Layla waited anxiously for Hunter to return to the safe house that evening. He’d been doing some work at his office and was touching base with Mason. She’d busied herself reviewing some notes and trying to come up with an enemies list, as Scarlett had suggested. She put people on the list that she thought would never actually hurt her, but Scarlett’s words echoed in her ears. She couldn’t be naïve. She needed to take a brutally honest and objective approach, because her career was on the line. Her good name meant so much to her. It was becoming clear, though, that sometimes she saw the best in people when she should also see that they might be a threat.

As she stared at her list, she still found it hard to believe that anyone on it could have gone so far as to set her up with the Agency. In doing so, that person would know that her career could be forever in jeopardy. Or even worse, that she could be arrested and thrown in jail or locked away forever in a black site. This wasn’t a small accusation, like she’d heard some other agents complain about. This wasn’t an administrative mishap. No, this was major. Those pictures were devastating.

The one thing that gave her confidence was her faith. This wasn’t up to her. God was in control, and she had to keep reminding herself of that. As those thoughts fluttered through her head, she replayed the discussion she’d had with Hunter and wondered how he could have had such a faith blowout. Yes, she’d had her struggles, too, but it had never resulted in the complete breakage Hunter seemed to be going through. If there was anything she could do to help, she planned on doing it. Especially now that she knew the full truth, something she was still trying to wrap her head around.

When she heard the voices of the security detail talking to Hunter, she set her notepad on the coffee table and looked up as he walked into the living room.

“Hey, glad you’re back,” she said.

Hunter took a seat beside her on the sofa. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m fine.” She picked up the notebook and held it in front of him. “I’ve been making a list of everyone I could think of who might be a possible suspect for framing me and starting the IG investigation.”

Hunter took the notebook and ran his finger down the page. “Not a very long list, Layla. Are you sure this is everyone?”

She nodded. “Yeah, and it was difficult for me to come up with even these people.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. But keep an open mind. Especially about people you think might be your friends. Those are the ones you really have to worry about.”

“How did it go with Mason?”