He could only hope. “Could the cartel believe that the two of them are responsible for Roberto’s death? Maybe holding them specifically accountable. It could be that they don’t know I was there but determined that you three were. And maybe they had some reason to believe you or Diaz had some of the cash or drugs at your place. That’s my best working theory.”

“But why me?” Cass asked.

“Not that much of a stretch to think one of us could be dirty.”

She sighed. “Yeah. I guess there’s no reason to feign surprise at that. But why target me?”

He couldn’t hold back his smile. “Maybe they think you’re the most likely candidate of the group.”

She punched his arm. “It would definitely be you before me.”

He’d worked with Cass for years and trusted her completely. “But it’s a good question. Why did they think it was you? Rack your brain. Is there anything that could give the cartel even the smallest indication that you might be a dirty agent?”

Cass sat quietly for a minute. “No secrets, right?”

“I sure hope not.” He wondered what bomb she was about to drop.

“I haven’t been intentionally hiding this from you. There just hasn’t been a reason to bring it up.”

“Go on.”

“My little brother has a gambling problem. So much so that he got on the wrong side of some really bad guys.”

“Uh-oh.” He hated to think about the implications.

Her dark eyes softened. “I had to protect him.”

His gut clenched. “What did you do?”

“I emptied my savings and took out some loans to pay off his debts. If someone were to do a profile on my financials, they’d see all of that, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume I could be vulnerable.”

“Cass, your brother is lucky to have you.” Zane paused, considering his words carefully. “I’m guessing Mason doesn’t know about this.”

She shook her head. “And you can understand why.”

DEA agents were supposed to immediately report to their boss anything that could be used as leverage against them. “I do. But now, what are we going to do about it?”

She rubbed her temples. “You want to go to Mason.”

“Not necessarily,” he shot back. “We should think this through. We don’t want to have you sidelined.”

She put her hand on his arm. “Thank you for having my back, Zane.”

He placed his hand on top of hers. “We’re a team, Cass. Partners don’t cut and run, and neither do Marines.”

She smiled. “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”

“Oorah!”

“All right. So we keep this information to ourselves for now.” Her phone started beeping, and she picked it up. “Looks like we’re being summoned to a meeting with Mason.”

Zane stood. “Maybe he’s finally got some intel to help us.”