Page 64 of Storm Warning

“She wouldn’t do this.”

“Then let’s find out for sure so we can move on to other suspects.”

“What other suspects? As far as I can tell, we don’t have any suspects on our list.”

“You were a spook, Riley.”

“So?”

“You loved being a fieldworker. That means you foiled many plots and cost terrorists money. You made some enemies. Think back to your days at the CIA. Who had the most to lose? Who lost valuable things or people because of your work?”

She gave a short bark of laughter. “Too many to name.”

“Think about it and make a list. In the meantime, Zane is also checking Fortress for a leak. Can you do the same at the CIA without detection?”

“Of course. I left a back door in their system so I could search at will.”

“Excellent.” He dropped a brief, hard kiss on her mouth. “I know you’re still researching Christopher and his family.”

“You bet I am. I’m going to nail Chris’s jerk of a father to the wall.”

A nod, then, “Will you be able to handle those searches plus two more?”

Riley was silent for a moment. “You want me to look for Jared Brown and Harlen Ludlow.”

“You would have searched for them on your own.”

Her lips curved. “Maybe.”

“Ha. Definitely. I know you, Riley Sloan.”

“Fair enough. But I know you too, Andre Marsh. You’re going after Miles Thomas. Maybe not immediately, but you’ll go after him because of what he did to me and the other foster girls.”

That confirmed what he’d suspected. If a grown man had gone after one 16-year-old girl, chances were high there was a pattern to his behavior. “How many others?”

“I don’t know. I heard that through Angie. After I landed in Homestead, I didn’t hear the news or read newspapers.”

“I’ll see what I can find out. I’d be surprised if the news about a serial rapist didn’t make the rounds in Homestead, and if the word spread through the encampment, they were especially concerned.”

“We were easy prey. Perhaps that’s how Angie knew and told me. Gossip.”

And maybe not. While he appreciated all Angie did for Riley, something about the woman raised a red flag. Then there was her disappearance. Where did she go? Was it voluntary, or was she forced to leave the encampment by an outsider? Did she leave Riley behind as his girlfriend feared?

Many thoughts swirled in his head, several of which circled around Angie Dodd. Andre wanted to talk to her. If Rileyrefused, he’d question the woman without her. To be honest, though, he believed Riley was worried about nothing. Why would this woman spend so much time and effort helping Riley if she was playing a game and intended ultimately to reject her and tear down her confidence? However, on the slim chance Riley was right, Andre would be happy to interview Angie with one of his teammates.

Andre stood and held out his hand to Riley. “Come on. We need to move before Joe’s competitor shows up to finish the job.”

“I don’t understand it. What is so threatening about me that I have a $500,000 bounty on my head with a three-day deadline?”

“We’ll find out. It’s what we do.”

“I need a direction in which to start my search. I was involved with many cases, Andre, and I’m not supposed to talk about any of them.”

“Yeah? Think about this. Someone is targeting you, and you need help running information down on the perp to beat the deadline as well as to protect your teammates. Who would prosecute you for violating your contract when Fortress hires the meanest barracudas in the ocean of lawyers to protect your rights and defend your position?”

“Only someone foolish.”

“Exactly. The barracudas, better known as our legal team, would eat them alive. Besides, it’s not like our teams will run their mouths or post your activities on their social media pages. Who’s going to tell the CIA what you’re doing?”