keira had not killed Elaine Ramsey. Killing was never the best option. And Ramsey was too high profile. Removing her was too risky.
We would have to do something to make her lose interest in Keira though. Probably the best way would be to get Keira a new identity, whether she wanted one or not. If Keira Maddock couldn’t be found, Elaine Ramsey would not be able to control her and could not use her as leverage against Scott.
Keira had also demonstrated her loyalty to the Resistance tonight, in more ways than I had anticipated. She was definitely an asset. Scott should have told her a long time ago.
I had to admit, I was starting to like her. Keira had a spark, an energy that I was drawn to. She forced