Page 49 of Innocent Target

Mason took over Nina’s care and led her away. The moment the door closed behind them, and he was with his team inside the safehouse, James felt on the verge of collapse and without a word, went to Mercy. After kissing her brow, he did what he’d dreamed of doing for the last two days, and cradled his sleeping niece in his arms.

Tears immediately welled in his eyes and fell down his cheeks, but he didn’t care. Abbie was safe. It was challenging to breathe as all the fear and guilt inside him burst and finally dissipated.

With Mercy by his side, rubbing his back in a show of support, James lowered his head to kiss Abbie’s tiny one, silently promising her that he’d never fail her again, and that he’d be the most perfect uncle in the world.

With his angel niece in his arms and the love of his life by his side, James felt steady again. He couldn’t wait to reunite Bethany with her daughter and be surrounded by his precious family once more.

Chapter Twenty-Six

James hadn’t slept since finally getting Abbie in his arms. Mercy had offered to take care of the baby while he rested, but there was no way he’d keep mother and daughter separated any longer than necessary.

The reunion, later that night, had put James’s remaining anxiousness to rest. When Bethany arrived with Miles, she had launched herself at Abbie and at that moment, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Cuddling and cooing at her baby, Bethany looked at James with such deep gratitude it surprised him.

Only much later, when dawn was slowly bringing on a new day did he allow Mercy to drag him to bed.

A day later, they were back in Miami, sitting around the conference table with the entire team, James knew that he had to face the music. Shane and Emme had been informed of everything that happened. It was clear that several of his decisions had bypassed asking for help, which, unless there was a reasonable explanation attached to it, wasn’t encouraged. James had called a private meeting with Shane and Emme. He’d needed to explain his motivations and prevent Mercy and Nick taking flack for his decisions. Surprisingly, both of them had been understanding. They agreed with most of his choices. Family was a weak spot for any agent.

Emme smiled at the assembly, maybe to counteract Shane’s frown. “Thanks for being here for the debrief on James’s sister’s case.”

Mercy, who was sitting by him, discreetly touched his knee with hers as a show of support. It was clear she was prepared for explanations, so was Nick, who’d been by his side for most of this.

“Let’s start by saying that Abbie and Bethany are alive, well, and safe. She agreed to remain in a safehouse for now, at least until we settle this problem with the FBI.”

A groan spread around the table and Shane lifted a hand. “I know, but it’s an annoyance we need to deal with. On that note, I’ve relayed all the information we gathered about Agent Rao and his relationship to the Havoc Henchmen. I’ve presented the case to my contact, and let’s say they were dumbstruck by it and never saw it coming. It took a few hours, but the news traveled up the chain, and they’ve requested we hand over Rao. They weren’t expecting we’d negotiate on Bethany’s behalf to make sure she’s left out of any games they want to play. I’d say they’ll see reason in a couple of days because I won’t let that go. None of us will.”

The determination in Shane’s voice settled James. Bethany needed to be protected, and the Agency was doing precisely that.

“Now, about Hull. We have the police report on his death. This is where we need to tread carefully. As per what we could read, his death has been classified as a gang war casualty. With Rao unconscious, there’s no way he could testify to what happened, or accuse any of us of killing Hull. Unless new evidence comes up, I suggest we ride this and let it go. With Hull gone, the organ trafficking falls. None of his lieutenants will survive the power struggle brewing in and out of the gang. However, we’ll keep an eye on it just to be safe.”

“What about Nina?” Mercy’s voice was full of concern for the traumatized girl.

Emme sighed. “Poor soul. After the first evaluation, it was clear Hull and his men had abused her in awful ways I won’t explain here. I’ve contacted a therapy center that specializes in that type of victim to take care of her. Again, this will be kept under wraps to protect her. I doubt any sort of accusations would help her heal. Once she’s better, we’ll see how we can help her more.”

Mercy immediately relaxed, nodding in approval. James noticed the soft spot she had for the broken and vulnerable. No wonder that, even without knowing Nina, Mercy had taken her under her wings, even if her hands were already full.

“Which brings us to the next point of the debrief. Hull’s mother. We got an update on her. She died this morning when the police went to see her with to tell her that her son had died.”

Nick arched an eyebrow. “Broken heart?”

Shane shook his head as Emme winced. “No, she jumped out of her bed to attack the cops, but her heart shut down because of the effort. That was the end of her.”

The general silence around the table was both impressed and shocked.

Shane continued by giving an update on Ian, but Mercy had already spoken to her former partner over the phone. He was well and had made Mercy promise to come to spend a weekend with his family soon.

“Now, the most important part of this meeting. It’s a roundtable on how to save the Alliance Agency.”

Everyone froze as Shane shook his head and continued. “Yeah, we need to think about ways to get money, maybe a bake sale or a bikini car wash, so we can pay for that fucking boat James blew up and swore to replace.”

The entire room boomed with laughter, and James relaxed a bit and shook his head. “Come on, Shane. You know there wasn’t any other option. And I said I’d take out a loan for that.”

Emme winked at him, clearly not wanting to stretch the joke too much. “Easy, James. We’re only teasing you. In fact, someone here may have a solution for you.”

Imari swerved in her chair, a smile on her face. “When I saw the price of that thing, I knew I couldn’t let you cash in your 401(k), and I realized that Hull wouldn’t really need his anymore.”

The agency’s hacker placed a file on the table and slid it to James. “Not that Hull had a 401(k), but he had money stashed away. It’s a bit of a gray area, but I guessed it was for a good cause, and I want you to spoil your niece as much as you can.”

James opened the file to see the picture of a white boat. “I put the boat in your name and made sure everything was legit so you can do the transfer to Ray.”