Chapter Three
RILEY BLINKED. “DOES Zane know who is targeting me?” This threat made little sense.
As far as she knew, her security was intact.
She didn’t have a family, so no chance of them slipping up and telling too much to a friend or relative.
She also didn’t have a profile on social media.
Riley hadn’t blabbed about her work to anyone outside of Fortress.
“Not yet,” Maddox said. “Z is tracking the threat through the Net. Hopefully, he’ll have something soon. In the meantime, you go nowhere alone.”
The members of Echo and Artemis straightened, their attention locked on their boss.
“Isn’t that extreme, sir?”
“These men grabbed you in the middle of an op. If Andre hadn’t noticed and followed, you’d have been missing longer than you were. Based on his report, he arrived just in time to prevent the kidnappers from hurting you to get what they wanted. You were lucky, Riley.”
She frowned. “I could have escaped on my own.”
“Perhaps. However, three against one isn’t great odds. What did they want?”
“It’s in my report, sir.”
“Nothing is in your report.”
“Because I know nothing. The interrogator kept saying they needed my cooperation. I got the impression that if I didn’t cooperate, they’d hurt me to get what they wanted. They never said what it was.”
“No threats lately?”
She shook her head. “I’ve stayed off everyone’s radar. No slip-ups.”
“Unfortunately, no cameras were available in the jungle, so we don’t know where they came from, nor do we have a picture of their faces. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary recently?”
Under the table, her hands fisted. Maddox didn’t believe her. Why not? Hadn’t she proved herself to be trustworthy?
Andre covered one of her fists with his hand and squeezed lightly.
When she glanced at him, Riley saw a clear warning to tread lightly in his eyes. Sassing Brent Maddox put you on a one-way express to the exit.
But his questions revealed distrust, and she’d worked hard to earn the trust of Maddox and her teammates. Even a hint that she hadn’t convinced them of her trustworthiness rankled.
Riley wrestled her temper into submission and looked at her boss. “No, sir. Nothing stands out.”
His forehead furrowed. “I’ll put Zane on it. Hopefully, he’ll help us figure out this puzzle. If someone is targeting you, there’s a reason, and we must know what it is to derail the next attack.”
She sat back in her chair. Zane was always the first call for operatives employed by Fortress Security.
Although unable to operate in the field, Z hadn’t forgotten the need for updated, accurate information on missions.
An IED in the Sand Box had ended his career as a Navy SEAL.
Now, he was an invaluable resource behind the scenes at Fortress.
As good as he was, though, Zane only had 24 hours in a day.
Teams couldn’t monopolize his time. Her lips curved.
Good thing she didn’t have to depend on Z’s amazing computer skills.
Riley had her own computer skills that she used to help Artemis and Echo.
“Don’t do that, sir. Zane is overloaded. I can handle the research.”
“All right. If you hit a roadblock that you can’t go around or your time is too limited, ask Zane for help.”
“Yes, sir. I will.” She’d just make sure she didn’t need Zane’s help.
“What now, sir?” Seth frowned. “I don’t like that Riley has been singled out.”
“Same. For the moment, your mission is Riley, but I have another operation brewing. Your teams might be deployed again.”
Iona scowled. “Interrogator and his buddies took Riley in the middle of an operation on foreign soil. What’s stopping them from taking off with her again?”
Maddox’s eyes glittered. “Not what, Byrne, but who. And that person is you. You know she’s a target. Develop a plan to keep your teammate safe. Maddox out.”
Elias whistled. “The boss isn’t happy.”
“He’s not the only one,” Seth said.
“What do you mean?” Iona folded her arms across her chest.
“We should have been keeping better tabs on each other. We’re depending on the comm devices to clue us in when a teammate is in jeopardy.
These guys were professional enough to strip the comm device from Riley’s ear when they kidnapped her.
We were lucky Andre noticed she was missing so fast and tracked her down. ”
Iona shifted her gaze to Riley. “I’m sorry, Riley. I let you down. It won’t happen again.”
She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. What was she supposed to say to that? It’s okay? It wasn’t. No harm was done. Next time, though, that might not be the case. Seth was right. They had to keep track of each other better. “Perhaps we can use our tactical watches.”
Seth looked thoughtful. “Maybe. We’ll think about it. In the meantime, get some rest. We won’t sleep much until we figure out who is after Riley because we protect our own.”
The operatives returned to their seats and settled down to sleep on the flight to Bayside, Texas where one of the Fortress doctors was waiting for the teams and for Christopher.
Andre and Riley walked down the aisle and sat in the last row of seats. A minute later, Christopher left the bedroom followed by Noah and Violet.
The medic stopped near Andre. “Do you mind if Christopher joins you? I think he wants to spend time with you and Riley for a while.”
Hope gleamed in his eyes as he watched Andre. Riley glanced at Andre, eyebrow raised in silent inquiry. She didn’t mind if the boy hung out with them and was sure Andre wouldn’t either. The kid had an obvious case of hero worship going on.
