“He’s headed this way, isn’t he?” Van guessed.
“His plane is slated to land in Seattle this afternoon. So you’d better head back this way.”
Van’s chest grew tight, and his stomach immediatelybecame filled with a sense of dread. “I thought you were going to hold him off.”
“I did,” Logan countered. “At least IthoughtI’d bought us a little more time. Said you were working an angle to get Kam to talk.”
“So why is he flying here now?”
When he spoke to Logan on the phone the other day, Van had shared his belief that Kam was innocent of the accusations from Webb’s so-called informant. He thought he’d been pretty damn convincing and that he and his former team leader were on the same page.
But now…
“I told him we now believe Kam’s being set up to take the fall,” the other man shared. There was a pause and then, “Apparently, he doesn’t agree.”
“Well, that’s too damn bad,” Van hissed quietly through his teeth. “I’m not going to just hand her over to the prick because he says so.”
“Sorry to tell you this, brother, but you don’t really have much of a choice.”
“The hell I don’t.”
Webb was no longer his boss, and he damn sure didn’t answer to the man anymore.
Logan’s deep inhale came through the phone’s speaker before he calmly reminded Van, “The guy’s in charge of the freaking Navy. And like it or not, Kam’s been accused of some pretty serious shit.”
“None of which she actually did.”
“So you say.”
“Damn right, so I say!” Anger was quickly settling in.
“Listen, Van. I get it, okay? You’re convinced Kam didn’t do what we’ve been led to believe. So just come back to the city, and we’ll talk to Webb face-to-face. She can lay out her case to him in-person. Between the two of you, I’m sure we can convince him to?—”
“Shh…” Van cut his friend and teammate short. With a frown, he looked out onto the water which had yet to see the first rays from the morning sun. “Hold up a sec.”
Logan remained silent for a full thirty seconds before finally asking, “Is something wrong?”
He could have sworn he heard the low murmur of another boat’s motor from somewhere in the distance. Van looked out, scanning the parts of the water he could see.
No obvious movements or lights caught his eye, so he began moving to the other side of the boat.
“I guess it was nothing,” he finally answered, making his way to the bow. “Thought I heard another boat, but I don’t see anyone there.”
“Probably just some fishermen getting an early start to their day. Anyway…” Logan continued the discussion on what to do about Kam. “Webb and his men are scheduled to land around noon. I told him we’d meet him at the office.”
“And then what?” Van kept a close eye on the horizon he could barely see. “You know how he is. The guy never listens to a fucking thing I say.”
“So we’ll make him listen. I know you don’t like him, but Webb’s a fair guy. He wants to get to the truth as much as we do. He’ll do what’s right if we just give him the chance to?—”
“Bullshit.” He interrupted his teammate again. “The guy only cares about himself and his career.”
“That’s not true, and you know it,” Logan argued. “Shit, Van. Thatguyhas spent the last three years helping us look into a case that, as far as the Navy is concerned, was closed the second we handed them back our damn Tridents. Do you know what kind of trouble he’d be in if anyone found out he was running an unsanctioned investigation into a classified op without any sort of authorization? Hell, even the president has been kept in the dark on this one. And you know how tight those two are.”
What Van knew was what he felt in his damn gut. And…what he was beginning to feel inside his heart.
Because she was in there, burying herself deeper and deeper into his soul with each day that passed. Somehow, some way, in just a few days’ time, the astonishing woman had gone from being someone he literally wanted to kill to someone he’d do anything to protect.
“You know what goes on in these types of interrogations, Logan.” Van’s throat worked hard as his back teeth clenched tightly together. “You know what will happen to her.”
