Deadly Game (Fortress Security #5)(23)

“Right about what?”

“That Jay was a loser. Sounds like Heather was ready to leave him.” If only she’d followed through sooner, Heather might be alive and Alexa safe.

“Don’t,” Brent said.

She lifted her gaze, startled. “Don’t what?”

“Blame yourself. You couldn’t have known. Your sister was a grown woman and you’ve been warning her for a while, haven’t you?”

She nodded.

“She made the choice to leave him, baby. Unfortunately, Heather’s decision wasn’t fast enough. Don’t play the what-if game. You’ll lose every time.”

Wise words. “Thanks.”

A short nod, then, “Do you want to see what’s on this drive?”

“Definitely.” Rowan booted up her laptop and held out her hand for the drive. “Let’s find out what the big secret is.”

She slipped the memory stick into the USB port and clicked on the dialog box. Rowan frowned. “There’s only one file, a small one.”

Brent circled the desk to look at the screen. “Open it. Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”

She clicked on the file. The document was a list, but she wasn’t sure what the list was supposed to be. The columns of words didn’t make any sense. They were random letters. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Alexa had played on the computer and saved her handiwork. “What do you make of that?”

“Interesting.”

“It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I think the list is in code.”

She stared. “Code? As in secret government agent spy stuff?”

Brent’s lips curved. “Except I doubt Jay Maxwell was a government agent, secret or not.”

“I don’t suppose you have someone on staff who rocks at decoding secret messages.”

He was silent a moment. “Actually, I do.”

“Do we send him a copy of the file?”

“He’s on medical leave at the moment, but he’s restless. I think he’d enjoy coming to Coffee House.”

“Tell him if he’ll come here, I’ll ply him with coffee and pastries.”

Brent grinned. “He won’t be able to resist.”

“Was he injured on a job for you?”

His gaze darkened. “Yeah, he was. A few months ago, Adam was held captive by a drug dealer and tortured for information. He’s still recovering.”

“We’ll treat him right, Brent.”

Brent crouched by her side. “I have no doubt about that. I wanted you to know why he looks a little rough.” He leaned over and kissed her as though he had all the time in the world to indulge in her. Man, she was fast becoming addicted to his touches and kisses.

Brent stood. “Do you have a blank flash drive? I’d like to make a copy of the file for Adam to work on.”

“I think so.” She indicated her messy desk with wave of her hand. “I bought two last week and they’re buried in the paper blizzard.”

“I’ll call Adam while you look for one of them.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Adam, I have a job for you if you’re interested.” He listened a moment, then chuckled. “Good. I need you at Coffee House in Washington Village. Bring your laptop.”

As he slid his phone into his pocket, Brent received a call. He glanced at the readout, froze.

Rowan’s fingers clutched the flash drive she unearthed. Maybe Detective Taylor was calling with an update.

Brent raised the phone to his ear and said, “Mr. President.”





CHAPTER TEN


Brent grimaced. President Martin calling less than twenty-four hours after his last contact wasn’t a good sign. “What do you need, sir?”

The Commander in Chief sighed. “I hope your team is ready, Brent. The situation in Mexico is heating up.”

“They’ve been alerted. Time to activation?”

“Immediately. Get them in place. Wait for my order to execute.”

“Copy that, sir.”

“Brent.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Tell them not to get caught.” Martin’s tone was grim.

The statement needed no explanation. The authorities and cartels active in the Chihuahua province hated Fortress. If St. Claire and his unit were caught, they would be locked in a Mexican prison and forgotten, or outright killed. “I’ll pass the message, Mr. President.” He ended the call, then placed another to Zane. “Z, activate St. Claire’s team.”

A soft whistle from his tech guru.

“I want to know what our people are walking into before we deploy. Tell St. Claire to pack heavy.” In other words, prepared for heavy resistance when they rescued the ambassador’s family. Brent wondered if he needed to activate another unit to help. Maybe Durango, Cahill’s Delta team.

“Copy that. Anything happening with Rowan’s situation?”

“Guy named Carlos Salazar took a run at her last night.”

“She okay?”

“Oh, yeah. The lady has courage in spades.” His gaze locked with her puzzled one.

“You get him?”

“Taylor has him down at the station.”