The bell over the door rang and his operative strode into the crowded shop. Adam looked more energized than the last time Brent had seen him. Probably had something to do with him having a mission, even if the work was local. Brent’s operatives didn’t like inactivity. Most of them returned to duty sooner than they should.
A table in the corner at the back of the room opened up. Brent indicated for Adam to follow him and moved with his computer to the new location. The coffee bar was too busy and noisy for a conversation with Adam. He knew the other man needed to sit with his back to the wall. All his people were twitchy with strangers too close. Brent’s lips curved. He was just as bad, but he had a great motive for ignoring the fake spiders crawling on his skin. Rowan.
“Thanks for coming, Adam,” Brent murmured.
A snort. “You don’t have to thank me, boss. I’m happy to be off the couch. Has the doctor’s report on me come through yet?”
He shook his head. “Should be in any day now.”
“What is her problem?” Adam Walker scowled. “It’s been a week already.”
“I called her office. She’s out because of a family emergency and not expected back for another week. She left a message that she’d be working remotely on case files.”
Adam’s eyes glittered with annoyance. “Good thing I’m not sick.”
“Isn’t it? I imagine she has someone covering her day-to-day patients. Reporting results like yours for Fortress isn’t a priority.”
“They are to me.”
“Won’t be much longer, Adam.” Brent laid the blank flash drive on the table, then handed over Heather’s. “Take a look at this. The drive on the table is empty. Make a copy of the original to work on.”
“What am I working on?”
“I think it’s a list of names written in code.”
The aggravation in Adam’s gaze disappeared to be replaced by curiosity. “This related to a case?”
“Yeah.” And much more. Brent summarized what happened with Rowan and her family.
Adam scanned the busy room until his gaze found Rowan. He inclined his head in her direction. “Your woman?”
His cheeks burned. Hard to justify calling Rowan his woman, but he didn’t correct his operative. “That’s Rowan. I think her niece’s disappearance is related to what’s on this drive.”
A short nod. “I’ll work on it.” Adam unzipped his backpack and grabbed his laptop. “Anything else?”
“Keep an eye on Rowan. Someone may try for her again.” And with people in the shop, many could be hurt in an attempt on Rowan. “I’ll be down the hall.”
Rowan walked up with two mugs of coffee and set them on the table. “Hi, you must be Adam. I’m Rowan.”
The Force Recon Marine laid his laptop on the table and stood to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you, Rowan. I’m sorry to hear about your family.”
“Thanks.” Rowan cleared her throat before continuing. “The coffee is black. I’ll be happy to add flavored creamer.”
Adam grimaced. “No, thanks. That’s my sister’s thing, not mine.”
“His sister, Claire, is married to Zane,” Brent added.
“Zane’s a good man.”
The operative shrugged. “Z’s an all right guy. Claire’s happy and that’s all that matters to me.”
“Would you like a snack?” she asked both of them.
“Sure, as long as you eat something yourself,” Brent said.
“When Lacey arrives,” she promised. “Any preference on the snack?”
“Whatever is not selling today,” Adam said.
“Scones. They’re usually my bestsellers.”
“Their loss, our gain.” A small smile curved his mouth. “We’re not picky, Rowan. Whatever you bring will be happily devoured.”
She grinned. “I’ll be right back with your food.”
“Nice woman, boss. Pretty, too.”
Brent froze, his gaze darting to his operative. “True on both counts,” he growled.
Adam chuckled. “I have no intention of pursuing her, Brent. She’s interested in you although I can’t figure out why.”
“Thanks a lot.” Was she interested in more than casual dating? He hoped so. The more time he spent with her, the more Brent admired her.
Rowan returned with a tray of assorted pastries. “Let me know if you need anything else. We also have water and soft drinks in the refrigerated case by the coffee bar if you want something other than coffee. Everything is on the house.”
“Thank you, baby.”
She smiled and returned to the coffee bar.
“You good, Adam?” Brent asked.
“I’m fine. I’ll watch over Rowan.”
He clapped the other man on the shoulder and stood. Tucking his laptop under one arm, Brent carried coffee and a scone to Rowan’s office. As he swallowed his last bite, his cell phone chirped with an incoming message from Zane.
Brent called his friend. “What do you have for me?”
“Nothing good. The Navarro cartel is after the ambassador’s family.”
“Oh, man.” He sighed. Of all the cartels to tangle with, this group in particular had it in for Fortress. Brent had lost count of the number of skirmishes his people had gotten into over the years with Navarro. In fact, the antagonism had gone all the way back to the end of his SEAL days. The cartel had been new back then, but they’d been big and powerful even then. “They have a complaint against the ambassador?”
“Alvarez is pushing against drugs, gun-running, and human trafficking. If it’s illegal, Navarro is making a profit from it. The federales are coming down hard on Navarro because of Alvarez.”
“Fantastic. Activate Rodriguez. I want him piloting St. Claire and his unit.” Julio Rodriguez was the best pilot Fortress employed. The guy was combat trained, a top gun pilot.
“Copy that. I’ll keep monitoring the Chihuahua province.”
Brent dropped his phone on Rowan’s desk and rubbed his face with his hands, considering his limited options. He didn’t want to send Durango back out, but St. Claire might need additional help if the mission went critical. With them operating in the heart of Navarro territory, that was almost a
