Page 5 of Security Breach

“Two months ago. There’s no easy way to tell you what happened to him, Emma.”

She stiffened. “Just tell me the truth.”

“Someone broke into his house in the middle of the night and beat him to death.”

Emma stood motionless in the circle of his arms for long minutes before she finally spoke. “Who killed him?” she asked, voice filled with fury.

Pain and guilt speared him. He’d searched for answers for months and come up with nothing. “I don’t know. The case is still open. I’ll find out who killed him and put him behind bars. You have my word on that.”

“You sound like law enforcement.”

“I’m the sheriff of Morgan County.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, wow. We do have a lot to catch up on.”

“Later. We have time.”

Emma’s arms tightened around him. “Not as much as I want.”

What did that mean? Before he could ask, the doorknob rattled. Between one heartbeat and the next, David turned, placing his body in front of Emma’s, weapon in hand and aimed at the door.

Agent Jordan walked into the room, pulling up short when he saw the barrel of the Sig aimed center mass. He glared at David. “We’re on the same side.”

“Are we?” He slid his weapon into his holster. “You could have fooled me.” He clasped Emma’s hand and led her to a chair at the conference table. Although she was trembling, David was amazed at Emma’s strength in handling the blows that just kept coming. David waved the other man to a chair across the table while he seated himself beside Emma.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m a cop, Jordan. You could have told me Emma was in WITSEC.”

“That information was on a need-to-know basis, and you didn’t need to know. You don’t have the necessary security clearance.”

“Oh, come on. I was a SEAL. My security clearance is probably higher than yours.”

The special agent’s face flushed as he dropped into a seat across from them. “Then you should understand that the more people who know the location of a witness, the greater the risk of a leak.”

“Emma’s mine, and I know how to keep secrets. If I didn’t, I’d have been drummed out of the Teams. Tell me what’s going on. Why is Emma in WITSEC?”

Jordan’s eyes narrowed. “She hasn’t told you yet?”

“Not enough time.” He glanced at Emma and gave her a slow smile. “We were distracted.” Even in the low light, he saw color tinge her cheeks and felt a surge of satisfaction at her reaction.

Jordan scowled at Emma. “You expect me to explain why you’ve been absent for so many months? He probably thought you were shacking up with another guy. Did you even ask if he’s found someone else?”

Emma drew in a sharp breath.

David cut in before she could respond Jordan. “Insult her again, and you’ll be flat on your back. Why didn’t the Marshals tell Emma about the death of her grandfather?”

The agent sneered. “What was the point? She couldn’t attend the funeral without endangering her own life and the lives of everyone around her, including you.”

“I’m not stupid, Agent Jordan.” Emma frowned at him. “At least I would have known the truth and been able to mourn his loss. Instead, David had to tell me the devastating news. I deserved to know the truth.”

David tightened his hold on Emma’s hand. “Tell me what’s going on, Jordan, or I walk and take Emma with me.”

“If you want to walk, there’s the door. Ms. Tucker is in WITSEC and will stay there until we catch her family’s killer.”

He raised one eyebrow. “First, stopping me would take more than you and the two agents at the door if Emma wanted to leave with me. Second, Emma can seek other options aside from WITSEC.”

Jordan’s expression darkened. “If she does, she’ll die. Is that what you want?”

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