Page 72 of Security Breach

David blew out a breath as frustration continued to build inside of him. “You could have gone to Chief Blackhawk or the Fortress training school for help. Fortress has a Delta team stationed there to train bodyguard recruits.”

“I never heard of Fortress until you told me about the company, and I didn’t know Ethan until today.” She smiled. “I wish I’d known about The Bare Ewe. I would have been a repeat customer.”

“Focus,” Jon murmured. “Study the faces of the men, then close your eyes and picture your favorite places to visit in Cherry Hill.” The perspective on the photo shifted again to crop out the background.

Emma studied the screen for a long minute, then closed her eyes.

David prayed this worked. They needed information as fast as possible because his future wife was in grave danger. He and the other men in the room remained silent as Emma focused on her time in Cherry Hill.

Emma had been so close, yet the FBI had refused to allow her to contact him. David had lost too much time with her. Worse, he could have been at Emma’s side when these men breached her safe houses and possibly brought this nightmare to an end before good agents paid the ultimate price.

Emma’s eyes opened. “I saw them when I attended an arts and crafts festival in Humphrey, a town on the opposite side of Dunlap County from Otter Creek.”

Cal grunted. “That wasn’t a good idea, Emma. The key to keeping yourself safe in WITSEC is staying away from anything associated with your past.”

“I didn’t introduce myself to the vendors and didn’t stay long. I bought a pair of knitting needles and three skeins of yarn, and returned home. Cherry Hill didn’t have the supplies I needed.”

“But those men knew where to find you,” he pointed out gently.

David looked at him. Cal sighed and held up his hand to forestall David from telling him to back off.

“These men had access to the US Marshals’ database or a mole in the FBI,” Eli said. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have known where to start looking for Emma. There must be thousands of arts and crafts festivals held all over the country every year.” He turned to Emma. “Assuming you followed the rest of the WITSEC protocols.”

She frowned. “Like I told the FBI, I didn’t break the rules except to go to one festival for ten minutes.”

“How soon was your safe house breached following the arts and crafts festival?” David asked.

She shifted her guilt-filled gaze to him. “The same night. I barely escaped. They still hurt me.”

He gritted his teeth. “How? Their MO thus far has been using a baseball bat and knife to attack their victims.”

“This pair cheated. One of them brought a gun and grazed my arm with a bullet.”

David stared. “How did you escape?”

“I climbed out a second-story window and shimmied down a tree. They fired on me when I ran.”

“Did you notice these men at the festival or feel as though someone watched you?”

“I didn’t notice anyone following me. I felt as though spiders crawled on my back. Does that count?”

Despite the seriousness of the discussion, the men chuckled. “Oh, yeah,” Cal said. “We’re all familiar with the fake spiders. You might not have noticed these men, but your subconscious gave you a warning. You didn’t visit other booths at the festival?”

She shook her head. “After I bought the knitting supplies, I went home.” She sighed. “I must have led them right to my safe house.”

Jon shook his head. “They already knew where you were hiding. My guess is these two followed you from the safe house to the festival and back home again. They waited until they thought you were asleep to break in. Were you sleeping when they arrived?”

“No, thank goodness.”

“It’s good that you were awake,” he murmured.

Emma shuddered. “I may never sleep well again,” she muttered.

David glanced at Jon. “Show us the pictures from the safe house in Rock Harbor.”

A moment later, another photo of two men filled the screen. “Do you remember seeing these men, Emma?” Eli asked.

She studied the screen, but finally shook her head, a troubled expression on her face. “I don’t recognize them, either. I don’t understand, David. What does this mean?”

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