Page 65 of Seal of Honor
A skitter of fear worked down Danny’s spine. “Are you in trouble?”
“I’m working a case.”
“You got a new job? For the government?” Yeah, he doubted that. Marcus and the government hadn’t parted on the best of terms.
“No, I went into the private sector,” Marcus said. “I’m working a hostage case, and I need a favor.”
Danny looked at the number on his phone’s screen again. Fifty-seven. It started with a fifty-seven, which was Colombia’s country code. The HT’s number began with the same.
And he knew.
“Jesus Christ. Don’t tell me you’re working on the Van Amee case. Who hired you?”
Marcus evaded the question beautifully. After all, the man hadn’t been one of the FBI’s top negotiators for nothing. “It’s not important. Bryson is what’s important here, and in order to help him, I need any information you can tell me about the case.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Danny shook his head. Marcus wanted him to do what? “Hold up. I haven’t heard a word from you in nearly two years. Nada. How hard is it to pick up the phone and say, ‘Yo, I’m still alive. How’s la famiglia?’ And now you want me to forget that and do you a solid by giving you information on a case I’m working? Info you know—know—I cannot divulge.”
“So you’re the negotiator?” Marcus asked, completely undaunted.
Danny shut his eyes. Fuck. “I can’t talk about this.”
But Marcus either didn’t hear him or ignored him. “Why are you going through with the ransom payment? Is Bryson’s business partner or wife pushing you to it? What happened to the whole we-don’t-negotiate-with-terrorists thing?”
“You know that’s more of a theory than practice.” Danny turned and started back up the street toward the Van Amee house. “And I’m just the mouthpiece in this. Perry the Prick’s in charge.”
“Shit.” A moment of silence. “Can you just—I’ll take whatever you can give me. You know paying the ransom will all but sign Bryson’s death certificate. If you help, we can rescue him before the exchange happens.”
Marcus had a point there. This case was bound for tragedy if they didn’t get control of the situation. And fast. “We, who?”
“You know I can’t say,” Marcus responded, his tone remaining calm, steady, persistent. Arguing with the man had always been an exercise in futility, and it didn’t seem like that had changed. “But you also know I wouldn’t be involved if I thought for a second we couldn’t pull this off. I don’t want a repeat of—” He broke off and had to clear his throat before continuing. “Like my last case.”
Silence stretched between them for several long beats.
Danny ran a hand over his hair. “Jesus.” He couldn’t quite control the frustration in his voice. Or the worry. “You can’t just sidle into a federal investigation and expect me to give you a backstage pass. Rules are rules.”
Across the line, Marcus gave a low laugh. “You always were a stickler for those, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, and you always had a penchant for bending them,” he retorted, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips despite the situation. He’d missed Marcus more than he wanted to admit. “But I’m not in a position to bend them. Especially not for you. Things here have been… tense… since you left.”
Up ahead, O’Keane stepped out of the house and waited there, arms crossed.
Danny slowed his pace and lowered his voice. “I’ve had to work my ass off to prove to the Bureau that I’m not—” He stopped short.
“Go ahead and say it.”
“Not you,” he finished, bitterness coating his tongue. “That I’m not you, Marcus. That I don’t dive head-first into situations without considering the fallout.”
Silence again.
When Marcus spoke, there was something different in his voice. Regret. Guilt. “I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.”
“No, you never mean to. You just do.”
“You’ve always been a better man than me,” Marcus said softly. “You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it.”
Danny was taken aback, the words striking him hard. He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Marcus speak with such sincerity, let alone self-deprecation. The man was notorious for his confidence that bordered on cockiness.
“Marcus,” he began, unsure of how to respond.
