Boone studied the handwriting but couldn’t be sure if it was Udall’s or not.
“Should we open it?” Luna stared at it like it was a snake.
“Let’s take it back to the compound and open it there.” He set the envelope on the console, started the truck, and headed back to the Dark Ops facility.
Boone ground his teeth and shifted in his seat. It chilled him to the bone that Udall might know about Luna.
Luna sat at the long conference table, chewing her bottom lip. Boone was next to her, steam practically coming out of his ears. He’d been beyond pissed off ever since they picked up that envelope.
The rest of their team was there, too, waiting to hear from Beatrice regarding the handwriting analysis of the note Luna received.
They’d sent a copy of the note to Dr. Beatrice Rose O’Halleran, formerly Beatrice Rose Parker. She was in charge of OSI’sforensics lab at the PacNW facility. She was also married to Mathias, one of the O’Halleran twins.
“I don’t like the idea of Udall knowing about Luna,” Boone said.
They’d x-rayed the envelope, put on protective face shields and gloves, and taken it outside to open it. The only thing inside was a single piece of yellow, lined paper with the words “‘Tell Rancher I said hi.’”
“I know that asshole is in Pakistan,” Boone said. “But he could have someone here, watching her.”
“I agree.” Cole sat forward, propped his elbows on the table, and threaded his long fingers together. “Luna, if the note is from Udall, as we suspect it is, I’ll make sure we have someone here to cover you.”
His phone vibrated on the table and he picked it.
“Lambert.” He listened and nodded. “Okay. Thanks, Beatrice.” He ended the call and look at Luna. “The handwriting matches Udall’s.”
Boone reached over and held her hand. “No one is going to hurt you.”
“I know.” The strength behind his words, combined with the fact their compound was incredibly secure made her feel somewhat safer.
“Okay, everyone, back to training.” Cole stood and looked at his team. “We’ve got a mission to prepare for.”
They all stood and started filtering out of the room.
“Luna, I’d like to speak to you.” Cole gave Boone a pointed look. “Don’t you have an obstacle course to run?”
He hesitated, looked from Cole to Luna, then left them.
“Starting now, whenever you are outside this facility, I want you armed,” Cole said. “Understood.”
“Yeah, I understand,” she said.
“Good.” He gave her quick nod and left.
Luna blew out a long breath and headed to the ops center. She rolled open a desk draw, lifted out the biometric lockbox, and used her fingerprints to open it. She removed her semi-automatic, ensured there was a round in the chamber, and got to work.
She was determined not to let Udall’s note negatively affect this mission. Too many people depended upon her to handle her shit.
She glanced down at the weapon.
And handle it, she would.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Youokay,man?”Lucasgripped Boone’s shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” His rigorous workout had helped release some of the edginess he’d been feeling since reading that fucking note. “Have any of you guys heard from Eddie yet?”
Boone tugged on his cowboy boots, stood, and swung his locker door shut.
