Chapter 19
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TWO DAYS LATER, EVERYONE in the office was on edge.
The newest intelligence showed plans were still a go for Saturday.
The homegrown terror cell was moving forward with their plot, according to intercepted messages.
Shadow Security had provided photographs of the known terror cell members to law enforcement, but there was still the unknown.
Who else was involved?
How were they planning to get the explosives to the targets?
And then there was the issue with Radley’s stalker. Mike Cameron had all but disappeared. He hadn’t shown up at any local hospitals. He hadn’t returned to his home in Virgina. He also hadn’t been at work for the past few weeks.
He was waiting to strike, and Radley couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
Her phone buzzed, and she lifted it to her ear, happy to hear her sister’s voice on the other end of the line. “What time is it in Hawaii?” Radley asked by way of greeting.
Riley groaned. “Too early,” she said. “Way too early. I just wanted to call and make sure you were okay.”
“Nothing has happened since the other night,” Radley said, her voice tight.
A couple of the other guys were working in the same room as her, and she didn’t want to draw any further attention to herself.
It was bad enough that they’d all been right.
She needed protection. The fire at the cabin.
The attack in her building. Radley hated feeling weak or helpless, but that was exactly what Cameron had done.
He’d terrified her. She’d fought back in the stairwell, but what about next time?
Radley was positive he’d come for her again.
“Nothing else may have happened,” Riley pressed, “but how you feeling?”
“Sore. Tired. Pissed off.”
That drew the attention of several of the men, and Cooper shot her a look. Boone had been drawn into a planning session with Holt, given his expertise as a sniper, and Cooper was playing babysitter if she left the building.
Lovely.
“I’m fine,” she told him.
“Is Boone there?” Riley asked.
“Negative, just one of his overprotective teammates.”
Cooper winked, and she rolled her eyes. At least Knox and Gage didn’t try to baby her. While they were in the conference room as well, they were focused on the task at hand.
“Do you need me to do anything from here?” Riley asked.
“Just be careful. I doubt Cameron will be flying to Honolulu looking for you given I’m the one who got Schultz fired, but who knows.”
“I put my feelers out with some of our old colleagues,” Riley told her after pausing a beat.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I think this goes deeper than Schultz just being pissed at you for getting him fired and putting him in jail. He’s got something on Mike Cameron.
Knowledge. Secrets. I’m not sure yet. Mike Cameron might be helping him seek revenge by targeting you, but it’s not just a favor for Schultz.
I think Schultz might be blackmailing Cameron—forcing him to go after you or he’ll tell the world his sordid secrets. ”
“That’s messed up,” Radley said. “But nothing would surprise me. He seems hellbent on scaring me even though we barely said two words to one another outside of official business when we were colleagues.”
“Just be careful,” her sister warned.
“I just told you that,” Radley said with a laugh of disbelief.
“Yeah, well, you’re the one who someone is after. Let me know if you find out anything else. And take it easy. Boone told me you were still recovering.”
“When did you talk to Boone?” Radley asked, her brows narrowing in confusion.
“Since he texted me to ask if you were always so damn stubborn.”
Radley laughed. “Don’t tell me—this was after I wanted to go to the gym with him the other morning.”
“Yep. I called him so we could chat,” Riley said, sounding rather proud of herself. “He’s worried about you. And damn. For a guy that you just met? He seems awfully protective. I like him already.”
Radley smiled. “So do I. Maybe too much.”
“I guess your vibrator isn’t getting that much of a workout after all,” Riley teased. “If I had that sexy deep voice whispering in my ear every night, well—I sure as hell couldn’t resist.”
“Goodbye, Riley,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Talk soon.”
The women said their goodbyes, and Radley let out a groan of frustration. “Are all sisters as annoying as mine?” she asked rhetorically.
“Nah,” Gage said. “Mine is the most annoying ever. Chipper. Always happy. She works on a cruise ship right now,” he said with a chuckle. “Some type of activities coordinator. Who knows what she’ll be up to next.”
Knox eyed him. “She’s loud. I’ve met her a few times, and that’s about all I remember.”
“Yep, she’s loud and damn proud of it,” Gage chuckled.
“Riley’s more kickass than loud,” Radley said. “She’s like her own sleeper cell. You wouldn’t even know she was coming.”
“Sounds like someone else we know,” Cooper said pointedly.
Radley tried to suppress her smile, pleased that he realized that about her.
It was easy to underestimate a woman who looked relatively harmless.
It had served her well running sources at the agency.
It hadn’t stopped her own damn colleagues from coming after her though, she thought, her mood darkening.
“Riley and I worked together for years. We trained together. Lived together. Now she’s abandoned me by staying in Hawaii with her new boyfriend. ”
“Tough break,” Boone said from the doorway, and her eyes lit up and heart pounded as her head swiveled his way. “Guess you’re stuck here in Seattle with me.”
“I guess I’ll just have to make do with that, soldier,” she teased.