Page 194 (1/2)

“How long? How long have you been shadowing me?”

“Youout for you”

I glared at him “Answer it”

“I knew about the New Bern trip About your brother And when you came back and they took you into custody I’ve been around ever since I turned doo jobs so I could stick around”

The coffee pot chugged with stea in front of e for creamer and set it on the side I kept my smile hidden He knew exactly how I liked my coffee

I stirred it intothe most—he was here

“Maybe we should start at the beginning instead of going backward,” I decided

“Whatever you want to do” He walked around the bar and sat on the barstool next to ht stubble on his chin

“How did you get into this line of work?” I held the hotin my hands

“Good question” He paused to drink his coffee “I erous one I was an operative in a Special Forces unit for five years Ined I was approached by one of those contacts to join a co”

“And Blackwing, your company, this is what they do? Steal information?”

“I like to think of it as getting the infor iet into the politics of it That’s not what I’m paid for”

“But you are paid?” I pressed “I heard millions”

Vaughn’s hand squeezed the inside of ht”

“If you already haveit? Do you really need that much money?”