Page 70 of Fatal Intent

“Sounds like the voice of experience,” Andre said.

“Unfortunately.” She yawned and said, “I’ve set the bots to compile the information we need on the people involved in Red Dawn. We should have several files to comb through in a few hours. Hopefully, our culprit will be in the pile of data so we can put this to bed soon. I don’t want your families at risk, and the longer we take to identify the culprit, the greater the likelihood someone else will die.”

Grant flinched. “Ouch. You don’t pull any punches, do you?”

“Would you rather I told you a pretty lie? We all know the score here. Your families’ lives are at stake.”

He inclined his head in silent agreement and turned to Rayne. “Do you need anything before you go to bed?”

She shook her head. Grant Bowen was one special man to be concerned for her wellbeing when he must be worried about his family. “I’m fine. What about you? Will you be able to sleep?”

His lips curved. “Of course. The military taught us to catch naps when we could. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll take the first watch,” Andre said.

“I’ll take over in three hours.” Grant cupped Rayne’s chin and kissed her. “If you can’t sleep, come get me.”

She smiled. “Same goes for you. We’ll sit out on the balcony, snuggle under a blanket, and watch the sunrise.”

“Deal.” After another quick kiss, he turned and went into the second bedroom.

Rayne stared at the closed door, feeling as though a concrete barrier had risen between them. She didn’t like it one bit. How pathetic was that? Since when had she depended on his company so much that she missed him when they were separated?

She sighed. Months. Grant had burrowed deep in her heart since the day she’d first met him.

“Better get going.” Andre nudged Rayne and Riley toward the unoccupied bedroom. “Clock’s ticking on your beauty rest.”

As the women headed toward the room, Riley paused and looked over her shoulder at Andre. “If I can’t sleep, I may rejoin you, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. I’ll be glad to have the company. But do me a favor and try to sleep, okay? You’ll rest better in a bed.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please. I’ve slept in places that would give you nightmares for weeks. Sleeping on a couch is luxurious.”

Rayne followed Riley into the room and closed the door. She leaned back against it. “All right. Spill. I know you can sleep anywhere, no matter how uncomfortable. What’s the real reason you might help Andre keep watch?”

“Maybe I want to spend more time with him.”

She smiled. “Glad to hear it. He’s a good man.”

The computer whiz spun on her heel to face Rayne. “Did you ever….”

“No. Never. It’s always been Grant for me. However, I’ve spent enough time in Andre’s company on missions to observe a few things.”

“Like what?”

“He’s kind, generous to a fault, cares about his teammates deeply, respects the rest of the units Echo works with, and is fascinated by a certain computer whiz standing right in front of me.”

Riley’s mouth gaped. “Really?”

She laughed. “Couldn’t you tell with his speech about how something was wrong with your mirrors if you didn’t recognize how beautiful you are? He’s got it bad, Riley.”

“But I don’t know how to be in a relationship. I’ve never been on a date.”

Now it was Rayne’s turn to stare. “Seriously?”

Her teammate shrugged her shoulders. “I was the weird kid no one wanted to adopt. I bounced from foster home to foster home until I turned fifteen and my foster father slipped into my bedroom one night.”

Rayne’s eyes widened. “Did he….”