Page 116 of Critical Doubt

She might think he wanted to save the guys, but what he really wanted was answers, and his best shot at getting those answers would be if he went in alone.

Although, there was a good chance he'd get no answers and end up dead. He couldn't forget how far his team had strayed. He wanted to believe that they didn't all know the end game, but he couldn't be sure. What he was sure of was that if Leo was alive, and he was controlling this plan, then those weapons weren't going back to Spear. They were going to the enemy, and he couldn't let that happen.

After filling her father in on Chief Tanner's involvement with the faked deaths of Paul and Todd, Savannah got back into the car Parisa had lent her and pulled out her phone. She was surprised to see she'd missed a call from Ryker. But she'd been caught up in having one of the first real conversations she'd ever had with her father. Their relationship had definitely taken a huge turn. She hoped that would continue once this was all over.

Her dad had agreed to head back to Fort Benning as soon as he got someone over to put a temporary fix on the broken doors leading into his home. She would have preferred he leave immediately, but he was his own man and he always had been.

As she listened to Ryker's message, her heart sped up once more.Leo was alive?

Maybe no one was dead. Maybe Carlos was alive, too.

She wondered what else Ryker had remembered and where he was going now. Clearly, he hadn't chosen to give her any details, but that wasn't going to work for her.

She called him back, and to her surprise, he answered.

"It's about time," she snapped. "What is going on? Where are you?"

"I'm headed to a horse farm near Silver Springs. Did you listen to my message?"

"Yes. You think Leo is alive?"

"I do, and I know where he is. He used to spend Christmas at his grandfather's farm. It's about halfway between DC and Baltimore. It's the perfect place to stash a truckload of weapons. And no one is looking for Leo, because he's dead."

"What's the address?"

"I'll tell you when I get there."

She did not like his answer. "You can't do this alone, Ryker. You have no idea how many men you'll be up against. Stop pushing me away. I'm in this, too, and you need me." He didn't reply for a moment, and the silence made her nervous. "Ryker, I know you hate to ask for help, but this is me."

"It's not just about asking for help. I want answers."

"And you think they'll talk to you?"

"If I'm alone, there's a chance."

"No there's not. They tried to kill you, Ryker. You're not one of them anymore. They won't listen to you. They won't follow you. They're in too deep. You know that, even if you don't want to admit it." As she was talking, she started the car, leaving the phone on speaker as she headed toward the expressway. She might not have an address yet, but she knew the direction she needed to go.

"You're probably right," he admitted. "But there's a chance that Leo is calling the shots. They may not even know he's alive."

"At least one of them does."

"Has Mason come out of surgery yet?"

"No, but there are agents at the hospital. He'll be arrested as soon as he wakes up. Now the team's focus is on finding Vance."

"Vance?" he asked with surprise. "Why? Did he get a ransom call?"

"No. It's a long story, but my father got suspicious of Vance and followed him to a meeting with an arms dealer by the name of Rajeesh Buthanu."

"That's the same guy Leo met with in Afghanistan. That's what I remembered. Buthanu is in DC?"

"Yes. And you're saying that Leo met with him while you were deployed?"

"When we did our weekly patrols, Leo always wanted to stop in at this particular church. He'd be gone a minute, maybe two. It was always quick. We didn't think much of it. His faith was important to him. But one day he was missing for almost ten minutes. There was action in the village. It felt like something was going on. We needed to get out of there, so I went looking for Leo, and I saw him talking to some guy in the back of the church. I didn't get the greatest look at him, and Leo brushed me off, saying it was just a local complaining about us being there. A week later, I saw a CIA watch list and the man's face was on it, but I didn't have a chance to ask Leo about it before we were sent on our last mission." He took a breath. "What I remembered today was that that man was at the hotel. Leo had a chance to kill him, but he didn't take the shot, and then Carlos went down, and my knee was ripped apart and the building exploded."

"You're saying this arms dealer was involved in your ambush?"

"Yes, and I think Leo was, too."

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