“No family.” She sighed. “Guess I’ll have to take care of his arrangements, too.”
“Want help?”
She froze a moment, then leaned back far enough to see his face. “Why would you do that? You didn’t know either one of them.”
“I know you. I’d like to help.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Easy. Say yes.”
She blinked. “But we haven’t even been on a date yet.”
A quick grin. “We’ll get there, but fair disclosure, I’ve been interested in you for months.” He sobered. “You don’t have to do this alone. Say yes, Rowan.”
“Yes. Thank you, Brent.”
“Come on. There’s nothing more we can do here.”
After giving contact information to a nurse, Brent walked with her to the SUV. He negotiated the hospital parking garage maze and drove to the interstate.
A call came in over his Bluetooth. “Tell me something good, Zane.”
“Sorry, boss. I hacked into the traffic cams. Once the van left the Westhaven neighborhood, it disappeared. The driver took back roads wherever he went.”
“Roads with no traffic cameras. Not what I wanted to hear. Capture a face for me?”
“That I did get. Already running facial recognition. Might take a while and it could be unsuccessful.”
“Good job, buddy. Has Claire arrived yet?”
“She came in an hour ago.”
“Tell her I said thanks for letting me tie up your time.”
“When she found out a child had been abducted, she pulled out her laptop and started working on her pictures. Don’t worry, I plan to make it up to her. Any news about Rowan’s sister?”
“She didn’t make it, Zane.”
“Ah, man. I’m sorry to hear that. Rowan?”
She swiped tears from her cheeks before clearing her throat. “Yes?”
“Let me know if you need anything, sugar. Brent will give you my cell phone number. Use it, okay?”
“Thanks, Zane. Thank your wife for me, too.”
“Sure thing. Boss, anything else I can do before I take off?”
“Did you alert Trent and his team?”
“Oh, yeah. They were not happy.”
“I bet. PSI is training teams as fast as they can. Takes time. Get some rest, Z.”
Silence, then, “Hold on, boss. We have another problem.”
He glanced at Rowan. “Talk to me.”
“Just got a security alert. Someone is trying to break into your house.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Brent pressed the accelerator. “Pull up the video feed.” He swung around a slow moving vehicle and plunged ahead. He covered Rowan’s hand with his. “Do you mind if I check the house before I take you home?”
“No, of course not.” A sad smile curved her lips. “You were right earlier. We can’t race around Nolensville to find Alexa, especially since it appears whoever took her has disappeared. We don’t know where to look for her.” Her voice cracked.
“We’ll find her, baby. Trust me on this. We will not give up.”
“The boss is right, Rowan,” Zane chimed in. “None of us will rest until we have her back. Brent, got an ID on the guy trying to break into your place. And you aren’t going to believe who it is.”
His eyebrows soared. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Z. Who?”
“Dirk Carstairs.”
Brent scowled. “That clown we kicked out of the training program at PSI?”
“The same.”
Of all the stupid moves, this had to be his most boneheaded one yet. Breaking into Brent’s house? Carstairs had to know Brent had top-of-the-line security. “Cops on the way?”
“Copy that.”
“Get a message to them. Tell them to wait for me to arrive. After that, I want you to go home. You have a beautiful wife to enjoy.”
“Yes, sir.” The call ended.
“You know this man trying to break into your house?” Rowan asked. Her soft hand turned in his and she laced their fingers together.
He loved that she was comfortable with him to do that. He wanted to move their relationship a step further. He’d hoped to move them on that path with tonight’s dinner date. Guess that wasn’t going to happen this evening. Hopefully Rowan would promise him another shot at that date soon because she attracted him as no other woman had in a very long time. “Unfortunately, I do know him. This guy was in our training program for bodyguards. He was kicked out for taking steroids to boost his performance. We don’t tolerate our trainees taking drugs. Makes them undependable and dangerous in the field. One mistake on a mission could be fatal. While I don’t want to lose any of my operatives, I especially hate losing one to something that is avoidable.”
“Guess he didn’t take the dismissal well.”
“We thought he might go after the head of PSI, not me. But I signed off on the release papers so I suppose that makes me a target.” His hands clenched the steering wheel tighter. Brent welcomed Carstairs’ run at him. “Suits me better. I don’t want Cahill or his wife at risk.”
Rowan was silent a moment. “Why didn’t he go after the head of PSI?”
Brent tossed her a pointed look. “He is not a man to cross. Cahill and his unit are Delta trained. Carstairs doesn’t stand a chance against Cahill and he knows it. If he did manage to take out Cahill, his unit would hunt Carstairs to the ends of the earth. He would be their only mission.”
“But you’re a SEAL. This Carstairs guy should be just as afraid of you.”
“True, but Carstairs doesn’t know my background, Rowan.”
“Because you don’t spread it around?”
He shook his head. Hated to tout his own background. A Special Forces soldier with loose lips was soon a dead one. Some of their enemies had long memories and a burning need for vengeance. He’d been careful during his service in the Navy and after he left the SEALs. Apparently, he hadn’t been careful enough.
“Carstairs is an idiot if he doesn’t see the truth with his own eyes.”
Amusement swirled inside him. “Maybe. He’s obsessed with revenge because he thinks I’m to blame for his problems.”
“He brought them on himself,” Rowan protested. “He made the choice to cheat instead of working hard. He has no one to blame but himself.”
“He doesn’t see it that way, sweetheart.”
“I repeat, he’s
