“Was Sean involved in the investigation, is that it?” Kyle’s voice stayed even but his eyes went icy. “You think Sean Volker was part of something illegal that NCIS was looking into?”
“I think,” Gina said carefully, “that the timeline is very tight. Mira gets assigned to a higher-profile program. She discovers something. She reaches out to NCIS or they reach out to her. We don’t know when she initially meets Sean. She gets pregnant. She sets up a will the same week she finds out. Then she goes dark for four years and gets killed in a parking garage.”
“Sean was SWCC,” Lachlan said. “Based in San Diego. Same city, same timeframe.”
“Proximity isn’t guilt,” Kyle said.
“No, son,” Lachlan said quietly. “But it’s a question we can’t ignore. Nobody’s saying Sean was dirty. We’re saying we don’t know. And not knowing means we ask every question. Even the hard ones.”
“Sean Volker died trying to save SEALs on a riverbank,” Kyle said. His voice came out hard. “Charlie and Shane were on that boat. They watched him go down. My dog wouldn’t leave his side. Camo wouldn’t…” Kyle closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “How can you think a man who did that—no, not just a man, but Arden’sbrother—was dirty?”
“I think,” Gina said gently, “that we don’t know yet. And until we do, wehaveto keep it as a possibility. I’m sorry this is painful for you, Kyle.”
“We arenottelling Arden that we’re looking into Sean, is that clear?”
“Of course,” Gina said.
“Son,” Lachlan said. “We love that lass like a daughter.”
Kyle opened his eyes. They were glassy with anger and unshed tears, and obvious love for his wife. “Thank you.”
“My man Flint and I will keep digging on Mira, obvs,” Elissa said, and Flint nodded in agreement. “He’ll look for anythingsketchy about LRH and I’m going to find out who our mystery caller is. I’m going slow, because I don’t want to trigger anything at NCIS or LRH. Either would be extremely bad juju.”
Colin shifted in his seat, anger that he didn’t want to examine too closely just beginning to simmer. “So Maren is cleared.”
“Yes,” Elissa said. “Maren’s clean. She’s exactly who she says she is. A woman trying to protect herself and her sister’s kid from God-only-knows-what.”
Gina held up her hand. “We can’t say that for sure.”
Colin’s jaw tightened. “Maren had no idea any of this was going on.”
“As far as we can tell from a quick background check,” Gina said. “Not to put your work down, Elissa. We have almost zero to go on. So, for now, Maren is on a need-to-know basis.”
“That’s not fair to her,” Colin objected.
“You haven’t been here long enough to know all the danger we’ve faced,” Lachlan said. “As soon as she’s absolutely cleared, she’ll know everything as soon as we do.”
Colin felt the veins in his temples pulsing. The room felt like it was closing in. “So, after her sister lies to her, she gets half-truths from even more people she’s supposed to trust.”
“Colin?” Kyle started. Gina’s golden eyes studied him.
“I’m going back to the safehouse.” Colin stood up. “She’s clean. Juni’s clean. That’s all I need to know right now.”
He was at the door before Lachlan spoke.
“Son. Something you want to tell us?”
Colin stopped. He didn’t turn around.
“No, sir.”
“The reason why you were chosen for this assignment is that you’ve got some distance. Is that no longer true?”
Colin’s hand tightened on the doorknob.
She’s not yours.
“Still true. Sir.”
