It was a promise he had no right to make. Carter knew that. They were in a hell of a mess.
But telling Ally that wasn’t going to help her sleep, and she desperately needed to rest. He tried telling himself that was the real reason he’d wanted to reassure her, that she was no good to him running on fumes, that exhaustion only made her a liability.
But those were just more lies. Ones that were meant to make him feel better.
The truth was, he felt a strange ache in the center of his chest seeing her struggle to stay upright, to keep her eyes open for a few more minutes just because she was scared and confused. He didn’t like watching Ally suffer. He didn’t like it at all.
Some of his own discomfort faded now that she was peaceful and calm. The gentle rise and fall of her chest told him she was asleep. It hadn’t taken long. No surprise.
He brushed back a few stray strands of hair from her cheek, and she unconsciously shifted toward his touch. Carter let his hand linger for a moment on her warm skin, before forcing himself to turn away.
Little white lies might help Ally fall asleep, but they weren’t going to save her life when the bullets started flying again. To truly keep her safe, he would have to stop Fuller, but before he could do that, he needed to know what the son of a bitch was up to.
He grabbed his phone and went to the window. He looked out across the city as he dialed the office’s secure line.
Mason picked up on the first ring.
“I was wondering when you were going to get around to calling,” Mason said in lieu of a greeting.
“Is the office clear?” Carter asked.
“Affirmative,” Mason said. “The police left a few minutes after determining you weren’t hiding somewhere in the office. They didn’t leave happy though. Looks like you’re officially wanted for questioning in two shootings now.”
“So, no witnesses saw the other shooter at the Weaver’s?”
“Doesn’t look like it,” Mason said. “From the sound of it Fuller wasn’t just trying to get rid of Ally. He was also looking to pin it on you.”
“Again,” Carter added. “He won’t get away with it. Fuller can’t keep coming at us this aggressively and not leave a trail of evidence behind.”
There was a beat of silence from Mason. Apparently, his friend didn’t share his optimism.
“You disagree?” Carter asked.
“I don’t know,” Mason said. Carter could almost imagine his old friend shaking his head slowly as he spoke, just the way he used to back when they’d debated tactics at West Point. “Fuller is powerful, well-connected. He’s not known for making mistakes, just like he’s not known for forgiving them. I don’t think we’ll be able to get anyone to turn on him. Right now, everyone is more afraid of him than they are of us.”
Carter laid his palm against the windowpane. “We’ve dealt with men like him before.”
“Yeah,” Mason said. “But this one you can’t take out with a sniper bullet.”
Now, it was Carter’s turn for silence.
“Wait,” Mason said with more than a hint of anxiety in his voice. “Please tell me that’s not your plan.”
If only.
“It’s not my plan,” Carter said.
“Thank God.” Mason said, letting out a long breath. “Besides, you’d have a hell of a time getting at him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Congressman Fuller boarded a flight back to DC this morning.”
“Before the attempt on Ally’s life?” Carter asked.
“Exactly,” Mason said. “My guess is he’s betting it’s harder to pin attempted murder on a man that’s nearly three thousand miles away.”
Carter propped his fist up against the windowpane. “That just means someone else in his organization is running the operation. Any theories?”
“Well, Fuller’s Communications Director did get a promotion today for ‘his years of loyal service’. He’s now Chief of Staff.”
“Lucas Addams?” The worm from the party. Carter remembered him well. “That was quick. I take it he didn’t leave with the congressman this morning.”
“No. It appears he’ll be staying in town to oversee the investigation of last night’s shooting,” Mason said.
“How convenient,” Carter mused.
“My thoughts exactly,” Mason agreed. “So, I did a little digging on Mr. Addams, and found out this isn’t his first job with Buck Fuller. He also worked closely with Fuller as a Threat Analyst with the Security Department at Allied Dynamics years ago.”
Lucas Addams’ job title might have changed, but Carter was willing to bet that his position wasn’t all that different. So, he was the reason that Fuller had remained bulletproof all these years. At least Carter finally understood why he’d disliked the man almost instantly.
“How close is Charlie on the flash drive?” Carter asked.
“She’s working on it. Seems Harvey Price was seriously paranoid. She’s having a hell of a time trying to crack the encryption.”
Was it still paranoia if the man’s fears were justified?
“Let me know the second she finds anything,” Carter, said.
“Sure thing,” Mason said. “How’s Miss Weaver doing?”
Carter slowly turned around to face Ally. A warm feeling spread through him at the sight of her curled up on the bed.
“She’s holding up.” The truth was, she was doing a hell of a lot better than that. She was tired and she was stressed, but she was far from broken. Not that he would have blamed her had she fallen to pieces. Carter had known lots of strong people who would have cracked under the strain of two attempts on their lives in as many days.
“She seems like a fighter,” Mason said.
Carter smiled. His friend didn’t know the half of it.
He must have stared at her for a second too long, because the next thing, Mason was saying his name. “You still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“I was just wondering what the plan was,” Mason said.
“Yeah, of course,” Carter said, shaking his head to clear it. “Basic recon on Fuller’s office. We need to know what Addams is up to next, and that means we need eyes and ears on the place.”
Carter turned back toward the window as he laid the rest of the plan out for Mason.
Chapter Seven