Page 25 of Caught in the Crossfire

“They can have whatever they need. Tell Blackhawk that Zane will push his requests to the front of the line.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let me know what you need. You’ll get it. No questions asked.” The call ended.

Dawn frowned. “That wasn’t Josh Cahill, but you called this man ‘boss.’ Who is he?”

“Brent Maddox, the CEO of Fortress Security. PSI is the bodyguard training arm of Fortress. Bravo and Durango are employed by Fortress. Our secondary jobs are to train bodyguards.”

What did that mean for Linc? Was he like Trent and his team, employed by Fortress first and PSI second?

After a knock sounded on the back door, Trent shifted to place himself between the door and the rest of the occupants of the room, gun in his hand and aimed.

“It’s Linc. I’m coming in soft.”

“Come.” Grace’s husband remained in position with his gun ready until Linc walked in alone.

“Anything?”

“Zip.” Disgust filled Linc’s voice. “By the time I got around the side of the house, he was long gone.”

“Big head start.”

“Cops will be here any second.” Linc glanced at Grace, Mason, and Nicole. “You three are okay?”

“Thanks to you.” Grace padded over and hugged him.

“We owe you,” Mason said.

Linc waved that aside. “Want me to check your security footage, Trent?”

“The tech geeks are going to do that while Zane hacks into the traffic cams. With luck, we’ll find enough information to help the cops wrap this up soon. I don’t want Bravo deployed with someone still gunning for the women.”

“I should go.” Nicole sat at the kitchen table. “I’m bringing danger to Grace’s doorstep.”

Trent tapped the end of her nose. “Got news for you, Nic. Danger follows me like a shadow.”

“Some yahoo shot up your house.” She scowled. “You’re the one who always says there is no such thing as coincidence in your line of work. Do you expect me to believe my close encounter with Riva’s killer has nothing to do with this attack?”

“Doesn’t matter, does it? The result is the same. I still have to replace my windows and patch bullet holes in the walls.” His lips curled. “And when I find the shooter, I’ll be taking the repair price out of his hide.”

“Listen up, St. Claire. I’m not putting Grace at risk.”

“We’ll work out different arrangements for tomorrow night,” Mason said.

A hard rap sounded on the front door this time.

Trent checked the peephole and opened the door. He gestured for Josh to come in and explained what happened. “I’ve already requested the techs look at the security footage, and Zane is checking for other footage.”

The policeman’s lips curved slightly. “Since the perp did a drive-by, I doubt Ethan will look too closely at information dropped anonymously into his email. I’ll call it in and get more help out here. For now, stay in the kitchen. Do you have plywood to cover the windows?”

“I have several sheets in my garage,” Mason said. “My truck is at Riva’s. I’ll need a lift to the house. I might be able to get the glass to repair the windows when our supplier opens for business tomorrow.”

Dawn edged toward the barstools at the breakfast bar. She needed to sit before her legs gave out. She climbed on the nearest stool and prayed no one saw her swaying on the seat. When Dawn glanced around, she noticed Linc watching her. Busted.

“We’ll work it out.” Josh turned to Trent and Linc. “Either of you get a look at the driver?”

“Not enough to help.” Linc grabbed three mugs from one of the cabinets, dropped a bag of chamomile tea in each, then added water before heated one in the microwave. “The guy was Caucasian and wore a baseball cap pulled low over his forehead. I wouldn’t recognize my own mother dressed like that.”

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