“Hey, Moose.”
“Hey,” he says.
Ozzie gets in the car.
“Where’s Harding?” I ask.
“She recognized Sylvia driving that loud piece of shit when we passed it, so she is following it.”
“Do we need to assist?” I ask.
“No,” Ozzie says. “She has someone with her.”
“Thank you for the lift,” I say.
Harding calls Ozzie. “Yeah, I’ll tell them.”
He turns to us. “Sylvia is in custody.”
“What about the three men with her?”
Ozzie holds the phone to his ear and shakes his head. “Must still be in the woods.”
“Let’s beat them back to the campground and grab our stuff,” I say.
We’re at our site in less than five minutes, and we quickly work to break it down. As we pack it into the car, I notice Moose remains quiet.
“Hey, are things good between us?” I ask him.
He sighs. “Yeah. Ozzie told me you’ve been defending me the entire time. I really appreciate that.”
“I have no doubts about you.”
“Any idea why Harding’s out for me?” he asks.
“I don’t think she’s out for you. She just doesn’t like surprises, and she found out about your Russian assignments from someone other than you. That’s all.”
He turns to me. “She expected me to tell her? Only a handful of people even knew about that. It was kept confidential for a reason. Now I guess everyone knows.”
I hold up my hands. “No, not everyone. Harding found out because she has one of the highest levels of clearance you can get. I know because she asked me about it. That’s it.”
“Whatever her reasons, her approach needs work. She interrogated me for two hours back at the office after we returned from Belarus.”
I laugh. “Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but that’s Harding. She’s damn good at her job, but her people skills are lacking. She likes to be in command and isn’t fond of sharing intel. She’s used to working solo but finds herself working with us often. Trust me, she’s a good person once you get to know her.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it because I really doubt I’ll be getting to know her. We should pack up faster.” He walks over to help Ozzie with what he’s doing, ending our conversation.
I really wish Harding hadn’t been so tough on him. If he’s not open to working with her, that’s going to create problems for us on assignments.
CHAPTER 35
Durango
By the timewe got home, it was late, so I asked Willow to stay with me at my place. After everything that happened, I needed her near me to know she was safe. She said she was fine, but I woke in the middle of the night to find Willow sitting up in bed.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
She turns to me, but it’s dark, so I can’t see her expression. “Nothing. I’m just thirsty. Go back to sleep. I’ll be right back.”
