The Girl Next Door (Shadow Agents 6)

“Profilers are supposed to tell which men and women are killers,” Dylan spoke slowly, bringing Mercer’s attention back to him. “But here, that’s what we all are.”

Mercer shook his head. “No, Foxx, you’ve got that wrong. You’re soldiers. You’re heroes. The profiler is looking for a monster, someone pretending to be just like you.” Someone adept at hiding his true self.

Mercer pushed back in his chair. His gaze cut to the right, to the window that overlooked D.C. “I never thought the biggest threat I’d face would come from within the organization that I made.” With blood, sweat, tears. He’d sacrificed so much for the EOD. Even his family.

I’m sorry, Marguerite. His wife had been one of the first that he lost—the first, and the one that still made him feel like he was missing half of his heart.

How much longer? It wasn’t the first time he’d wondered that question. How much longer could he truly sit at the helm of the EOD?

Maybe he was getting too old for this mess. Maybe he should be the one looking for a way out.

I need someone else to take over the reins.

Because the idea of escape could sure tempt any agent.

But Mercer couldn’t allow his legacy to be destroyed. “We’ll find him,” he vowed. He wasn’t going out—not yet.

Not like this.

When he left, it would be on his terms. It wouldn’t be due to some twisted killer who’d decided to put EOD agents on his hit list.

The EOD had survived attacks before. Hell, agents had been targeted before. When you were the best out there, plenty of enemies would come gunning for you.

We stopped them before. We’ll stop this SOB, too.

* * *

COOPER MARSHALL HAD taken in the reporter. He’d brought her into his apartment so that they could spend the night together.

How cozy.

The watcher stood outside of the brownstone. Dawn hadn’t come yet, and the darkness concealed him as he stared at the building.

Last night, he’d also learned that Marshall had called in his team—Rachel Mancini and Dylan Foxx.

They were on his list, too. Another pair that would be destroyed.

But first he had to deal with the reporter. She’d surprised him by getting too close, far closer than the EOD. He wouldn’t underestimate her again.

He would use her.

A light was shining in Cooper’s bedroom. He could see the shadows of two forms—Cooper and Gabrielle.

He smiled as he watched those shadows.

Oh, yes, Gabrielle would definitely be useful to him.

She would help him to destroy Cooper.

* * *

“YOU TAKE THE BED,” Cooper said as he rolled back his shoulders and tried to keep his gaze off the long, golden expanse of Gabrielle’s legs. “I’ll bunk on the couch.”

He turned away from her, away from those tempting legs.

“Sleep is going to be impossible, you know that, right?”

He glanced back over his shoulder at her. “You’re exhausted. You’ve been up most of the night.” And been terrified the majority of that time. “You need rest.”