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“There’s nothing former about my SEAL status.” He mimicked her defiant posture and held her gaze. “They can’t take any punitive measures against us until they determine our guilt—which they haven’t, and which theywon’t,because we’re not guilty of anything. The real killer is still out there, and my team is going to find him, no matter what. And we have authority to take action, once we do. A high-ranking Navy official ordered us on the down-low to discover who was really responsible.”
Toni shook her head. “I don’t understand. Are you saying there’s some kind of…conspiracy? That someone’s trying to cover up what actually happened?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Her gaze lowered, a frown drawing her dark brows together. “So that’s why you took this job as my bodyguard? Because you’re working on some secret mission for your team?”
“Yes.” Spence’s tense shoulders relaxed a tad. “I need to find your father.”
Toni snorted. “You and half the planet.”
“I’m serious. You said it yourself—his is the only paper that’s shouting that we’re guilty. Why do you think that is?”
For a moment, she just stared at him. “Are you… Are you saying that myfatheris involved in this conspiracy somehow? How does that make any sense? He’s a publisher. What would he have to do with some SEALs on a mission halfway around the world?”
“That’s what I want to find out,” Spencer replied. “But here’s what we’re working with so far. We think he’s involved in a covert operation called SHEEPSKIN. The NSA brief described it as a data network that’s being used to organize terror cells around the world and coordinate attacks. My team has reason to believe your father knows intimate details about this network.”
“Wait, what does that have to do with your friend who was killed?”
“We’re working to figure that out ourselves. There’s a chance that Nick might have known too much—might have seen or overheard something that his wife was involved in. Maybe evenhedidn’t realize that he knew something dangerous, but they decided he was a liability who needed to be taken out.”
Toni looked bewildered. “I still don’t see what any of this has to do with my father.”
“Nick’s wife, Natalie Matthews, is an author. One of yourfather’sauthors. You should recognize this one—she publishes under the pen name N.T. Smalls.”
That got a gasp from Toni. “The same N.T. Smalls who donated the book that’s on all the e-readers my father donated?”
Spencer nodded. “We think that book is the key to the whole thing. And your father is the one who put it on all the e-readers and provided them to you. Encoded in the file is information that SHEEPSKIN is using. That’s why we need to find your father. Do you know where he is?”
“No.” She got up from the floor and took a seat on one of the dining chairs. “I haven’t seen him since right before the explosion at his publishing house in DC.” Her frown darkened. “Wait. You guys didn’t have anything to do with that bombing, did you?”
“We’re the good guys, remember, sweetheart?”
“Even good guys do bad things sometimes. At least that’s what my father says.” She shook her head and looked away. “And don’t call me sweetheart.”
He winced. He hadn’t meant for that to slip out. Pet names weren’t usually a thing for him—there was just something about her.
“What were you looking for on my devices?” she asked.
“Intel. About your father’s whereabouts. Evidence that you’ve been in contact with him recently.”
Her posture stiffened once more. “I told you I don’t communicate with him. I have no idea where he is. Are you calling me a liar?”
“No. I’ve just learned the hard way to cover all my bases.” He stood and grabbed one of the other chairs, turning it around to straddle it, facing her, his forearms resting along the back. “Listen, I wasn’t supposed to say anything to you about my mission, but I haven’t found any evidence that you’re involved, so I’m trusting you with all this.”
She sat back and met his gaze, her expression unreadable. “Go on.”
“In addition to my job to protect you, my team and I came to Jubail looking for your father. We think he can help us clear our name. When he disappeared after the bombing? He didn’t choose to drop off the grid. He was abducted by some of the men who have been working against us. We think his actions since then, like publishing those stories about us, might have been because he was coerced. Maybe he made a deal so they’d release him. But we can provide him with protection, if he’ll just tell us the truth.”
“The rest of your team’s here too? Where?”
“They’re staying at the Best Western.”
“And you…you really think there’s some kind of dangerous information hidden in the files on my e-readers?”
“That part we’re sure of, actually,” he said, hating himself a little at the expression of pain that flashed over her face. The e-readers meant so much to her. This would be hard for her to hear. “The girlfriend of one of my teammates is a cyberanalyst with the FBI, and she cracked the code. Hidden in the file’s data is tracking software. Software that could be used by this SHEEPSKIN network to organize their attacks.”
“And you think my family had something to do with that?” She shook her head in disbelief as she pushed to her feet and began to pace the room. “My father’s no angel—I’ll be the first to admit that. But something like this? No. If you’re insinuating he’s involved in some kind of terrorism or murder plot, I refuse to believe it. He might be willing to bend the rules when it comes to his finances, but he loves his country and his ideals. Those are the only things that matter to him.”
