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“We’ll re-evaluate our plan when the rest of the team arrives,” he said, dismissing her by turning back to the computer and digging through the FBI and CIA files of unsolved assassinations for any sign of Darkshade’s patterns.
He felt her eyes on him for another minute, but she didn’t say a word. Finally, she left the room, and he exhaled the tension he’d been carrying. He hadn’t realized it, but he was physically holding his body back from going to her.
What was it about this woman that made him want to reassure and comfort her? It was as if he actually felt her pain himself. It was deeper than empathy, and he needed it to stop. He stared at the computer screen, unseeing, while he prayed for God to remove this connection he couldn’t shake. He needed peace, and thoughts of Hannah only seemed to bring him turmoil.
The next hour or so was quiet. Tank and Pierce must have listened to him and grabbed some shut-eye. Hannah hadn’t reappeared, either.
He was on Hannah’s computer again, reading everything she had on the EPA contamination case. A loud knock on the door startled him out of a deep focus on the files in front of him.
He grabbed his gun from the table beside him and slid out from under the computer before approaching the door with caution.
“Who is it?”
“It’s the Pillsbury dough boy,” came the sarcastic reply from the other side. “Open the freaking door, Square.”
Will put his gun to his side and unlocked the reinforced door for Ryder and Jackson. They were dressed casually and carried black duffel bags embroidered with the BTS logo, identical to his own.
“Welcome to Florida, boys,” he said, opening his arm to let them through.
“When do we go to Disney World?” said Jackson snarkily as he brushed past Will into the living room.
Ryder looked at Will and rolled his eyes. “I’ll buy you a lollipop if you shut up for like five minutes,” he said to Jackson before lowering his voice. “Guy hasn’t stopped talking since we left Ronald Reagan.”
Will gave a half smile. It wasn’t surprising. Jackson was all attitude. Cocky and irreverent, he was an excellent operator and gutsy as heck, but he talked too much.
“What’s the latest?” Ryder asked.
Sometimes, Will wondered if it bothered Ryder that Ross chose Will to lead these team missions. They were both usually solo operators, but Will was more used to leading a team. Ross didn’t seem to let the fact that Ryder was his brother color the decision-making.
“We got a photo, and we’re waiting on facial recognition from Stephen. I sent an email posing as Hannah, but Darkshade hasn’t replied. Probably won’t, if I’m being realistic.”
Ryder nodded. “What if facial recognition doesn’t ping?”
Will’s thoughts had been headed in the exact same direction. “Two things. I’m running down the lead on who could have arranged for the supposedly impromptu visit to the hotel. All the Secret Service interviews say the same thing—the president insisted. But the Secretary of the Interior called in a favor to get her to that meeting.” It seemed like it was all tied into Hannah’s contamination scandal, but he’d explain all that to the team when the time came.
“And second?”
“I’m thinking we use our press connections to set a trap. A press release. Highly publicized. And we lure him in with a chance to take out Hannah.” The conversation with the other team members drifted to silence as he finished talking. They were all looking at him. No, not at him… Behind him.
He turned, unsurprised to see Hannah standing there, framed by the narrow entrance to the hallway. What had she heard?
“Hannah,” he said. “This is Ryder McClain and Jackson Kelley, the rest of our team. They were detained on another operation but are here to help us now.”
Hannah crossed the distance and extended her hand to Ryder first. “Nice to meet you,” she said.
“Same. I hear you’ve been through quite an ordeal but are tough as nails.”
A slight blush came to Hannah’s cheeks, and Will’s gaze lingered there. If Ryder wasn’t head over heels in love with Flint’s sister, Fiona, Will would be fighting back jealous feelings right now.
Jackson crossed the room and took Hannah’s hand in his, kissing the top of it like some wannabe television movie prince. She giggled and pulled her hand away.
Will glared at the man and briefly considered taking him out back and knocking some sense into him. But Hannah wasn’t his to claim, despite the unfamiliar caveman intensity in his chest.
“Careful, guys. You should know that Hannah is a reporter. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of public opinion.”
Hannah’s friendly smile faltered and she stepped back, creating distance between herself and the team. Ryder raised his eyebrows, and Will wondered what the man thought. Of all the members on the team, he and Ryder were the most similar. They had baggage that the other didn’t have. But Ryder had found love, and his rough edges seemed to be softening slightly. Would the same happen to Will if he ever found someone?
Hurt lingered in Hannah’s expression as the conversation continued, less animated than before. The warning to Ryder and Jackson was warranted, he told himself. They deserved to know. The extra dig about the court of public opinion was probably taking it too far. He opened his mouth to apologize, but the ringing of his phone stopped him.
