Page 82 of Security Breach

“We’ll soon find out.”

“Does he have a family?”

“Yep. An amazing wife and beautiful daughter. We try not to interrupt his family time unless it’s necessary, but your request is time sensitive. He’ll understand.”

If Emma’s life wasn’t on the line, David would delay contacting Maddox until tomorrow morning. He wondered how many other times Maddox’s family time was interrupted? His lips curved. Probably as often as David’s own off time.

Eli called his boss.

“Yeah, Maddox.”

“It’s Eli. You’re on speaker with David Montgomery.”

“Hold.” After a short, murmured conversation and the sound of a door closing, he said, “Go.”

“Sorry to interrupt your night, Brent.”

“You can make it up to Rowan by bringing her a signed copy of your wife’s latest book.”

Eli chuckled. “Deal.”

“Sit rep.”

Between them, Eli and David updated Maddox on the situation.

“What do you need, David?”

Relief swept over him. “Tech support and possible operative involvement in the near future.”

“Explain.” After David finished, Maddox said, “No problem on the tech support. Eli, contact Z and tell him what you need. As far as the operative support, I’ll check potential availability as soon as Rowan and I put Alexa to bed. Keep me updated on everything. If we go after each team simultaneously, the op might be larger than one or two teams can handle.” He was silent a moment, then said, “We have to involve Darren Whitehead in this setup.”

David straightened. “I know Director Whitehead. His son and I served in the Teams together.”

“Have you talked to the director yet?”

“No, sir.”

“Why not?”

“I threatened to contact him if Craig Jordan didn’t pony up the crime lab results from the threat to Emma that was delivered to the ranch.”

He groaned. “Jordan, huh? Wish I could say I’m surprised to hear his name connected with this mess. Deadline?”

“Twelve hours from now.”

“Contact Whitehead at home. Tell him not to contact Jordan until the deadline has passed without the report. Between Whitehead and Rafe, you should have a list of agents you can trust to be part of a task force. One other person to consult is Stella Armstrong. She was a US Marshal before she married one of our operatives and joined the Otter Creek police department as a detective. Her former partner is on staff at PSI as a trainer for our search and rescue teams.”

David’s eyebrows rose. Fortress offered several avenues of training and services.

“I’ll contact Stella in a few minutes,” Eli said. “I should have thought of her and Deke before now.”

“Need anything else from me? Alexa is ready for her bedtime story.”

Eli glanced at David.

He shook his head. Maybe, just maybe, they were lining up the exact help they needed to pull off this half-formed plan.

“Nope,” Eli said to Maddox. “Give Alexa a hug from me.” He grinned, amusement dancing in his eyes. “And be sure to give Rowan a kiss from me. Better yet, I’ll give her one myself the next time I see her.”

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