Page 71 of Storm Warning

“That’s the name my daughter insists we call her.” Amusement filled his voice. “Rowan and I are puzzled. We don’t know where that came from, but we’re willing to go along with it for now.”

“Is Rex settling in all right?”

“He’s a great dog. You have good instincts with animals, Andre. Anything else to report?”

“No, sir.”

“Report to me in four hours unless something happens, then I want to know about it yesterday.”

“Copy that, sir.”

When Brent ended the call, Andre reached over and threaded his fingers through Riley’s. “You were amazing today.” He squeezed gently. “And it’s not even noon yet. I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

“I pulled very little information from our visitors.”

“They had little to offer. The employer is careful to keep his identity hidden. Anything you get will help because the information adds to the pieces we know already.” Few though they were. The pieces would eventually lead them to the man funding the kill account.

She studied Andre for a moment, then asked what she wanted to know. “Did my interrogation tactics disturb you?”

“Why would they? We’re trained for various jobs by our employer. Some of our skills are unpleasant.” He glanced at her before returning his attention to the winding road in front of them. “My military training is the same, Riley. I know more waysto kill a man than I do to save him. The Army trained us to complete our mission no matter what, and that could mean the soldier in the next tent didn’t make it back to the base alive. Like you, I’m also trained to interrogate prisoners.”

Her head whipped in his direction. “Is that why you didn’t want me to interrogate the assassins? Because you believed you would do a better job?”

“Do you believe that?” Maybe she didn’t know him as well as he thought. Andre would never force her to step down to soothe his own ego and, frankly, he didn’t care who interrogated their detainees as long as he or she got the job done. He trusted Riley to admit when she needed to step back. As he had expected, his woman had performed brilliantly and gathered the information they needed to begin a search.

Sure, he’d have liked to learn more than they had, but Andre didn’t believe he was better than Riley. In fact, all of her skills impressed him. Knowing what he knew now about her, she must have been an amazing field agent. The CIA was lucky to have her on its payroll for those eight years.

Riley’s cheeks flushed as she faced forward. “I’m sorry. You say what you mean. I’m looking for problems where there aren’t any, and I always expect the worst.”

Man, he understood that. “Makes the letdown easier to handle if you expect it, right?”

Riley nodded.

“I won’t let you down, Riley.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“I can, and I am. You’re the most important person in my world, and I will do everything in my power to keep from disappointing you.”

“I promise to do the same for you. You can count on me, Andre.”

Twenty minutes later, the operatives parked in front of Micah Winter’s cabin.

“This is so cute.” Riley peered through the window at the log cabin and the landscaping. “If I had a home like this, I would let no one use it as a safe house.”

“Micah’s wife, Sophie, wanted to move closer to her health food store, so he keeps this place as a vacation home.”

“It’s beautiful enough to be a vacation home.” She frowned. “I hope we’re not tracked here.”

“The best way to prevent it is to find out who’s paying these assassins.”

“Then we should get busy.”

In minutes, the operatives had unloaded the SUVs and deposited their bags in the bedrooms, then gathered in the kitchen.

“What’s next?” Elias asked.

Before Andre could answer, his phone signaled an incoming call. He glanced at the screen. “It’s Zane.”