Travis shook his head. “All we have is the information Noah and I found the night we wired the office.”
That information was incriminating enough. As far as Travis was concerned, Desmond was involved in something up to his eyeballs. He just wasn’t entirely certain that something was the death of his niece.
“There’s no information circulating among our contacts either,” Tehya stated. “We’re in the dark here. Our only hope is Lilly at this point, and that the killer is tempted to go after her again sometime soon.”
“Third time is the charm,” Jordan said and Travis glared at him.
“Lilly is the only operative of the entire Elite Ops organization who has been targeted in the eight years the organization has been running,” Tehya stated. “Any other hit that’s been attempted has always been in relation to an operation. That’s not the case here, otherwise chatter would reach our contacts.”
“That doesn’t mean the Elite Ops isn’t endangered by this,” Nik said. “Whoever tried to kill her killed the plastic surgeon the Elite Ops placed her file with. Despite that safety measure, they still found her. That’s not a good thing. If they found Lilly, they could find any one of us.”
None of them wanted that. They had left their old lives behind and had no desire to have them resurrected.
“Morganna, Kira and I have initiated an investigation into Santos and Rhiannon as well,” Tehya announced. Morganna and Kira were the wives of two of their backup members. “So far, they’re coming up as assholes, not traitors.”
Jordan snorted at that.
“Yeah, well, that’s what we call Jordan on a good day, too.” Noah chuckled.
“The responsibilities of command isn’t all fun and games,” Jordan drawled. “Santos and Rhiannon have responsibilities to their agents just as I do. And Lilly isn’t their only agent.”
“No, she’s ours now,” John Vincent stated, his gaze turning to Travis.
Travis turned back to Jordan. “She’s always been one of ours,” he stated.
And that was no more than the truth. In some ways all of the girls of Elite Two were a part of Elite One. They had trained them, watched over them. Lilly’s move to the American-based operation could merely make it official. And if they survived this mission, it was a move that would definitely be made by Lilly. Travis would see to it.
Jordan shook his head. “You’re making a mess for yourself, Travis.” Though his tone was filled with disgust, Travis detected the smallest note of something akin to envy in Jordan’s voice.
“I’ll try to keep the mess to a minimum,” Travis promised.
Jordan leveled a hard, aggravated look at him. “You do that, Black Jack. And let me know if she remembers anything.”
Travis remained silent.
“If there’s anything I need to know, Travis, now is the time to tell me,” Jordan advised him. “I’m giving you the benefit of my trust by covering her ass, so at least do me the courtesy of making certain you do as much for us.”
He shook his head. “Her memories aren’t coming back, Jordan.”
“Great,” Jordan muttered. “Let’s just get this over with and take care of whoever the hell has targeted her as quickly as possible. I’d like to get my commanders off my ass even if you don’t care.”
“Where do we go from here, boss?” Nik asked as he leaned against the SUV and stared back at Jordan. “That party will have most of our players there. Hell, it’s just about the same invitation list that comprised the party the night Lord Harrington was killed.”
“That’s normal.” Jordan sighed. “We’ve been watching the Harrington parties for years now, an operative from one of Elite’s teams has always been in attendance. We’ve learned nothing. Whoever killed Lord Harrington did so quietly and without a trace. Except for his daughter.”
“It’s a damned miracle Lilly wasn’t killed.” Nik grunted. “If Travis hadn’t been at that party that night, then she wouldn’t have had a chance.”
Jordan’s smile was vaguely mocking as he shrugged negligently. “We were lucky.”
“And now she’s at risk again,” Micah stated as an uncomfortable silence descended on them. “The assassin will be waiting for another opportunity. There’s no doubt of that.”
“Why hasn’t he tried yet then?” Tehya piped up again. “He’s had every opportunity, why is he waiting?”
“I’ll be certain to ask him once we catch him.” Travis snorted. “Until then,” he checked his watch with a grimace, “I have a party to prepare for.” He turned to Nik. “As do you.”
Playing Travis’s bodyguard was often more amusing for Nik than true work. The bastard had a morbid sense of humor and he never failed to make use of it whenever he had the chance.
“Roll out.” Jordan nodded to the open doors. “The backup team has kept an eye on your exit, but we have to be careful here, too many people know Ian and Kell. Speaking of which, I believe they’ll be at your little ball along with Senator Stanton.”