Page 29 of Caught in the Crossfire

“Good.” Mason gave Nicole a gentle push toward the hallway. “We need to leave in 30 minutes.” He waited until the women returned to their rooms before he faced Trent. “Did you talk to Ethan?”

“Yeah. So far, the cops haven’t come up with much from their end.”

“What about Fortress?”

“The tech geeks sent the security footage to Ethan along with still shots. Apparently, the shooter removed his license plate before he drove into town. His truck doesn’t have distinguishing marks, and the camera never got a good shot of his face.”

Not what he wanted to hear. “Anything from Zane yet?”

“A text to tell me he’s working on a higher priority task and my request is next in line. He’ll get to it in a few hours, Mase.”

“The way our luck is running, he won’t find anything.”

“Have a little faith. If there’s information out there, Zane will be all over it.”

Easy for him to say. His wife wasn’t the target of a killer. “I want to know as soon as you hear something.”

“You have his number. Use it. You’re part of the Fortress family, Mason, and by extension, so is Nicole. Z won’t mind direct communication.”

Zane Murphy, the communications and tech guru, was always busy. From what Mason had learned while serving as backup for night watch, the man didn’t sleep much and was fiercely devoted to Fortress and his family. He’d also saved operatives lives several times over the years with his skill, including the life of Mason’s cousin.

He gave a short nod. “I’ll contact him when I’m on a break today. Hopefully, he’ll have information to help Ethan and Rod with this investigation.” At least this time, Mason couldn’t be accused of shooting up Trent’s home.

At that moment, Trent’s cell phone rang. He checked the screen. “Z, you’re on speaker with Grace, Linc Creed, and Mason.”

“I only have a minute. The Texas team is in a hot zone. I ran a scan on you, Grace, Mason, Nicole, the rest of Bravo and Durango plus their wives. The teams and spouses are in the clear. No new activity to raise a red flag.”

Mason’s gut tightened.

“It’s Linc,” the PSI instructor said. “I’m still clear?”

“Someone in Otter Creek posted a picture of you on social media a few days ago. I removed that and haven’t detected any elevated interest in you or your aliases. No surprises with your family, either.”

That left him and Nicole. Mason braced for the inevitable. “Let’s have it, Zane.”

“Your name has popped up in several searches. I’m in the process of tracing the origination of the inquiries. Same with Nicole except the inquiries on her are a lot more extensive.” A few seconds of silence, then, “I have to go. I’ll contact you as soon as I have more.” And he was gone.

“You don’t know that you’re to blame for this,” Linc said to Mason, his voice soft. “Don’t take that on unnecessarily.”

“It’s sure not Nicole.”

“Are you saying you’re responsible for Riva’s death?” Trent folded his arms. “I’m not buying it.”

His hands fisted. “Of course not, but you can’t deny I’m the common denominator.”

Grace laid her hand on his forearm. “All the facts aren’t in, Mason.”

“Rod Kelter is already mentally fitting me for an orange jumpsuit.”

“You’re not a killer.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He’d already killed a young mother and her toddler through his own stupidity, something he would never allow himself to forget. The course of his whole life changed the moment he’d climbed behind the wheel of his car after drinking heavily at his college graduation party. “Anyone tries to harm Nicole again, I’ll defend her by whatever means are necessary.” Even if he had to pay for his actions with more years behind bars.

CHAPTER NINE

Mason followed behind Linc’s SUV as his friend drove to Riva’s with Dawn, alert for trouble. He might not have all the specialized training of a Fortress operative, but he could run interference if trouble came calling.

He parked behind Linc and circled the hood of his truck to open Nicole’s door. “Wait here until I’m sure your SUV is safe to drive.” Although Nicole didn’t have far to drive, Mason refused to allow her to crank the engine until he was positive someone hadn’t tampered with her vehicle.

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