Chapter Five #2
“Does getting hauled into the police station for murder count?” Grant countered.
Their teammates stopped all training and joined him and Rayne in the middle of the floor. “What happened?” Andre asked.
“Went for a run and found a woman shot just off the roadway.”
“Why did the police take you in for questioning?”
Grant sighed. Yeah, this was where things were going to get sticky. “Because the victim was Selena Baker.”
Rayne’s teammates exchanged puzzled looks. Grant’s teammates, however, knew the story about his and Selena’s breakup. Their expressions were various shades of grim.
“Care to enlighten us?” Iona asked.
“Former girlfriend. Bad breakup ten months ago.”
“How bad?” Riley, one of Rayne’s teammates, demanded.
“Came back from an undercover assignment early and caught her and my former best friend in bed together.”
The women grimaced. “Cold,” Iona said.
“No kidding,” Elias Knight muttered. “Threw our division into an uproar with cops taking sides.”
Riley frowned. “The friend was a cop?”
He nodded, an invisible band tightening around Grant’s chest again at the memory of Dante’s betrayal. “Homicide detective.”
“How many people die every year in Ardmore? Your old department has an abundance of homicide detectives for a small town.”
“City,” he corrected. “And you’d be surprised.”
“So Selena was killed near your home.” Seth rubbed his jaw. “How did she know where you live? You didn’t send out a mass announcement when we moved to Hartman.”
“If I had to guess, I’d say she contacted my sister.
They were best friends while Selena and I were dating, and my sister is a romantic.
If Selena hinted that she’d made a huge mistake by getting involved with Dante and wanted to get back together with me, Isabella would do anything to help us reunite. ”
Iona folded her arms. “Just out of curiosity, would you have resumed a relationship with her if she’d asked you to take her back?”
“Never. First, I could never trust her again. With our schedule the way it is, how would I know if she was faithful during the month we’re on deployment rotation? Second, and more important, I met Rayne. No one compares to her.”
Silence filled the training room. “What does that mean?” Riley demanded. “You met the rest of Artemis at the same time.”
A slow smile curved his mouth as he glanced at Rayne. “True, but you and your teammates aren’t the sexiest women alive. Rayne is, hands down.”
Teagan scowled. “Hey, Seth says I’m as sexy as sin.”
“That doesn’t count, T. Your husband is biased.”
“I bet Noah says the same thing about Violet.”
“You can ask them when they return from their honeymoon next month.”
“Let’s get back on point,” Seth said. “We still have training to do before we look into your former girlfriend’s death. Grant, how did Selena die?”
“Gunshot to the chest.”
“Did you hear a gunshot when you were jogging?”
He shook his head. The only thing he heard on his run was the ghost in his head.
“How far away from home were you when you discovered Selena?”
“About a mile.”
Seth shifted his attention to Rayne. “Did you hear anything while you ran with Grant?”
“He left a few minutes before I arrived.”
He frowned.
“It’s not a big deal, Seth. My running pace is faster than his. I would have caught up with Grant within minutes.”
Seth shifted his glare to Grant. “Explain.”
Grant grimaced. Nothing like having to bare your soul within minutes of getting to work. “I couldn’t sleep. Memories from past missions kept me awake.”
Andre grunted. “We all deal with them, but we don’t leave our partners behind. It’s a good way for both of you to end up dead.”
His cheeks burned. “Preaching to the choir here.”
“Don’t do that again,” Seth snapped, his voice barely above a growl. “We’re teammates. We look out for each other.”
“Yes, sir.”
“So you found Selena. Any sign of Dante?”
Grant stilled. He should have thought of that sooner. Must be the shock of finding Selena dying from a gunshot wound so close to his home. “No.”
Iona glanced at Riley.
“On it.” Riley turned away from the group and hurried to the locker area of the training room with Andre close on her heels.
“The Hartman police believe you’re their perp?” Elias asked.
“They’re considering it, but their prime suspect is Rayne.”
Teagan’s eyebrows rose. “Why?”
Seth snorted. “You know why, babe. Grant and Rayne have been an item for months. They’re just the last ones to acknowledge it.”
“He wouldn’t tell the cops that,” she argued. “Grant’s too professional for that kind of mistake.”
Grant winced. “Not professional enough, apparently,” he muttered.
“You didn’t.”
“Maybe.”
She rolled her eyes.
Elias dragged a hand down his face. “Dude, you’re an embarrassment to black ops agents everywhere.”
“Let’s see how professional you are when your woman jogs into danger.”
His gaze flicked to Iona. “I hope I’d keep my wits about me.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that. I’ll be the first one to laugh at your predicament when it’s your integrity being called into question.”
Riley and Andre returned, their expressions grimmer than ever.
“What is it?” How much more bad news could he take in one day? Based on their expressions, something was very wrong.
Rayne threaded her fingers through his and squeezed Grant’s hand in silent support.
The gesture touched a place in his heart that had been cold and dark for years. He gathered the light and warmth and shoved them into that space.
“We have a problem,” Riley said.
“Let’s hear it.” Seth folded his arms across his chest.
“Dante Rivers was found dead in a motel room in Hartman. One gunshot wound to the chest.” She looked at Grant. “You and Rayne are now persons of interest in a second homicide.”