“Sure.” Andre scooted over to sit next to Riley, leaving the aisle seat for Christopher. “I might fall asleep, though. You okay with that?”
“No problem. I’m tired too. I slept little while those men had me.”
An expression came and went so fast that Riley wasn’t sure what it was. She knew, however, that a painful thought or memory had gone through Christopher’s mind. He couldn’t hide that extreme reaction. “Do you want a blanket and pillow?”
The boy nodded.
Riley grabbed a pillow and blanket from the overhead compartment and handed the pillow to Christopher. She shook the blanket out and draped it over the boy, careful not to touch him without his consent. “Need anything else, Christopher?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Call me Riley.” She slipped past Andre and sat down. “Are you hungry or thirsty, Chris?”
He shook his head, yawning.
“What about you, Andre? Do you need anything?”
“Just you.”
Stunned, she stared at him. What did that mean? Was he simply saying expected words, or was something behind the statement?
Andre twisted in his seat with a grimace and faced Christopher. “Your father is meeting us in Texas.”
The boy’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I missed him.”
“He missed you too. Your dad would pay any price to get you back. Not every parent would do that.” Andre waited a beat for Christopher to comment. He said nothing. “He seems like a really cool guy. Is he?”
Christopher folded in on himself, his shoulders hunched and his head down.
A sick feeling built in Riley’s gut. “Christopher, do you want to go home?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk anymore. I just want to sleep.”
She and Andre looked at each other for a moment. “Good idea, buddy. I think I might take a nap, too. You don’t mind, do you?”
The boy relaxed and straightened in the seat. “I don’t mind. I can keep an eye out for trouble, though. You said injured operatives can’t rest unless someone is watching their backs.”
Andre froze. “You’re volunteering to stand watch for me?”
Christopher nodded.
“Thanks, Chris. I appreciate that, but I have nine teammates, and they’re watching over you, me, and Noah. Jordan, our pilot, checked the jet before giving us the all-clear to board. No one but our pilot was on board. We have plenty of people to protect us.”
The boy nodded, his expression solemn. “If you change your mind, let me know, okay?”
“You got it.” Andre moved his hand where Christopher could see it. “For now, sleep. It’s the best thing for your body and your mind.” He lowered the seat back and raised the footrest. The boy just stared at him. “Rest, buddy. If there’s trouble on the jet, you’ll hear it and can wake me.”
Christopher snuggled into the pillow. “How long until we get home?”
“About six hours. Close your eyes and let go, Chris. I’ll be right here.”
“You won’t leave me?”
Andre shook his head. “We have a rule in the military. We don’t leave a man behind. You have my word I won’t leave you behind.”
“The kids at school think I’m weird.”
“Why?”
“I’d rather read a book or ride a skateboard than play video games. I prefer to be by myself instead of in a crowd at a party.”
“Oh, yeah?” Andre grinned. “What do you know? I’m not a party guy either. As for my preferred company, you make the list, and so does Riley.”
Christopher smiled, then settled deeper into the blanket and closed his eyes.
He wasn’t the only person who was tired on this jet.
Riley felt as though her energy had drained out of her back in that horrible jungle.
Whatever the kidnappers used to knock her out still lingered in her system.
Protecting Chris had given Riley a shot of adrenaline, but the adrenaline had reached the end of the line, leaving her feeling exhausted.
Andre reached over and laced his fingers with hers. “You need rest, too.”
“I’m not the one with a bullet wound.”
“Nope. You’re the one who was drugged and abducted, then ran through the jungle and took down several terrorists to protect Chris.”
Smart aleck. She squeezed his fingers. “We’ll declare this a draw. How about we both take a nap?”
“Deal.” Andre unfolded a blanket and spread it over both of them. That done, he draped his arm around her shoulders. “Is this okay?”
Riley’s cheeks burned. Okay? It felt amazing. No woman in her right mind would turn down Andre Marsh, and she wasn’t crazy. Not trusting her voice, she nodded.
“Good.” Andre settled her closer to his chest. “If I ever do anything that makes you uncomfortable, tell me and I’ll back off.”
She bit her lip. “What if I don’t want you to back off?”
He watched her for a beat. “Then we’ll talk about it and find a compromise.”
Holy smoke. What on earth were they doing?
Flirting while a kid was within earshot?
Not her finest moment. Riley gave him a slight nod, then lapsed into silence.
She didn’t think she’d sleep while this close to Andre, but she could give her body time to slow down and rest while she watched over the man holding her so gently.
Minutes later, she began drifting into sleep, an interesting surprise.
Looked like she trusted someone after all.
Andre. One day she’d tell him why that was such an important milestone for her.
Riley yawned and snuggled closer. Perfect.
Andre’s hold tightened around her, yet instead of panic, she felt safe.
Funny. For a woman with a price on her head, all she needed to relax was Andre. What did that say?
The darkness closed in.