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“We need to go,” Kyle said. “Commander Brighton will have my ass if we don’t keep this on the down-low.” Their commander was running interference for them as much as he could, but as long as the investigation into them was ongoing, they were under strict orders to stay as low profile as possible. They hadn’t been charged with anything yet, but it wouldn’t be good if any of them were brought in for questioning.
Kyle stood, and the other guys followed him. “Scotty, you coming?”
Well, damn.He looked at Hayley, then over at the small contingent of sunglass-wearing agents now blocking the entrance. His oath as a SEAL demanded loyalty to his team, but his instincts told him to stay near the woman at his side, at least for now.
Hayley leaned over and whispered, “Is there another way out of here?”
Her minty breath ghosted over his face, and warmth spread like honey from his center out through his extremities. Yep. He was definitely sticking with Hayley. He met Kyle’s eyes and managed not to wince under his leader’s hard stare. “I’ll stay with her for now. Make sure she’s covered, if that’s okay, sir.”
For a minute, he thought Kyle was going to say that itwasn’tokay and that he needed to get his ass out of the chair and his head on straight. But to his relief, Kyle just nodded. “Right. I’ll contact you later.”
His SEAL teammates disappeared into the shadows of the room, and Scotty turned to Hayley once more. He’d made his choice, and now he’d have to live with it, for better or worse. “C’mon, I know a back exit through the kitchen.”
6
Twenty minutes later, he and Hayley were strolling around the National Mall. They’d bought touristy baseball hats celebrating America the Beautiful and were doing their level best to look like a young couple in love—right down to simpering looks and hand holding—and not like they’d just blown off a whole team of FBI agents.
He led her over to an empty bench. “Won’t you get in trouble for ditching those agents?”
“Probably.”
“Then why do it?”
“Because I want to conduct a thorough investigation,” she told him. “My boss seems to think I can’t handle it, but I know I can. We’re going to need to go digging in dark corners to find answers, and it’ll be a lot harder to do that with an entourage. I’m willing to give up a little security if it means getting the job done.”
“Why not tell your boss that you’ll be working with our team? Then she’d know that you had protection without having to call out the goon squad.”
“I…couldn’t do that,” Hayley said. She freed her hand from his. “I found some disturbing information on your SEAL team during my research—information that would color my boss’s opinion. It’s why I couldn’t let her know that I’d be meeting with you.”
“I see.” Scotty crossed his arms. “What kind of information?”
“The reports I read indicated your team was responsible for Nick Matthew’s death.”
Her words sucker punched him, even though he’d heard them from others already. “The reports were wrong.”
“But the—”
He cursed and pushed to his feet again. “We loved Nick. He was like a brother to all of us. WasliterallyKyle’s brother. We would never take out one of our own. Never.”
“Fine. Calm down.” She glanced around nervously, then patted the bench beside her. “Sit, please.”
Grumbling, he did as she asked. The accusation stung, even though he knew it wasn’t true. And the fact Hayley had brought it up…well, that made it so much worse. Did she really think he was capable of something like that?
If he closed his eyes, he could still see Nick that last day—laughing, joking, goofing around with the rest of them. Then the sickening whistle of the sniper’s bullet and Nick facedown on the ground, blood seeping from the wound at the base of his skull. According to the coroner, the shot had killed him instantly. When Scotty got his hands on the creeps who’d taken Nick out, they’d pray for such an easy death. He shook his head and stared into the distance. “We were set up.”
“Excuse me?” Hayley faced him, concern lurking in her gaze.
“Look, like I told you last night, it was a sniper—a single shot. Someone specifically targeted Nick—there were no additional shots aimed at the rest of us. I get that that looks suspicious, but that on its own wouldn’t be enough for the Navy to point the finger at us. There’s something moregoing on here. We’re trying to find out what it is. My theory right now is that they’re trying to pin it on us so no one bothers digging any deeper. But we’re not going to let them get away with it. Not just for our sakes but forNick’s,we’re going to find whoever is responsible for his death. And then we’re going to make sure they face justice for what they did.”
“Whoa. That sounds like something from a spy movie.”
“Welcome to my life.”
They fell silent for a moment, and then the soulful strains of a jazz band drifted from across the Reflecting Pool. Feeling oddly nostalgic, he pushed to his feet, turned, and pulled Hayley into his arms, swaying with the beat.
“What are you doing?” She swatted at his chest. “People will see us.”
“That’s kind of the point, Red.” He laughed and led her into an underarm turn.
