Page 4 of Fatal Intent

Rayne gave a slight nod. “I’m going to turn so you can see my hand.”

“Go ahead.”

Grant watched both officers as Rayne moved her hand to her pocket and withdrew her identification with two fingers. She handed the card to Ace.

“Are you armed, Ms. Weatherly?”

“Yes. A pistol and two knives.”

The officers stared. Ace glanced at his partner. “Run her after she lays her weapons on the ground.”

“Yes, sir.” Junior leveled his weapon at Rayne.

“Point that muzzle somewhere else, please,” Rayne said. “I’d prefer not to be shot because you’re twitchy.”

“Can we get on with this, Ms. Weatherly?” Ace motioned for Rayne to remove her weapons. “The sooner you cooperate, the faster my partner will holster his weapon.”

She glanced at Grant, who gave her a slight nod. Yeah, he’d monitor the officers.

Rayne removed her weapons and set them on the ground. With her hands partially raised, she joined Grant near the cruiser.

After Crabtree returned to his cruiser with their identification, Ace looked from Rayne to Grant and back again. “How do you two know each other?”

Rayne’s eyebrow rose. “We work together.”

“Where are you employed?”

“Fortress Security,” Grant said.

Ace stiffened. “Are you office staff or something else?”

He smiled. “We’re assigned to black ops teams.”

“How long have you worked for Maddox?”

So, Ace at least knew of Brent Maddox, the CEO and founder of Fortress Security. “A few months.”

Crabtree returned, a blank expression on his face.

Rayne inched closer to Grant.

“It’s okay,” he murmured.

She gave him The Look, the one that said Grant was an idiot if he thought he wasn’t heading for trouble. Rayne was right. Didn’t mean he couldn’t hope for the best.

“Well?” Ace asked his partner.

“Couldn’t find anything on them.”

The older cop stared at Grant and Rayne, speculation in his eyes. “Why can’t we find anything, Mr. Bowen?”

“First, the military has my file locked down. I was Special Forces. My missions are classified. Second, Fortress would be a terrible security company if they didn’t protect their employees.”

“Special Forces, huh? Which branch of the military were you in and what was your specialty?”

“I was an Army Ranger for ten years.”

“Your specialty?” Crabtree asked.