Page 27 of Forged in Steele

A few of the team groaned.

Jared got it. They didn’t want to waste the time, but Jared knew how important it was to secure the information in this room. He might be overreacting, but his failure with Wyatt told him not to trust even people he’d grown close to. Partnered with. Shared family with. Because they could betray you and people died as a result. He didn’t want to go through losing a child due to leaked information. Never again.

Network login information from the hospital technology person in hand, Bristol stepped back into the conference room. She hadn’t minded stepping away as she was out of place in the group of higher-ranking law enforcement officers. After Jared had defended her family’s business to the others, she considered him an ally. But was he protecting her or stating what he actually believed?

She glanced across the room at him, and he waved her over to a folding table in the corner where three agents sat with their laptops open in front of them. She crossed the room, grabbing some sticky notes and a pen on the way so she could assign the passwords to these agents.

A woman with a cute pixie cut sat at the end of the table and cradled a very pregnant belly. Could this be Nick Thorn’s wife, Piper? Nick was the Veritas Center’s computer expert, and his wife was a cyber agent and due very soon.

The guy in the middle had reddish hair and close-cut beard, and his solid body dwarfed the folding chair. And the man on the end was built and tall like the other agent, but his hair was dark and fuzzy on the top.

She stopped near the woman who held out her hand.

“I’d get up but, well…” She shrugged. “I’m Piper Thorn. I think you know my husband, Nick.”

“I do, and nice to meet you.” Bristol shook hands. “Congratulations on the baby.”

“Just don’t have it here.” The guy next to her gave her a gentle elbow jab, then held out a hand to Bristol. “I’m Hunter Lane. Married to Maya also at Veritas.”

“The toxicology expert.” Bristol shook his hand trying hard not to wince under the firm grip.

“And I’m Colin Graham,” the last guy said. “Not married to anyone.” His mouth quirked up at the corner.

Bristol had to admit he was one good-looking guy. Not that his smile did a thing for her. But let Jared smile at her, and she was a goner. Something to think about later. Much later. “I’m Multnomah County Deputy, Bristol Steele.”

“And the one who can give you access to the security files that you’ve been nagging me for,” Jared said.

“We don’t mean to be pushy,” Piper said.

“But we are.” Colin cocked a smile.

“Not only are we eager to find this child, but I also have a ticking clock.” Piper pointed to her belly. “Due in seven days.”

“The good news for all of us is you’re working in a hospital.” Colin smiled again.

Piper rolled her eyes.

Bristol held up her clipboard. “I have the logins and temp passwords here. Give me a second to put them on a sticky note for each of you. Of course, I’ll need you to destroy the evidence after you log in.”

They laughed at her evidence joke, each of them likely wanting to find a way to relieve stress the same way she was and most officers in tough situations were. Maybe even more so for Piper. In her pregnant state, she had a deeper understanding of the Pratts’ suffering.

Bristol remained near the trio until they successfully logged in and set up their own passwords, then collected the sticky notes to shred.

“Thanks for your help.” Colin flicked his fingers. “Now go away so we can get to work.”

Bristol liked his straightforward personality. She was going to enjoy working with him along with Piper and Hunter.

“One more thing before we go.” Jared held out a phone to Piper. “Nurse Johnson’s phone for imaging. We’ll be asking the parents to surrender their phones and hope one of you can image them too.”

“Bring ’em on.” Hunter tapped a large plastic case sitting on the floor next to him. “I brought all the equipment we might need.”

Colin gave an inquisitive look over his shoulder. “You think the parents might be involved?”

“My gut says they’re not,” Jared replied. “But we have to consider everyone close to Luna as suspects.”

“Roger that.” Colin turned back to his work.

Jared looked at Bristol. “I also want to show the woman’s photo to the Pratts. You seem to have built a good rapport with the mother, and I’d like you to join me.”

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