Brent’s lips curved. “Except I doubt Jay Maxwell was a government agent, secret or not.”
“I don’t suppose you have someone on staff who rocks at decoding secret messages.”
He was silent a moment. “Actually, I do.”
“Do we send him a copy of the file?”
“He’s on medical leave at the moment, but he’s restless. I think he’d enjoy coming to Coffee House.”
“Tell him if he’ll come here, I’ll ply him with coffee and pastries.”
Brent grinned. “He won’t be able to resist.”
“Was he injured on a job for you?”
His gaze darkened. “Yeah, he was. A few months ago, Adam was held captive by a drug dealer and tortured for information. He’s still recovering.”
“We’ll treat him right, Brent.”
Brent crouched by her side. “I have no doubt about that. I wanted you to know why he looks a little rough.” He leaned over and kissed her as though he had all the time in the world to indulge in her. Man, she was fast becoming addicted to his touches and kisses.
Brent stood. “Do you have a blank flash drive? I’d like to make a copy of the file for Adam to work on.”
“I think so.” She indicated her messy desk with wave of her hand. “I bought two last week and they’re buried in the paper blizzard.”
“I’ll call Adam while you look for one of them.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Adam, I have a job for you if you’re interested.” He listened a moment, then chuckled. “Good. I need you at Coffee House in Washington Village. Bring your laptop.”
As he slid his phone into his pocket, Brent received a call. He glanced at the readout, froze.
Rowan’s fingers clutched the flash drive she unearthed. Maybe Detective Taylor was calling with an update.
Brent raised the phone to his ear and said, “Mr. President.”
CHAPTER TEN
Brent grimaced. President Martin calling less than twenty-four hours after his last contact wasn’t a good sign. “What do you need, sir?”
The Commander in Chief sighed. “I hope your team is ready, Brent. The situation in Mexico is heating up.”
“They’ve been alerted. Time to activation?”
“Immediately. Get them in place. Wait for my order to execute.”
“Copy that, sir.”
“Brent.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Tell them not to get caught.” Martin’s tone was grim.
The statement needed no explanation. The authorities and cartels active in the Chihuahua province hated Fortress. If St. Claire and his unit were caught, they would be locked in a Mexican prison and forgotten, or outright killed. “I’ll pass the message, Mr. President.” He ended the call, then placed another to Zane. “Z, activate St. Claire’s team.”
A soft whistle from his tech guru.
“I want to know what our people are walking into before we deploy. Tell St. Claire to pack heavy.” In other words, prepared for heavy resistance when they rescued the ambassador’s family. Brent wondered if he needed to activate another unit to help. Maybe Durango, Cahill’s Delta team.
“Copy that. Anything happening with Rowan’s situation?”
“Guy named Carlos Salazar took a run at her last night.”
“She okay?”
“Oh, yeah. The lady has courage in spades.” His gaze locked with her puzzled one.
“You get him?”
“Taylor has him down at the station.”
“Good job, boss. I assume Salazar has a few new bruises.”
Not as many as he’d wanted to dish out, but enough. “What do you think?”
“That’s he’s lucky to be breathing. I’ll get back to you soon about the situation in Mexico.”
Brent turned to Rowan. “Find the flash drive?”
She passed him the original and a blank one. “Mr. President? You’re not talking about William Martin, are you?”
His lips twitched. “You’re surprised I know the President of the United States?”
“Well, yes. You talked to him like he’s a friend.” That wasn’t normal. None of her friends knew high-powered politicians, let alone treated them like pals.
“He is. We were friends before his election.” He crossed to her side. “One of my teams rescued his daughter and grandson.”
“Oh, wow,” she whispered. “I remember Charlotte being kidnapped. She gave birth to her son during the rescue.”
Brent chuckled. “Our medic had the privilege of helping Sam into the world. He said Sam’s birth was the one bright light on that harrowing journey to freedom.”
“I’d love to meet her and Sam. I admire her resiliency and ability to be a great mother, and still represent her father. I hope I do as well with Alexa.”
“Charlotte won’t be traveling much more.”
“Why not?”
Brent figured telling Rowan about the new pregnancy wouldn’t be a problem since the news media would catch on soon enough. Besides, Rowan could use good news. “She hasn’t announced it yet, but Charlotte’s pregnant again.”
Rowan smiled. “That’s great. I’ll keep quiet about the baby until Charlotte releases the news.”
“Would you like to go with me the next time I travel to D.C.?”
“Sounds like fun. Are you sure you want me to go, though? I can’t leave Alexa behind.”
“Baby, I don’t expect you to leave your niece here, especially not now. I thought she’d enjoy playing with Sam.”
“Thank you, Brent.” She kissed him lightly.
A knock sounded on the door. Chase stepped partially inside the office. “Sorry, boss, but foot traffic is picking up and Lacey isn’t here yet.”
“I’ll be right there.” She eyed Brent. “Do you want to work here?”
He shook his head. “I’ll sit at the coffee bar until Adam arrives. Then, if you don’t mind, I will work here. I have calls to make.” Calls better conducted behind closed doors. Brent picked up his laptop and coffee, and followed Rowan to Coffee House’s main room.
Customers were lined up for coffee and pastries. The shop buzzed with conversation and the sounds of the machines used for some of the specialty coffee drinks.
Instead of logging onto his computer and copying the flash drive, Brent watched Rowan. She greeted most of the customers by name, laughed with them, made suggestions for coffee flavors for those who asked for a recommendation, provided a free small cookie for each child who came to the counter, and kept the orders going as she connected with her customers.
She was good. Really
