Staring down at the hardwood floor, she muttered, “So, it’s true. I’m the daughter of a domestic terrorist who committed murder and the son of General Jorge Escobar, the most notorious leader of a Mexican drug cartel known to the DEA.”
Julia lifted her eyes. “I’m a DEA agent, for God’s sake, and I’m his fuckinggranddaughter.”
THE PRESENT
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA
Miguel and Julia
Julia gagged.She leaped from the recliner, tossed aside the file folder, and disappeared down a dark hallway. A door slammed.
Brendan grew uncomfortable under Miguel’s scrutiny. He gulped his third glass of whiskey and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I know your opinion of me. Well, you’re right. I don’t deserve my name.Brendan Stewart McAdams.” He spat it with disgust. “You admire and respect my father, Cameron McAdams? The man who abandoned my mother in the hospital after they’d nearly been killed by a drug cartel operating in Miami? The man who sent my mother into the arms of Brendan Stewart? He’d still be alive if it weren’t for them, if my mother hadn’t agreed to marry him. A man she didn’t love! And now because of their guilt, they saddled me with the name of a dead man!”
Miguel had heard Cameron and Brianna McAdams’ great love story and had no patience for Brendan’s interpretation ofit. “You’re pathetic. Trey is named after your mother’s deceased brother, and he doesn’t have a problem with it. Your parents loved and respected Brendan Stewart and honored him by gifting you with his name. Get over yourself. Besides, you have a bigger problem. Explaining why you kept Julia’s identity a secret from Madam Secretary.”
“I’d like to know that myself,” Julia declared in a hard tone. The expression in her red-rimmed eyes and on her pale face matched the steeliness in her voice. Her hands were clenched into fists. “How long have you kept this secret from my parents?”
“Five years, when you became a DEA agent.”
Her chest heaved. “Five years! Who else knows, Brendan? Who else?” Julia’s voice rose in volume and intensity.
“I don’t know! I buried the report! If the DEA had known your real identity, they never would have approved your application.”
“Because the granddaughter of General Jorge Escobar could never be trusted.”
Her bitterness hung like a shroud over them.
“You didn’t bury it well enough,” Miguel chided. “Tex uncovered it. Anyone with his expertise could, too, if he were inclined to look.”
“Why was Tex even looking into it?” Brendan demanded. His body straightened into an imperious, defensive posture.
Miguel pointed at the sterling-silver necklace Julia wore. “Because of that.”
Her hand flew to her throat. “My necklace?”
“Justice recognized it.” Miguel hesitated. He hated to remind her of a connection she’d overlooked. “Agent Washburn, the Anderson siblings, Axel, Jr., Axis, and Axalia, all wore the same one with their names.”
Julia’s lips parted, and Miguel imagined the scream that must be rising in her throat. Her face grew red. She slammed herfists into her thighs, then emitted a low roar of pure animal rage. She attacked Brendan, knocking the tumbler from his hand. It shattered into fragments when it hit the hardwood floor.
“You son of a bitch!” She threw a right hook that connected with Brendan’s jaw, and his head snapped back. “Why didn’t you tell us the truth? I had a right to know!”
Brendan deflected her next punch, but she landed several more before Miguel intervened. He grabbed her by the waist, lifted her off her feet, and swung her away from Brendan. He held her against him until the tension and fight drained from her slender body. Julia sagged when he released her but remained upright.
“You son of a bitch!” she screamed a second time. “You’ve ruined my career! When the public learns I’m the half-sister of a trio of murderers, I’ll be crucified! No one will trust me! They’ll say, ‘Crazy always begets crazy’! I’m done as an agent. I might as well resign and save the DEA the trouble of firing me.” Julia yanked off her necklace and threw it into the fireplace.
The fire sizzled. The silver melted.
“Agent Washburn—” Miguel began.
She rounded on him in a fury. “Don’t call me that!”
He adopted a firm stance, feet slightly apart, arms folded once more across his chest. “Agent Washburn,” he repeated. “Your career isn’t over. Your reputation speaks for itself. You have two of the most powerful and influential voices vouching for you—Cameron and Caden McAdams. Not to mention?—”
“My mother?” Julia interrupted. “How do you suppose this news will affect her? Her campaign?”
“We won’t know until we tell her.”
“Good luck,” Brendan muttered. Blood trickled from a split lip, and bruises were already forming on his face.
