Nick sighed. “Guess she’s taking us straight to the war room.”
Sloane blinked. “War room?”
“You’ll see.”
Tierney waved them inside, switched on a light, then moved through the space, checking windows and switches, before finally leaning against the far wall, arms crossed, eyes a bit wild. Where she’d been distant at the lighthouse, this felt different — a level of paranoia Sloane associated with trauma.
Not that they didn’t all have their share, but Sloane knew a portion of Tierney’s story — guessed at the empty spaces the other woman hadn’t filled in. And it didn’t take a psychologist to see she hadn’t come close to making peace with it.
Buck moved in close, keeping himself between Tierney and the door. An unspoken promise that anyone coming for her would have to go through him.
The room smelled like cedar and gun oil, with a top note of vanilla. Charts covered the walls — coastal metrics mixed with contour maps and logging infrastructure tacked in place. Photos had been pinned to various boards, an image of the lighthouse they’d just escaped from off to one side.
A low hum filled the air, a bank of computers and monitors covering part of the south wall — security Sloan assumed Tierney rarely turned off.
Nick tugged Sloane in tight to his side, kept her close as he addressed his teammates. “I really hope you all have news because we’re quickly running out of options.”
Bodie crossed his arms. “Raven’s Cliff is crawling with mercs. Hell, you can’t throw a rock without hitting one. Greer’s doing her best to run them out of town, but they’re getting restless. Will likely start targeting close contacts, next, in the hopes it’ll draw you both out.”
“Foster and the guys aware of that?”
“They’ve been notified. Are itching to join in the fight, but I’m trying to keep them distanced a bit, seeing as Hill expanded the burn noticed — included everyone at Raven’s Security.”
“Shit.” Nick scrubbed his hand down his face. “I’m sorry, Bodie. I never should?—”
“Don’t. If you hadn’t been here, you’d be facing this alone, or worse, while on a mission when it would have been easier to have you killed. But the running stops now. I want a way to put Hill in Leavenworth — get my company back.”
Avery stepped forward. “I might have exactly what it takes, though, it’s not going to be easy. In fact, it’s borderline suicidal, but if I remember correctly, your team seems to thrive on that.”
She placed her bag on the table situated in the center of the room, fished out a series of printouts and a lone thumb drive. “I know, it’s old school, but I didn’t trust the networks enough to send it all over the wire. Not with how high up the CIA food chain this goes.”
Nick grabbed one of the pages, held it so Sloane could see the photo, too. “What is this?”
Avery looked up as she raked her hand through her hair. “Everything I’m about to say never leaves this room, or an old friend of mine could lose his job.”
Nick cocked his head to the side. “That goes without saying, Kaine, and we’ve all proven we can keep secrets.”
Avery eyed Sloane as she gestured at Nick. “Are you sure you don’t want to cash in on his bounty, first? Then, stop Hill?”
Sloane smiled. “I’ll keep my options open.”
“Fine.” Avery pushed another sheet toward them. “According to my source, your guy, Kessler, was on a routine USMS transfer when a sniper took out the vehicle. The guy missed Kessler, but two of the three Deputy Marshals didn’t make it out alive.”
Sloane inhaled, staring Avery dead in the eyes. “Oh my god. You called Lachlan Ridge.”
Avery’s eye twitched, her gaze making the rounds, though Sloane didn’t miss how it lingered a bit longer on Dalton.
Sloane blew out a rough breath. “You did. Jesus, Avery, you swore on your brother’s grave you’d never call him, again… Not for anything.”
“And I had intended on keeping that promise until my best friend got a kill order issued on her, and I needed the kind of intel that only a blood debt would garner. Besides, Lach’s the one person I knew would tell me the truth, protocol be damned. Though, Ihadplanned on keeping his name out of it.”
“Everyone here can be trusted, it’s just...” Sloane rubbed the back of her neck. “Wow.”
Bodie cleared his throat. “Lachlan Ridge. That the same Lachlan Ridge who’s a former Army Ranger? Left a few years back and joined the Marshal Service. Was one hell of a sniper. Lives with his brothers on the family’s massive ranch out in Wyoming?”
Avery grunted. “Does everyone know him?”
Bodie held up his palms. “Rangers are a tight-knit bunch, and we all know the stories of the ones who traded it in for something beyond the service. But that’s obviously not what’s important. And we’ll all forget his name as soon as this is over, so please, continue.”
