Page 69 of Fatal Intent

Grant grimaced. “Red Dawn was a disaster from the beginning, but to hear our superiors talk, we wiped the floor with the enemy. They bragged about the mission’s rousing success to their superiors, who painted a pretty picture of the mission to their higher-ups.”

“What about the five dead soldiers?”

“Collateral damage of a war on terrorism.”

The families of the soldiers lost on the mission wouldn’t view them as an inevitable loss. “Did you wipe the floor with the enemy?” she asked.

“We completed the job and lived to tell the tale, but we lost five men that night, good men who should be alive and home with their families, not lying in a decorated grave with their loved ones having to move on without them.”

Rayne thought about that for a beat, then said, “Did the families blame you and your teammates for the deaths?”

“We didn’t have any communication with them.”

She stared. “I’ve seen how you are with the members of Echo unit. If something happened to one of them, I know you’d be in contact with his family, offering every support you could. What was different?”

Andre leaned his head against the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling. “Each of us was in Landstuhl with injuries from the mission.”

“That’s near Ramstein, right?”

He nodded.

Oh, man. Soldiers weren’t sent to Landstuhl for simple injuries. Just how badly were Grant and his friends injured during Red Dawn? “How long were you in the hospital?”

“Long enough to gripe about the food and the drill sergeants masquerading as physical therapists.”

Andre straightened and shut down his laptop. “Riley, are you at a place where you can take a break and get some rest?”

“I should stay on this. Something tells me we’re running out of time.”

“You’re not Wonder Woman. You need sleep like the rest of us.”

“But….”

“Set the computer to run searches for the next few hours. We’ll pitch in and help with whatever you need. Your beautiful brain and body need time to recharge.”

Riley’s hands hovered over her keyboard. With her gaze glued to the screen, she said, “You think I’m beautiful?”

“Baby, if you can’t see that for yourself, something is wrong with your mirrors. You’re drop-dead gorgeous, woman, and you take my breath away every time I look at you.”

Her cheeks turned pink, and her eyes sparkled.

Rayne smiled. Nice. Very nice. She’d love to see a relationship develop between the two operatives. They both deserved the best. “Andre’s right, Riley. Again. Give yourself a break. Why don’t we give ourselves five hours to sleep, then order breakfast from room service and work with you before we go on to the next task.”

“What is the next task?” Riley shifted her attention to Grant.

“Depends on what we find when we look into the men and women assigned to Red Dawn.”

“Hold up a minute.” Rayne twisted in her seat to face him. “Do you suspect one of your teammates is behind the deaths of Selena, Dante, and your cousin Jed?”

Andre stiffened, his gaze locked on Grant.

“Not a member of Echo, but the other military personnel assigned to the mission are suspect.”

Andre frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“Echo has had each other’s backs since we were in boot camp. I trust you all with my life and the lives of the people I love. The other soldiers were hand-picked by our superiors because of their skills, then assigned to Red Dawn. We didn’t know them well. If anyone sold us out, I’d point my finger at one of them.”

“Aside from Echo, don’t discount anyone.” Riley set aside her laptop. “People you’ve known for years can surprise you, and not in a good way.”