Chapter 23: Riley, Mark

RILEY WAS USELESS. THE remainder of the files weren't in English. All he was good for was shuffling stacks, manning the overflowing box and keeping an eye on the time.

He wished there was something else he could do. The more Erin pored over the backlog of things in her office, the deeper the lines across her brow and around her mouth became. He was powerless to lift the fog of sadness settling around her. He didn't know what conclusions she was coming to, but they were breaking her world.

His phone vibrated, signaling their time was up.

With any luck Grant and the others had Thomas by the balls and they'd get more answers that way. If not, they'd complete their mission and get Erin home.

"Erin? Hey, we need to go." Riley reached across the desk and grabbed her hand.

"I'm missing something. It has to be here, but all I'm seeing is..." She slumped in her chair and sighed.

"We have to go."

"I know." She placed the stack in her lap on the desk and glanced around the office.