Page 77 of Fatal Intent

“But this method of killing required a second person, the mysterious partner,” Grant said. “If he didn’t want to have anyone else involved, it would require a change in method. After Beau’s death, the killer chose family members and friends close to the target first and shot them in the heart.”

Andre looked thoughtful. “One shot, one kill,” he murmured.

“Yes.”

Riley looked from Andre to Grant and back. “What am I missing?”

“The shooter knew exactly where to aim and hit his target every time. Do you know how hard that is?” Andre refilledRiley’s coffee mug and set it on the table in front of her. “We can do it, but we’re trained snipers and sharpshooters. This guy knew what he was doing.”

Riley’s face drained of all color. “A sniper is targeting you?”

“All of Echo and the people we care about.” Andre cupped her chin and pressed a light kiss to her mouth. “That includes you.”

She surged to her feet. “We have to warn the others.”

Grant held up his hand. “Already in progress.”

“Thank God.” She shoved a hand through her hair, leaving her tresses is disarray. “What time are we eating with your family, Grant?”

“Six o’clock. Why?”

“Good. That gives us several hours to dig up as much information as we can. Your family is reluctant to accept protection from Fortress. If we unearth enough information to prove the danger is real, they may be more inclined to take the help Maddox offered.”

“Perhaps. I wouldn’t hold my breath, though. Bowens are a stubborn bunch.” He’d earned his reputation as never-say-quit Bowen long before he’d enlisted in the military. It was a family trait passed down through multiple generations. The chances of Grant successfully changing the minds of his immediate family were slim to none.

“I guess we’ll see if overwhelming evidence does the trick.” Riley set her empty plate on a serving cart and grabbed her computer. “No one else is going to die on my watch if I can prevent it.”

Grant and the others followed suit and stacked their empty dishes on the serving carts, then pushed the carts to the hallway for hotel employees to clear away. They each grabbed their laptops and returned to the living room.

Andre glanced at Grant. “All right. I have my laptop and a mug of coffee. I’m armed and ready for battle.” He made a show of cracking his knuckles. “What’s my assignment, boss?”

“We have twenty soldiers who were assigned to Red Dawn. Take out the five soldiers killed during the mission and the five members of Echo. That leaves ten to investigate.”

“Four of the ten died in the past month. Are we focusing on the six men still alive or all ten?”

“All ten plus their families.”

Riley blew out a breath. “Actually, we should still include the men who died on the mission and their families.”

“Why?” Rayne asked.

“Think about it. Those five men had families who might hold a grudge because of the deaths of their loved ones. Like we discussed earlier, we can’t discount the need for revenge.”

Andre groaned. “As much as I hate to admit it, Riley is right. We have to include our fallen comrades and their families and friends in our search.”

Riley wrinkled her nose. “That’s a lot of research to cover in the few hours we have between now and dinner with your family, Grant. I’m fast but I’m not a miracle worker.”

Grant inclined his head. “That’s why we’re volunteering to help. Divide the soldiers and their families by four. We’ll go at this in pairs. Seth, Teagan, Iona, and Elias will be here by noon, and you know they’ll want to help as well.”

“Got it. Give me a few minutes to divide the work. I’ll send assignments to your Fortress email accounts.”

Minutes later, Riley’s assignment list popped into Grant’s email. He flinched when he saw the length of the list of people he and Rayne were assigned to investigate. He knew the list would be extensive, but this task was daunting. Finishing the research before the family dinner seemed unlikely.

He glanced at Rayne. “We should get busy. Otherwise, we’ll look like slackers.”

She tossed a teasing glance toward her teammate. “Yeah, Riley is a slave driver. That’s our computer queen. All work and no play.”

Riley glared at her. “I heard that.”