Chapter Fifteen #2
A few minutes after two in the morning, Grant closed the lid of his laptop. “We’ve reached the end of the file. How many names do we have, Rayne?”
“If I count the people sitting in Washington, D.C. pushing buttons and sending memos during the mission, too many to name.”
“Focus on people who have a direct role, including military personnel involved.”
“And their families,” added Andre.
Rayne frowned. “Why should we investigate the families?”
“We lost good men because of bad intel.”
She gasped. Bad intelligence? In her experience with Fortress, the tech and research employees used every tool in their arsenal to mine for information.
In fact, Maddox had stepped in and aborted two missions assigned to Artemis because the information provided wasn’t detailed enough for his satisfaction.
His reasoning? The risk to the operatives was too great.
For the military to do this to their own personnel was unbelievable. “You’re kidding.”
A shrug. “It happens. We did the best we could with the information we were given. We went on many missions that would have failed if not for the excellent men and women assigned with us. That time, though, our skill and professionalism weren’t enough to make the difference.”
Grant grimaced. “Red Dawn was a disaster from the beginning, but to hear our superiors talk, we wiped the floor with the enemy. They bragged about the mission’s rousing success to their superiors, who painted a pretty picture of the mission to their higher-ups.”
“What about the five dead soldiers?”
“Collateral damage of a war on terrorism.”
The families of the soldiers lost on the mission wouldn’t view them as an inevitable loss. “Did you wipe the floor with the enemy?” she asked.
“We completed the job and lived to tell the tale, but we lost five men that night, good men who should be alive and home with their families, not lying in a decorated grave with their loved ones having to move on without them.”
Rayne thought about that for a beat, then said, “Did the families blame you and your teammates for the deaths?”
“We didn’t have any communication with them.”
She stared. “I’ve seen how you are with the members of Echo unit. If something happened to one of them, I know you’d be in contact with his family, offering every support you could. What was different?”
Andre leaned his head against the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling. “Each of us was in Landstuhl with injuries from the mission.”
“That’s near Ramstein, right?”
He nodded.
Oh, man. Soldiers weren’t sent to Landstuhl for simple injuries. Just how badly were Grant and his friends injured during Red Dawn? “How long were you in the hospital?”
“Long enough to gripe about the food and the drill sergeants masquerading as physical therapists.”
Andre straightened and shut down his laptop. “Riley, are you at a place where you can take a break and get some rest?”
“I should stay on this. Something tells me we’re running out of time.”
“You’re not Wonder Woman. You need sleep like the rest of us.”
“But….”
“Set the computer to run searches for the next few hours. We’ll pitch in and help with whatever you need. Your beautiful brain and body need time to recharge.”
Riley’s hands hovered over her keyboard. With her gaze glued to the screen, she said, “You think I’m beautiful?”
“Baby, if you can’t see that for yourself, something is wrong with your mirrors. You’re drop-dead gorgeous, woman, and you take my breath away every time I look at you.”
Her cheeks turned pink, and her eyes sparkled.
Rayne smiled. Nice. Very nice. She’d love to see a relationship develop between the two operatives.
They both deserved the best. “Andre’s right, Riley.
Again. Give yourself a break. Why don’t we give ourselves five hours to sleep, then order breakfast from room service and work with you before we go on to the next task. ”
“What is the next task?” Riley shifted her attention to Grant.
“Depends on what we find when we look into the men and women assigned to Red Dawn.”
“Hold up a minute.” Rayne twisted in her seat to face him. “Do you suspect one of your teammates is behind the deaths of Selena, Dante, and your cousin Jed?”
Andre stiffened, his gaze locked on Grant.
“Not a member of Echo, but the other military personnel assigned to the mission are suspect.”
Andre frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“Echo has had each other’s backs since we were in boot camp.
I trust you all with my life and the lives of the people I love.
The other soldiers were hand-picked by our superiors because of their skills, then assigned to Red Dawn.
We didn’t know them well. If anyone sold us out, I’d point my finger at one of them. ”
“Aside from Echo, don’t discount anyone.” Riley set aside her laptop. “People you’ve known for years can surprise you, and not in a good way.”
