Page 63 of Fatal Intent
After thanking her, Grant escorted Rayne and Riley to the elevator while Andre parked both SUVs in the underground garage. They rode the elevator to the sixth floor and walked along the carpeted corridor to their suite.
Grant slid his card into the reader and opened the door. He motioned the women inside and followed them into the living area. His eyebrows rose at the plush accommodations. “Wow.”
“This is impressive.” Riley turned in a slow circle to take in the decor and layout.
“Especially considering our last accommodations were in trees in a jungle in Mexico.” Rayne slid her Go bag off her shoulder. “Does it matter which room Riley and I use?”
“Nope. It’s your choice.”
She opened the door to the right bedroom and walked inside. Reappearing a moment later, Rayne said to Riley, “The bathroom is fantastic. I would love to have a rain shower at home.”
Grant walked onto the balcony to survey the area behind the hotel while the women discussed the luxuries of the suite. He quartered the area, committing the terrain to memory and identifying good places for a sniper to build a nest. Although the shooter had used a handgun, that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of using a rifle to kill his victims.
As he turned to go back inside the suite, his phone signaled an incoming message. Grant glanced at the screen and called his boss.
“Can you talk?” Maddox asked instead of a greeting.
His gut tightened. He recognized that tone. Trouble. “Yes, sir.”
“Zane’s bots caught some chatter about you on the Net.”
“I’m assuming the chatter isn’t singing my praises.”
“Not even close. Someone is actively hunting you and your teammates.”
Grant’s hand tightened around the plastic casing of his phone. “So this isn’t related to our law enforcement days.”
“Only if you worked an undercover op together while you were on Arden’s police force.”
“Not officially, no. We always had each other’s backs on undercover assignments, though.”
“Unless someone realized you were friends with the others and made it a point to identify and track down all five of you, I’d say that scenario was unlikely. This threat is coming from your military days.”
He frowned. “Our missions are classified.”
“You and I both know information leaks if the right incentive is offered.”
“Do the others know about the breach in security?”
“Not yet. Figured I’d let you deliver the bad news.”
“What about our families?”
“You and your teammates should contact them and emphasize the need to accept protection from Fortress. Zane is scouring the Internet as we speak, looking for any crumbs that will lead him to the source of the threat. So far, he’s not finding much. Whoever this is knows computers and is very comfortable on the dark web and knows all the tricks to keeping himself concealed.”
Grant frowned. Would Riley be able to track down the threat? Zane was the best of the best, but he also juggled several other responsibilities. “How busy is Zane?”
“Busy enough that he’s shifting some of his responsibilities to Simone. I need ten more hackers in their class who want to get involved in the fight against terrorists. They’re not exactly thick on the ground.”
Simone was the wife of an operative on another black ops team. From what he’d heard, the lady was a superstar in the computer programming field. Maddox had been lucky to get her on board with Fortress. “Riley might help. She’s a whiz at computers herself.”
“Believe me, I know,” Maddox said, his tone wry. “I can’t tempt her to the dark side. She won’t leave her team.”
“Let me put her on the search for the source of the leak, sir. She has as much incentive as the rest of us to uncover the leak. Her family is at risk, too.”
“As long as the search doesn’t interfere with your mission and if she’s willing. Riley may request leave to help one of her teammates protect their family. If she does, I’ll grant the request. Every member of Artemis might do the same.”
“Perhaps.” He hoped that wasn’t the case. He would rather have Rayne close so he could protect her. Grant didn’t feel as though she’d go home. From what he’d surmised, Rayne hadn’t spoken to her mother in years, and her father was dead.However, as close as she was to her teammates, she might opt to help one of them protect their loved ones.
