“Good question.” Joe looked thoughtful. “What if someone warned him about the murders? Like, it’s an attack on the city? The murderer maybe contacted him? Because Lionel responds to direct threats. He’s not a wait-and-see-and-study kind of guy.”
“Wait. You know Lionel Gambol?” She blinked.
Hal opened his eyes and shared a look with Joe. “Jane, we could tell you, but we’d have to kill you.”
“Shut up, Hal.”
He snickered. “Seriously though. Gambol’s a good egg. Takes himself a little too seriously, but he’s someone you can trust.He’s not political, and he tries to protect the little guy. I like him.”
“You would.” Joe shook his head. “You still owe him for getting you out of that ‘situation’ in Riyadh.”
Hal cleared his throat. “That’s not it. I just like him.”
Joe rolled his eyes.
Jane studied Hal. She hadn’t heard about the Riyadh incident, though she had a feeling she hadn’t heard about most of the things the guys got up to. And she’d sleep the better for it.
“Anyway,” Jane continued, “we’re getting somewhere on this serial medical responder killer.” She’d overheard Diego call the guy the Code Blue Killer and hoped it didn’t stick. Giving killers monikers only made them that much more attractive to the press and serial killer groupies.
“It’s weird though,” Hal added. “Killing doctors and nurses? EMTs? They typically help people. Your unsub is going to have an interesting profile.”
He had a point. And that led her to another thought. “Speaking of interesting profiles, do either of you know a guy named Gunther Rapp? He’s the agent in charge of Gambol’s little task force. The guy strikes me as some ex-military type. I haven’t had the time to look him up though.”
“I’ll get you something on him later,” Hal promised. “Are you coming back to the house with us?”
“How long are you guys sticking around?” She really had missed them. Oddly, the holiday made her nostalgic for the old days, when she, Raine, and Uncle Chris would celebrate by shooting weird ammo at funny targets he’d set up. They’d go on treks through the woods on “hunting” parties, looking for Santa and evidence of reindeer, which Team Ten would plant. Or they’d strategize how to invade the North Pole and Santa’s workshop in case the elves had plans to overthrow the system.
In retrospect, her uncle had been unconventional, to say the least. But so much fun. Because of him and Team Ten, she had so many fond memories.
“We’ll be here for another few weeks at least,” Joe said. “Chris said to stand by for a new op, a bigger one, after he’s back.”
Hal nodded. “He’s always got something lined up for us.” He sighed. “No rest for the wicked.” But he winked to show he loved it.
“Yeah, speaking of wicked… How did we get home last night? I think I might have blacked out.”
“You were exhausted, and those three beers put you down hard.” Hal snickered, and Joe joined in. “But you were so cute talking about how much better you are at finding clues and hunting bad guys than ‘stupid Raine.’”
She groaned. “You can’t tell her I said that. It’ll hurt her feelings.”
“Yeah, right.” Joe guffawed. “You just don’t want her to know she can still drink you under the table. Three beers? Honey, that’s just sad.”
Jane flushed. She’d never tolerated alcohol. “I know. Now hush up about it and I might come back to the ranch with you.”
Joe mimed zipping his lip then ruined it by asking Hal, “Can we play that video game again? I was close to beating Jane last time before she stole my treasure and kidnapped my jester.”
“Fine by me. But even if you do beat her, you’ll still end up losing to me. Then you’ll lose to her when you convince her to race again. My man, you’re just not as fast as you think you are.”
“Shut it, Boy Toy.”
“So, Joe,” Jane interrupted before they could get started. “If I agree to another race, can we shoot again? I might be able to beat you at fifteen yards this time.” He’d smoked her at seven yardsand twenty-five, but she had a good feeling about the middle distance.
Joe huffed. “Keep dreaming, girlie.” At her glare, he held up his hands in surrender. “But if it helps motivate you to up your pistol practice, let’s do it.”
Hal nodded. “And Jane, if you’re super nice to me—by forgetting Joe mentioned the Riyadh incident—I’ll do one better than look up your Agent Rapp. I’ll tell you all you want to know about Supervisory Special Agent Scott. All the secret squirrel stuff you’re not supposed to know about.”
Jane knew the guys hadn’t forgotten about her suspension. But she was surprised to see the intensity on Hal’s face. A feeling that still burned inside her as well.
I haven’t forgotten you, Simmons.
