Chapter 5 #2
“Not terminated.” Rafe rescinded his order.
“None of us are blind. You’ve carried her voice in your ear through firefights and chaos.
She’s more than intel to you. To all of us.
But it’s not the same for the rest of the team.
Judging by the way she looks at you—even through bruises and exhaustion—she feels the same. ”
Silence filled the line.
What did he say to that? It was one thing to be interested in Raven and want to get to know her in person when she was just a voice in his ear. But seeing her tied to that pole and her strength as she struggled in the jungle… Yeah, he was hooked.
“So, here’s the plan, boss,” Dax announced. “We’ll keep covering your six and help you solve this mystery, while you pull out all the stops and get the girl. Deal?”
Boone snorted. “Finally. A mission objective we can all get behind.”
“Real name or not. She’s worth the risk. We know it. You know it. Don’t overthink this.” Rafe’s serious tone brought all the teasing into perspective.
His men knew him too well. And for once, he wasn’t sure he wanted to argue. “Copy that.”
Maybe he’d have a shot at a relationship with Raven once they figured out this mess. Then again, he didn’t know where she lived or her actual name.
A few minutes later, the front door creaked. Rafe and Xander stepped inside, their boots echoing on the hardwood floor. They smirked at Liam as they strode by, heading toward the back bedroom. Without a word, they returned, hauling two large cases.
“Dining room table?” Rafe asked.
“Yes. Set up in there. That’ll leave the kitchen free for meals.” Liam removed the centerpiece from the table and placed it in the corner.
Xander unloaded gear—laptops, hard drives, and a portable secure router.
Rafe strung the cords on the table and started connecting the equipment.
Cables snaked across the wood floor while multiple screens flickered to life.
Liam’s second in command was a tech specialist genius.
Not on Raven’s level, but between the two of them, he had no doubt they’d break through the data and find the evidence pointing to the person responsible for the mission and the ultimate reason for her kidnapping.
And this time, instead of her watching out for them, the whole team would have her six.
Xander had arranged a spread of grab-and-go food and set it on the kitchen counter before he’d caught rack time.
Raven emerged from her room a few hours later. “Good morning. Or night. I’m so mixed up.” Raven yawned, and her jaw cracked. “Sorry.”
Liam smiled. The rumpled look warmed his heart. “It’s very night.”
She squinted at the window. “Hard to tell with the blackout curtains. But I’m okay with that.”
“Come on. Let’s get you some food, and I’ll show you your workstation.” He waited for her to join him before walking to the kitchen. “I’m sure it’s not as techy as your office, but it’s what we have.”
“A keyboard, screen, and processing power are all I need.” She came to a halt. “Well, that and the secure internet access.”
“Then you’re set.” Liam motioned for her to fill her plate. He let silence fill the space. No reason to make small talk. If she were like him, he required a few minutes of quiet to ground himself in the day. That and a bucket full of coffee.
Snacking on the food as she held her plate and strode into the living room, Raven lowered onto the chair in front of the laptop they’d designated as hers.
Rafe glanced up from his computer. “Hey, Raven. Feel better?”
“A bit. I think it’ll take a while to recover. Especially my ribs. But I’m not lying in bed when I can help.” She brushed her hands together, dusting off any crumbs from her midnight meal.
Liam and Rafe grinned at each other.
“That sounds like the determined Raven we know.” Liam placed his hands on her shoulders, wondering how she’d react. If the guys were wrong…
Raven tipped her head back and smiled at him.
Her smile wrapped his heart. Okay, so maybe the guys were on to something.
“This.” She pointed to her computer. “I know. It’s my comfort zone.”
“Then I’ll let you get to it.” He squeezed her shoulders and released her.
Almost as if on a silent cue, Raven and Rafe’s heads lowered, and the clack of keys filled the space. Liam had a gut feeling that whatever they uncovered wasn’t going to be about a contractor’s daughter. It was going to be about someone setting up Raven. But to what end?
Liam left them to their work and checked in with the others. A little while later, he returned. “Raven, I have a gift for you.” He held out a small black box. The skeptical look she gave him made him laugh. “Go on. It won’t bite.”
She opened the container and peeked in. A squeal met his ears. “Oh, thank you! I’ve felt left out.”
He laughed, and so did Rafe.
She extracted the earpiece and slipped it in. “Charlie Team, Raven. I’m back.”
“Yay.” “Hallelujah.” “It’s about time.” The other three men chimed in.
Raven reached out and clasped his hand. “Seriously, Liam, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” The relaxed expression on her face had him smacking himself for not thinking of it sooner. He slid onto a seat beside her and logged into his laptop. “Shoot me the file of the threatening emails you received, and I’ll analyze those.”
Raven’s fingers flew on the keyboard. “There ya go.”
His inbox pinged. “Got it.” Now, to see if any of the threats warranted a full-blown investigation.
An hour later, Raven froze mid-keystroke. “Liam.”
“What’s up?” He stood from his spot at the table, grateful for the opportunity to stand and stretch, and circled behind her.
A buried, archived request from an unknown FBI agent with a review pending status glowed on her screen.
Beneath it sat an administrative closure for the evaluation, timestamped the day of her abduction.
Raven leaned closer. “They didn’t just stall my request for a review of the leaked codes.
They shut it down the day they took me.”
“Erasing all evidence,” Liam whispered. His heart dropped at the realization. “If we figure out who buried your review request, I’d bet it will point us in the direction of the person or people after you.”
Several clicks of her mouse later, she expanded the metadata and pointed at the screen.
“Look. This isn’t random. The agent who filed the request had clearance…
but the trail dead-ends in Deputy Director Karen Walsh’s office.
Someone high up killed the review before it could reach the chain of command. Or Walsh squashed it herself.”
“Maybe.” Liam scratched the stubble on his jaw. “But from what I’ve witnessed, Walsh has always appeared competent and concerned. She cleaned up the good ol’ boys network when she took over.”
“She did. I don’t think it’s her, but we can’t deny that the review stopped at or right before her office.”
“We’ll keep her on the list. Who else had access?”
Raven sighed. “There are more than enough people who had access.”
“Ugh. How do you do the research thing and keep your sanity? I’d rather be kicking down the proverbial doors.”
She laughed. “Some of us prefer staring at computer screens.” She clicked another email from an unknown source. Subject line: Proof of Asset Location. Proceed as planned.
The message contained an attachment. She opened it. A photo of her in the hut filled the monitor. She gasped.
He gently gripped her arms. “Easy. You’re safe now.”
She took a deep breath and nodded.
“Check out the time-stamp.” He pointed at the information.
“What about it?”
“It’s around the same time Agent Scott said he’d got word the contractor’s daughter died in a car wreck and called us off. We disobeyed his orders, because…well…we don’t report to him. Not long after, we found you.”
“I was the target all along.” A whimper escaped her lips.
Liam tugged her to a stand and wrapped his arms around her. “They made it personal, Raven. We won’t stop until we find who did this to you and why.” Her discovery of the leaked GPS codes and her upstreaming the information had placed a bullseye on her.
Raven burrowed her face into his chest and sobbed.
The woman had hit her limits, and he vowed to protect her, no matter the cost.