Page 63 of Storm Warning

She stared. “Why?”

“We need to know if he’s the one behind the attacks on you.”

“How could he be? Thomas has been in jail for years, and he doesn’t have connections in our world.”

“That you know about. You never know with whom Thomas became acquainted in prison.” Andre set his empty coffee mug aside. “He has an ax to grind with you. After all, you sent him to prison.”

“What’s that saying you and your teammates spout off all the time?” She tapped her chin with her forefinger. “Oh, yeah. It’s something like, ‘The people we arrested put themselves in handcuffs.’ That’s what Thomas did. He put himself in prison because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself.”

Andre stilled. He analyzed her words and concluded something he didn’t like. “You told me Thomas didn’t touch you.”

Riley said nothing.

“You lied.”

More silence from his woman.

Andre’s heart broke for her even as his blood heated to the boiling point. Now he had more reasons to track down Miles Thomas and have a private talk with him. “Have you talked to anyone about your experience with Thomas?”

“How could I? I left the Thomas home soon after his wife and son dragged him off of me.”

The heat in his blood increased to the scalding point. “He was on top of you?”

She gave a slight nod.

Andre cupped her chin and tilted her face up to his. “Promise me two things.”

“Depends on what they are.”

“First, if I ever do anything that scares you, tell me right away.”

“Yes.”

“Good. Second, I want you to talk to Marcus Lang about this. He’s the Fortress counselor who helped Rayne and Teagan. Molestation and sexual assault cause repercussions. You have tools to help you cope. Use them.”

Riley watched him for a beat. “Yes.”

Thank God. She needed to talk about her experience with a professional counselor. Although Andre would listen to anything Riley wanted to share, he couldn’t put his emotions on ice. He couldn’t be neutral. Just thinking about Miles Thomas on top of Riley had Andre seeing red.

“He didn’t have time to rape me.”

Must have been close based on how she’d described the events of that night. “I’m glad, but his attempt will stick in your mind and fuel your nightmares. You know what he intended to do.”

“I tried to fight him off, but he was too strong.”

“At sixteen, you didn’t have any training. I assume that’s why you took martial arts lessons from the veteran who was in Homestead camp with you. Riley, you’re a well-trained operative now with specialized training and skills from the CIA and Fortress. Anyone who came after you now would regret it within seconds. You can hold your own easily and defeat any opponent. If the worst happened and he tracked you down to finish what hestarted, I expect you to gut him like a fish. Are we clear on that point?”

She smiled. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.”

Riley sobered. “You told me earlier to follow the money to learn the identity of the person coming after me.”

“That’s right.”

“But you asked Zane to do the same thing. Shouldn’t we divide our efforts rather than overlap them?”

“My gut says you should find Angie Dodd and your martial arts teacher instead.” The sun was high enough for him to see her cheeks go pale. “I understand your reluctance to investigate Angie. All I need you to do is find her. Either I or someone else in Echo unit will investigate her. If she’s responsible for the assassins coming after you, we need to know so we can stop it.”