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SIX
Owen and Sophie got a beer at the bar and slipped into a booth in the back of Sullivan’s Place, a dive not far from the museum where Mason had worked—officially, as a security guard and unofficially, as Wilson’s henchman. This was the first spot where his GPS had guided them. This was the place most visited based on the phone’s data. Owen eyed their surroundings, not liking much about what he saw.
When they’d entered, the bartender had looked at them with suspicion, as if they didn’t belong. They didn’t, even though they’d dressed the part in scruffy jeans and sweatshirts. It was obvious that this was a place that dealt in regulars, not people who dropped by. Owen was guessing that it was a lunch spot for Mason since his phone showed he was there often around noon. They’d chosen the same time to visit.
Owen would give it a few minutes and then try to chat up the bartender for more intel. He was surprised Sophie hadn’t already done that. He had thought she’d be more excited to try to chase down information and to be on the hunt for leads, which she seemed to thrive on, but she’d been scowling since they’d left the retreat.
“What?” he asked in a low voice, finally unable to take more of the tense silence. “What’s got your undies in a twist?”
She frowned at his word choice. “This is probably a dead end.” She was watching the door.
“Maybe not.” His natural instinct was to cajole and tease information out of someone. Get them to smile and spill their secrets. It worked most of the time. He’d learned, though, that silence could work, too. So he waited, rotating the bottle of beer between his hands.
After a moment, she huffed and leaned closer. “I got an email from Jude, my editor, this morning.”
“The cautious one?” he asked.
“Yeah. He wanted an update about my investigation, and I didn’t have anything worthwhile to report. I had to admit that my big coup with the drug lieutenant didn’t work out, which didn’t surprise him any since he’d already warned me that Razor wasn’t a credible source. I was so sure, though….” She shook her head, her scowl not improving. “Imagine how amazing it would have been to get his story, to hear the stuff he’d know about Wilson and the operation.”
It might have blown the case wide open. He got that. But just the thought of being exposed on the street with her as they had been still made him break out in a cold sweat. Not for himself, but for her. He couldn’t let her get hurt on his watch. “What else did your editor say?”
“He’s worried this is all going to fall apart, and I won’t have a story worth publishing after all the time I’ve put into this.” Her gaze went around the bar. “He might be right. He’s got years of experience on me, and it’s given him good instincts. I’ve learned a lot from him, learned to slow down and make sure I had all the facts before running with them. I can be kind of hyper-focused.”
“No kidding,” he teased. “Hadn’t noticed.”
“Funny,” she said. “I realize you have no flaws, of course.”
He laughed at that. “Other than not being serious enough.”
“I wouldn’t say that anymore. I’ve seen a different side of you.”
“Damn. Thought I’d hidden my secret competence pretty well.” He grinned at her. He’d learned to cover up his intelligence and his drive, wrap them in humor and a laidback attitude as a survival technique. Not that he was going to confess all of that to her.
She rolled her eyes. “You use that smile as your get-out-of-jail-free card a lot, don’t you?”
Yes, actually. A little charm was a great weapon to distract people from what he didn’t want them to see. “Hey, don’t knock it,” he said. “If it works, it works.” Time to redirect the conversation. “And I’ll admit, it’s gotten me in trouble every now and then, too.” As curious as she was, he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist that bait.
“Yeah? What happened?” Just as he’d expected, she leaned toward him with a small smile on her face. He had her interest now.
“One time while we were still training, I convinced Sean and Ethan to sneak out and do some night fishing.”
“By flashing them that grin? I thought wannabe SEALs were made of tougher stuff. Besides, a little fishing doesn’t seem too bad.”
“That would’ve been okay, except we stole a boat used for training to go out on the Chesapeake Bay,” he said and saw her eyes get wider. “I knew a good fishing spot. Our trainer, Joe Miller, was standing on the dock when we got back. It was just before dawn, and we’d drunk a case of beer between us. I said something stupid about how SEALs were at their best at sea. Joe lit into us. We did double PT for the next two weeks, plus every crap job that came along. Joe knew the right way to punish us. He could have tossed us out of the SEAL program altogether, but he chose to approach it as a learning opportunity.”
“Did you learn?”
“Yeah, I learned not to screw off when I shouldn’t and not to lead my friends into trouble. Ethan and Sean wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t convinced them.” He’d felt bad about that and had personally shouldered as much of the punishment as his buddies would let him.
“Ethan’s mentioned Sean, too,” she said, her expression turning thoughtful. “I feel like I’ve run into most of your old team at Helen and Ethan’s get-togethers, but I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever met him, and I can’t put a face with the name. I usually can.”
“You wouldn’t have met him. He hasn’t really been around. Sean dropped off the grid after his brother was killed in a SEAL training accident.” Owen wished he’d kept closer tabs on his former teammate. Unfortunately, he’d been concerned about his own problems since that was the same month he’d injured his shoulder. Even though he’d made a full recovery, the time it had taken to heal had meant that his team had replaced him. Rather than starting over with a new team, he’d made the decision to leave the SEALs. He still believed it had been the right call, but that didn’t mean the decision had been easy. He’d wrestled with his demons and hadn’t reached out to Sean the way he should have.
“Oh yeah, I remember hearing something about that.” She paused. “I was wondering…”
“Turn off the reporter,” he cautioned, guessing where she was going. She wanted to investigate what had happened to J.P, Sean’s brother. “Civilians don’t have access to everything that occurs on base for a reason.”
“I suppose you’re right. I was just curious.” She took a look around the bar. “Nothing doing here.”
