He gave her a slight smile. “Good. Then hopefully this can be sorted out quickly, and we can get you back to work. You should hear from someone in the IG’s office for an interview, but I’m not sure on timing. And the Agency requests that you don’t leave the greater DC area until this gets sorted out and that you surrender your passport.”

“What do they think, I’m some sort of flight risk?”

Brett lifted his hands. “I was told it was procedure.”

That sounded crazy to her.

He patted the edge of the bed. “I’ve taken up enough of your time. I’ll get out of here. Hope you start feeling better soon.”

“Thanks.” What else was she supposed to say? She watched him walk out of the room.

Someone had to be coming after her. She tried to rest as much as she could, but her brain was spinning.

When another knock came on her room door a couple of hours later, she hoped it would be a friendly face—and it was.

Scarlett Bell, her friend and mentor, walked into the room with a vase of bright pink tulips in hand. Scarlett knew her well. Layla loved everything pink.

Scarlett placed the vase on the table beside the bed. “Layla, what happened? Bailey called me and told me you were in the Old Town Grille when the bomb went off.”

“I was there with Viv.”

“Yes, Bailey mentioned that, but she said Viv was stable.”

Layla nodded. “Yeah. She’ll be fine. We were both very fortunate.”

Scarlett tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. “I’ll stop by and see Viv on my way out.”

“Listen, Scarlett, I know you may think this is crazy, but I believe the bombing could be linked to the Honduras op.” Layla was free to confide in Scarlett since she had been read into this DEA operation after the fact. Scarlett worked at State in the INL Bureau—basically the international narcotics division. She had been assigned to Layla two years ago as her interagency mentor. Fifteen years Layla’s senior, Scarlett was a highly regarded government servant who had worked at DEA before State and had tons of field experience. The Agency had been urging Layla to get into the field more, and Scarlett was trying to guide her through that process.

“Why do you think that?”

“Cass’s house was ransacked last night, and she believes her attacker was linked to the cartel.”

Scarlett took her hand. “Layla, I know I’m the one who’s always pushing you to take risks and get out there, but this is a highly dangerous situation. I didn’t know what had happened to Cass, but after hearing that fact, I’m even more convinced that I have intel to explain why the cartel might be coming after the team.”

Layla’s pulse quickened. “What?”