Page 67 of Fatal Intent
But what about their bodyguards? They needed Fortress to watch their backs, whether or not they liked the necessity. “They need protection.”
“They’ll have it. I messaged Maddox to arrange it.”
Rayne could just imagine how her mother would react if she noticed a bodyguard watching over her. Her hand fisted.Maddox would have to assign someone skilled with the ability to blend into the surroundings without calling attention to himself. Like Grant, despite her mother’s insistence on being left alone and her obvious hatred for her daughter, Rayne still loved her mother and would do whatever she could to safeguard her.
Grant led her back to the living room, where Riley was typing feverishly on her laptop with Andre looking over her shoulder.
Rayne studied her friend and teammate. “Riley must be onto something,” she murmured to Grant. “I recognize that look of intense concentration she gets when she’s on the trail of something big.”
Andre waved them into the suite’s small kitchen area. “She’s hacking the Army’s database to see if she can track who has been poking around in our mission files,” he said, voice low.
Grant frowned. “Was she able to contact her family?”
He shook his head.
“Why not?”
Rayne rested her hand on his forearm. “She doesn’t have a family to warn. Like Teagan, Riley grew up in the foster care system and was never adopted.”
Andre flinched. “That’s rough.”
“What about your family?”
He gave a short bark of laughter. “My father and brothers live on a 2,000-acre ranch in Wyoming. They raise Black Angus cattle. They’re always armed to the teeth, so they don’t think they need anyone to watch their backs.”
“Are they right?”
“I hope so,” he muttered. “Besides, their schedules aren’t predictable, and they’re never in one place for long. Fences always need mending as the cattle move from one pasture to another. It’s not like they have desk jobs where anyone would know their schedules. The family is going to inform the ranch hands about what’s going on so they can keep watch as well. IfI was there, I would only be another pair of eyes watching for trouble. I think they’re pretty well covered.”
Riley glanced up at that moment. “Does the name Red Dawn mean anything to you?”
Grant and Andre looked at each other, their expressions grim. “Red Dawn was the mission that was leaked?” Grant asked.
“All of your missions were locked down tight except for this one. Red Dawn was accessed two weeks ago by someone not allowed to see the file.”
Andre retraced his steps to her side. “Can you tell who it was?”
“Not yet. I’m tracking them now.” Her fingers flew over the laptop’s keyboard again. “He’s a tricky guy. I’ll give him that.”
“What do you need to fuel your energy?” Rayne asked. She’d witnessed her friend tracking an unseen enemy over the Internet several times since their team had formed. The process always fascinated and confounded her. She didn’t know how Riley knew what to do or where to look for the hackers.
“Coffee and chocolate.” Without taking her gaze from the computer, she said, “Is there any chance I could have a chocolate shake? I think that would hit the spot.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Andre grabbed the room service menu. “If room service doesn’t have what you want, I’ll either buy you a shake or buy the ingredients to make one.”
Riley’s hands hovered over the keyboard as she glanced at Andre. “Don’t go to extra trouble, Andre. Just a regular shake would do it.”
“If you’re going to be up all night, you need more than just sugar to fuel your body. Besides, I don’t mind.” He studied the menu for a moment, then picked up the suite’s phone to call the front desk. After a quick conversation, he turned back to Riley.“You’re all set. Delivery in twenty minutes. I ordered enough protein shakes and coffee for everyone.”
Rayne wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think my stomach can handle coffee this late at night.”
“I ordered four different protein shakes. Chocolate for Riley, and banana, vanilla, and strawberry for the rest of us.”
The knot in her stomach unraveled. “That’s perfect. Thanks, Andre.”
He gave a slight nod, then shifted his attention to Riley. “Is there anything else I can do to help? I’m not bad on a computer if you have grunt work I can do.”
Riley paused again. “Make a list of people involved in Red Dawn.”
