“Never said I was in love with Janie.”
The man with a direct line to the president sent him a sympathetic look. “You didn’t have to, brother. It’s written all over your face.”
Well damn. As awkward conversations went, it was at the top of Emmett’s list. But he still had a job, and Ryker’s anger over the entire situation had thankfully subsided. For that, he was incredibly grateful.
“Thank you, sir.” He offered an outstretched hand. “I appreciate your understanding and the personal insight.”
After a firm shake, Ryker released his grip to reach for the knob on the door. “Just do yourself a favor andwatch your own back while you’re also keeping an eye on your girl.”
The Homeland agent turned the knob and pulled the door open with the intent to leave. But Blake was there, blocking the man’s exit, with a fist raised and ready to knock.
“Oh.” Blake’s blue eyes blinked in surprise. “Ryker. Hey.” The man’s greeting was short and sweet. “Good. I’m glad you’re still here.”
“Mr. Savage.”
“Come on.” Blake motioned toward the other end of the hall. “There’s something you’re both going to want to see.”
He and Ryker both followed Blake to the team’s conference room. Emmett’s steps nearly faltered when he realized Janie was there.
As if sensing his presence, the woman’s gorgeous eyes found his from across the room. She was sitting at the table between Gwen and Draven. Directly across from them sat Lucas, who joined their teammates in looking his way.
“I thought Janie was hanging out in Gwen’s office while the team met in here?”
“She was, but then I figured, itisher life on the line.” Blake shrugged as they made their way farther into the room. “Way I see it, she deserves to know what I found out, too. Especially since the womanisstill technically our client.”
She’s a hell of a lot more than that.
“Agent Ryker.” Gwen flashed her girl-next-door grin Ryker’s way. “I heard you were back in D.C.”
“Flew in from Texas late last night for an early meeting at Homeland.”
Emmett waited for the others on his team to greet their handler before introducing him to Janie.
“Agent Ryker, meet Janie Reynolds.” To Janie, he quickly explained. “He’s R.I.S.C.’s Homeland Security Handler.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Agent Ryker.”
“Likewise, Miss Reynolds.” A slight dip of the man’s chin was his greeting before turning to Blake. “You said you found something useful?”
The techie’s face lit up with excitement that offered them all the first real spark of hope.
“Oh, it’s more than just useful.” Blake went to the front of the room, picking up the remote from the table on his way.
One push of a button later, and the screen on the wall behind him came to life. The other man set the remote down, trading it for a tablet. A few more taps and a giant map of the city appeared, along with several colored lines crisscrossing throughout that Emmett couldn’t begin to decipher.
“Okay, so remember how, after Amy Weaver’s body was discovered, I found all that stuff in her medical records about her struggles with mental health?”
Emmett nodded. “I remember. You mentioned something about doing a reverse trace on the files.”
“Good memory.” Blake smirked. “Anyway yeah. So it took me way longer than expected, but I finally did it.”
“You did what exactly?”
The question was posed by Ryker, though it wasclear by their expressions, the others were wondering the very same thing.
So am I.
“I found the server where the file was originated and sent.”
