Page 13 of Fatal Intent

“Right.” Sanders sat back in his chair. “Ms. Weatherly, what exactly do you do on your black ops team?”

“Whatever they need me to do.”

“Not helpful,” Conner snapped. “Be more specific.”

She shrugged. “I can’t. We’re all cross-trained with other skills so we can fill in if a teammate is injured during an operation.”

“Is this another case of us not having the security clearance to know the details?”

“It’s a Fortress policy,” Grant said. “If you don’t like the rule, take it up with our boss.”

“Name and phone number?”

When Grant gave him the information, Conner grimaced. “Well, that’s a dead end,” he muttered.

“Why?” his partner asked.

“Brent Maddox is a hard-nosed Navy SEAL who never backs down.”

“You know him?”

“By reputation. We’ll get nowhere with him.”

The lawyer chuckled. “I see you have heard of our fearless leader. You are correct, Detective. Commander Maddox will not change his mind about mission details unless someone much higher on the food chain orders him to cooperate. That’s unlikely to happen.” He glanced at his watch. “You have a few more minutes before my clients must leave. They’re training for anew mission, and I know you don’t want to interfere with their preparation.”

Sanders picked up his pen. “Ms. Weatherly, we’ve already established you’re willing to kill to protect your boyfriend. Would you lie to protect him?”

“On a mission, yes.”

“What about when you’re not on a mission?”

“If his life was at risk, yes.”

“How well does he know you?”

Ice water ran through Rayne’s veins. They knew. She should have realized the detectives had had enough time to run a background check on her. She would have if she’d been in their place. And while Fortress kept the operatives’ information secure, that security didn’t extend to juvenile records. “We met two months ago.”

“Where are you going with this?” Grant demanded.

“How well do you know your girlfriend, Mr. Bowen?”

Grant’s hold on her hand tightened. “I know what I need to know for the moment.”

“You should have checked her background.”

And there it was. Nausea bubbled in Rayne’s stomach. Would this never go away? What would Grant think of her after he learned the truth?

A slow smile curved Grant’s lips. “Some things are better off learned organically. She passed the extensive background checks, and Fortress offered her a job. That’s good enough for me at this stage of our relationship. The rest I’ll learn as we move forward together as a couple.”

Vince pushed away from the scarred wooden table and stood. “That’s enough, Detectives. My clients cooperated by answering the questions they could. Now it’s time for you to do your jobs.” He pulled two business cards from his pocket and tossed them on the table. “For now, my clients need to return totraining. If you think of more questions, contact my office and we’ll set up another meeting.”

The lawyer opened the door and motioned for Rayne and Grant to precede him. Together, the three of them walked out with the detectives protesting as the Fortress employees made their way through the bullpen to the exit.

Once outside, Vince murmured, “Don’t say a word until we’re inside the vehicle.”

Grant wrapped his arm around Rayne’s shoulder and tucked her against his side.

She leaned against him, the stress of the past few hours slowly bleeding off. There was something about Grant that always caused this response.