Page 59 of Ruthless Cross

"Really? That's unusual, isn't it? For a class of FBI trainees to stay together?"

"We were scattered across the country for almost four years, but once I was allowed to build my own team, I went to the people I trusted the most. We all have different skills, and I know how to use those skills to get the job done."

"There's no jealousy from the others that you're the boss now?"

"They're used to it. We were broken into teams at Quantico, and I was one of the leaders."

"That doesn't surprise me. You seem like a natural born leader."

"Damon Wolfe was the leader of a rival team. There were six of them and six of us, and we went head-to-head on a lot of training missions. I hate to admit that they came out on top a lot, but we put a few W's in the win column."

"Is Damon on your team?"

"No. He's in charge of the LA field office. I actually report to him, which is fine with me, because Damon is a straight shooter. No politics. No games. What you see is what you get. And he respects me enough to let me run without trying to pull back on the reins."

"That's a great trait in a boss. So, you and Savannah knew each other at Quantico?"

"Yes."

"She's very pretty. She doesn't look like an agent, although I guess there's no real look, is there?"

"There's kind of a look," he said with a laugh. "And Savannah does not have it. She's a former Miss Georgia. She finished third in the Miss USA pageant, which everyone loves to tease her about."

"She went from beauty queen to the FBI. That's crazy."

"With eight years in the Army in between."

"Now I find her even more interesting."

"She's one of a kind and very good at whatever job I throw her way."

"And the others on your team?"

"Beck is also ex-military. He was my roommate at Quantico, so I probably know him the best. He's intense, very private, and incredibly smart. The other three from my original team are Caitlyn, Jax, and Lucas. In the last few months, I also picked up three from Damon's former team: Bree, Diego, and Wyatt. I'm still trying to get Parisa, but she's in love with a CIA agent, and she's staying in DC for now."

"Are all those people working on Arthur's case?"

"It's just been Lucas and Savannah so far, but Wyatt and Bree will be jumping in tomorrow. Wyatt was on his honeymoon, and Bree was tied up on a kidnapping case yesterday."

"It seems like with all those people, someone should be able to find something. I keep wondering how anyone could have thrown Arthur over that rail without being seen, without there being a fight. Arthur is not a huge guy, but he's not a weakling, either."

"I do know something about that. I can't give you the specifics, but it looks like Arthur was incapacitated before he went over the rail."

"What does that mean?"

"That's all I can say at the moment."

She didn't care for his vague answer. "I thought we were being honest with each other."

"I'm being as honest as I can be without compromising the investigation."

"Because my mother is still a suspect?"

"And because you're not an agent."

"Fine. So incapacitated means he was knocked out in some way, and it couldn't have been loud because no one heard anything."

He sent a smile in her direction. "Think you've figured it out?"

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