“Sounds like the voice of experience,” Andre said.
“Unfortunately.” She yawned and said, “I’ve set the bots to compile the information we need on the people involved in Red Dawn.
We should have several files to comb through in a few hours.
Hopefully, our culprit will be in the pile of data so we can put this to bed soon.
I don’t want your families at risk, and the longer we take to identify the culprit, the greater the likelihood someone else will die. ”
Grant flinched. “Ouch. You don’t pull any punches, do you?”
“Would you rather I told you a pretty lie? We all know the score here. Your families’ lives are at stake.”
He inclined his head in silent agreement and turned to Rayne. “Do you need anything before you go to bed?”
She shook her head. Grant Bowen was one special man to be concerned for her wellbeing when he must be worried about his family. “I’m fine. What about you? Will you be able to sleep?”
His lips curved. “Of course. The military taught us to catch naps when we could. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll take the first watch,” Andre said.
“I’ll take over in three hours.” Grant cupped Rayne’s chin and kissed her. “If you can’t sleep, come get me.”
She smiled. “Same goes for you. We’ll sit out on the balcony, snuggle under a blanket, and watch the sunrise.”
“Deal.” After another quick kiss, he turned and went into the second bedroom.
Rayne stared at the closed door, feeling as though a concrete barrier had risen between them. She didn’t like it one bit. How pathetic was that? Since when had she depended on his company so much that she missed him when they were separated?
She sighed. Months. Grant had burrowed deep in her heart since the day she’d first met him.
“Better get going.” Andre nudged Rayne and Riley toward the unoccupied bedroom. “Clock’s ticking on your beauty rest.”
As the women headed toward the room, Riley paused and looked over her shoulder at Andre. “If I can’t sleep, I may rejoin you, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. I’ll be glad to have the company. But do me a favor and try to sleep, okay? You’ll rest better in a bed.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. I’ve slept in places that would give you nightmares for weeks. Sleeping on a couch is luxurious.”
Rayne followed Riley into the room and closed the door. She leaned back against it. “All right. Spill. I know you can sleep anywhere, no matter how uncomfortable. What’s the real reason you might help Andre keep watch?”
“Maybe I want to spend more time with him.”
She smiled. “Glad to hear it. He’s a good man.”
The computer whiz spun on her heel to face Rayne. “Did you ever….”
“No. Never. It’s always been Grant for me. However, I’ve spent enough time in Andre’s company on missions to observe a few things.”
“Like what?”
“He’s kind, generous to a fault, cares about his teammates deeply, respects the rest of the units Echo works with, and is fascinated by a certain computer whiz standing right in front of me.”
Riley’s mouth gaped. “Really?”
She laughed. “Couldn’t you tell with his speech about how something was wrong with your mirrors if you didn’t recognize how beautiful you are? He’s got it bad, Riley.”
“But I don’t know how to be in a relationship. I’ve never been on a date.”
Now it was Rayne’s turn to stare. “Seriously?”
Her teammate shrugged her shoulders. “I was the weird kid no one wanted to adopt. I bounced from foster home to foster home until I turned fifteen and my foster father slipped into my bedroom one night.”
Rayne’s eyes widened. “Did he….”
“No, but not for lack of trying. I fought him off, screaming like a banshee. My foster mother and brother didn’t believe him when he claimed I had invited him into my room that night. While they were arguing, I slipped out of the house and never went back.”
“You lived on the streets for three years?”
Riley shrugged. “I joined a group of other homeless people who banded together to watch out for each other. They monitored me. One woman made sure I went to school every day and did my homework. It was almost like having a foster mom without the drama of a foster father with wandering eyes and hands.”
Rayne reached out and squeezed her friend’s hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had it so rough growing up.”
“Compared to you and the others, spending a few years in a homeless camp was nothing.”
“And with all that against you, you still attended college? Riley, my friend, you are an amazing woman. I hope Andre knows what a special person you are.”
Riley’s cheeks turned pink. “I don’t know about that.” She stepped back. “Come on. We need sleep.”
Minutes later, the lights were out, and Rayne drifted into sleep. Whatever came of the computer searches, Rayne prayed she and her teammates could protect Grant’s family from any more loss.