Page 19 of A Lethal Betrayal

“We aren’t special, sir. Having team members from different operational units just lets us be a bit more flexible in how we handle situations, sir. We’re all trained the same way. We just bring different bits of knowledge and experience. We’re just an experiment, sir. Guinea pigs.”

Weston scrutinized the team. “I’ve heard you were all injured at some point. Do you think you can still function? No point in having a team like this if everyone is not at their optimal level.”

“My team is in great shape, sir. They are in peak condition.”

Lies.That was a pack of lies. They all had injuries they were learning to deal with. Dane’s gut knotted. Cain had just stuck his neck way out there. If the senator ordered them to perform a physical test of some kind, they could be done for.

“I’m sure these people have lots of work to do, Senator, and you are scheduled to speak to Base Command at Naval Base Pearl Harbor.” Ainsley was trying to shepherd the senator back toward the door. “We need to get moving.”

The senator grunted but started moving. “I’m sure we’ll meet again, Senior Chief. Maybe your team could give me a demonstration before I leave on Sunday evening.”

“Of course, sir. If schedules allow it.” Cain had drawn a line in the sand and he sure as shit was not letting the bureaucrat walk over it.

Ainsley shot him a look, but the senator kept walking.

“Thank you, everyone,” Cross said. “I appreciate you taking the time.” He gave them a nod and followed the senator out the door.

“Jesus, that was close,” Tac said. “I can see why Bertrand isn’t a fan. This guy is out for blood.”

“Yeah,” Cain agreed. “Let’s keep ourselves busy working on finding the motherboards so we can’t fit him into our schedule.”

There were some murmurs of agreement. A few minutes later, they were all on their way out of the hangar when the door opened in front of them and the attractive Special Agent Rankin walked in. “Chief Landry, I need to speak with you. Could you come with me please, sir?”

Dane ground his teeth. He’d been hoping to avoid this, but he had known the chances were slim. However, he did think he’d get at least one more day before they came to question him.

“No.” He stood with his arms crossed over his chest. He’d been down that road with CGIS before. He wasn’t falling for that shit again. It didn’t matter that they’d sent a much cuter messenger this time.

Rankin came to a stop a few feet away. “Excuse me?”

He shook his head. “No. You want to talk to me, we do it here or you can arrest me and I’ll call a lawyer.”

She glared at him.

He couldn’t give a shit. He didn’t care how good-looking she was; she was, in fact, the enemy, and he wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Chief Landry, I’d just like to speak to you about Owens, at the CGIS office. That’s it.”

“How stupid do you think I am? A few months ago I spoke with the one they call Casper about Owens. I won’t do it again. You want to talk to me in your office, then arrest me and I’ll call my lawyer. Otherwise, we can talk here in front of all these witnesses. I got screwed last time, and I won’t let it happen again.”

Cain appeared beside Dane. “Well, Special Agent Rankin, you’ve got your response. My officer is not interested in going with you. If you want to speak to him, I suggest you do it here.”

There was movement around him. Dane felt it. It took a second to register the fact that his entire team had surrounded the CGIS agent. Their aggressive maneuvering was making her feel very uncomfortable, if the death looks Rankin was shooting everyone was anything to go by.

“Chief,” she said, trying to appeal to him directly, “we need to sort this out. If you’ll just—”

“No. You want to talk? I’ll talk here. Otherwise, we’re done.” He wasn’t giving in. It had cost him too much before. Hell, it almost cost him his life.

Rankin’s hazel eyes glittered. She was seriously pissed off.Good.Join the fucking club.

She cleared her throat. “Fine. If we can just go in the office over there, I’m sure—"

“No. I said we could talk here in front of my team. Take it or leave it. Makes no difference to me.” He hadn’t told them what happened yet. He’d referenced it several times, and he knew he’d have to tell them eventually, but he’d thought it would be over beers somewhere. If it had to be now, so be it. He wanted them to know. More, he wanted them to understand and believe him. He wanted that more than anything.

She clamped her lips together in a thin line and then nodded curtly. “Fine.”

Dane sat back down at the kitchen table with his back to the stove. Rankin sat down opposite him. The rest of the team fanned out so they surrounded the table but at a distance. Cain came over, turned a chair around backward, and straddled it, leaning his arms on the back of it. He gave Rankin his stone face. That’s what Dane called it. It made him want to smile. The whole team made his heart warm a bit in his chest. He hadn’t had this kind of support in a long time.

“What do you want to know?” he asked.

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