Page 80 of Security Breach

Understanding filled his eyes. He hugged her. “All right. I’ll wash the bowls and spoons you use, though. After the brownies are in the oven, why don’t you start on your first pair of socks?”

Emma sighed, lingering in David’s arms a few seconds longer. He understood her so well.

She returned to the kitchen to gather ingredients for brownies as the men began discussing options. Again, she half listened while she mixed the batter, then poured the mixture into two prepared pans. If dinner was any indication of their appetites, the operatives and the Montgomery brothers would polish off the brownies fast.

After sliding the pans into the oven, Emma retrieved her knitting supplies, chose a pattern for David’s socks, and cast on the required number of stitches. As the men debated the best way to protect her and locate the hunting teams, she knitted round after round, occasionally stopping to measure the growing length.

She made a mental note to contact Madison Santana and thank her for the wonderful yarn and needles. The sock yarn she had chosen for Emma was so easy to work with and created a soft, beautiful knitted fabric that David should enjoy wearing.

“Caleb and Elliot, we need more information about the Hunt Club,” David said. “Tap your sources for information on them. Whoever you contact must be someone you trust implicitly. If word gets back to any of the members, we’ll lose our chance to capture them.”

“Don’t expect them to testify against these guys in court,” Caleb said. “These folks work in the dark and intend to stay there. They’re not fans of law and order.”

“I want Emma safe.”

“Even if we have to go around the law to do it?” Levi asked.

“You know the answer to that.”

He rolled his eyes. “We’re law enforcement. Everything we do must hold up in court.” The Army Ranger slanted a hard look at his brother and boss. “Even if we could take care of business and bury the evidence where no one would find it.”

David’s eyes lit with amusement. “That’s right. Our job is to protect and serve. Get the information, Caleb and Elliot. Once we have that, we’ll have a place to start, including methods that can be used in court to convict these criminals.”

“The teams might not be interested in surrendering,” Rafe said. “If the only way out of the club is in a body bag, they probably won’t cooperate with law enforcement, either.”

“All we need is one man or one team to turn on the others.”

Rafe looked skeptical. “I don’t know, David. If we’re right, the only person who knows all the players is the mastermind. Besides, the traitors would be fair game in prison.”

“Then I need an airtight case on each team so I don’t have to depend on a confidential informant.”

“Or we have to find a way to draw them all into a trap at one time.”

Emma froze. Even though she would gladly offer herself up as bait again to protect her friends, she couldn’t be a big enough prize to tempt all the teams at once.

“Let’s not go there yet,” David said. “We’ll hold that option in reserve as a last resort. First, let’s identify as many teams as possible. Even though the feds haven’t been interested in sharing intel with local law enforcement, I believe that’s a viable choice. If we have enough proof, the local agencies will be glad to capture the teams and hold them for the feds.”

Rafe shook his head. “You have to include the FBI for that plan to work. The teams may be stalking a victim, but not actually have committed a crime in the local jurisdiction yet.”

“And if we include the feds, we risk tipping off the teams,” Eli chimed in.

“The plan will work if we’re able to identify a hunting team and connect them to murders,” David insisted.

“Only if we have agents involved who know how to keep their mouths shut. I still have contacts inside the FBI,” Rafe said. “Agents that I worked with and trust. They might be able to help.”

“Maybe. Depends on how many teams are operating. If we involve too many agents, the bad ones will notice.”

“What do you want me and Levi to do?” Owen asked.

“Search for unsolved murders in our surrounding counties that fit the brutality of these crimes.” David indicated the murder board.

“What will you be doing?”

“Checking our surrounding states for the same types of crimes.”

“Big pool,” Jon murmured. “We need a better plan, David. If Rafe is correct and these teams are trolling the US for victims, the best model would include all 50 states. They’re probably in territories assigned by the mastermind.”

“We have to start somewhere.”

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