Page 88 of SEAL's Promise
“Falcon is a person, not a bird. What do you know about him?”
“Never heard of him. I’m sure your computer support people will investigate Falcon for you unless they’re incompetent.”
“Who is Falcon?” Caldwell asked.
“You tell me.”
“I don’t know him, either.”
Cal shifted his gaze to the stone-faced Stokes. “What about you?”
“This isn’t about me.” He inclined his head toward Rachelle. “It’s about her role in a colleague’s death.”
“You’re lying. Why?”
“I’m not. This is ridiculous. I’m not on trial.” Stokes stood again. “I don’t know anyone named Falcon. Satisfied?”
Without waiting for an answer from Cal, he turned to his companions. “We’ve wasted enough time today. Since Ms. Carter isn’t cooperative, I suggest we turn our own investigators loose and bring her in for an interview without her guard dog.”
Cal stood, placing himself between Rachelle and the men from the State Department. “That’s not going to happen. If you insist on questioning her again, I’ll be inside the room with Rachelle along with her legal counsel.”
Stokes glared at him before turning to Eli and Rafe. “Move or I call our security detail to deal with you.”
“Did you provide yourself with a full security detail?” Rafe asked, his tone mocking.
That earned the operative a scowl. “Move.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Guess protecting your own hide takes precedence over safeguarding your people.”
Eli glanced at Cal and received a slight nod in agreement. He and Rafe shifted to either side of the door.
“You’ll hear from us soon,” Meyer said to Rachelle. He held his hand out to shake Cal’s hand. “No hard feelings, Taylor. We want the truth about our colleague’s death as you would do if you lost a teammate or your girlfriend.”
When Cal didn’t reply, Meyer extended his hand to Rachelle. When she accepted, he sandwiched her hand between both of his. “I didn’t know Benson would show you Garner’s picture yesterday. Please accept my apologies for causing you distress.”
When Rachelle gave a slight nod, Meyer released her. Caldwell and Stokes shook hands with her and Cal although neither said a word.
Stokes retained possession of her hand too long, his fingers sliding over her wrist. She frowned and freed herself from his hold. Stokes smirked and stalked toward the door. A moment later, they were gone.
Cal wrapped his arms around Rachelle. “Great job. You gave them straight facts without volunteering information.”
Jackson went to the small kitchenette. He filled a mug with water and a tea bag. “Very impressive, Rachelle. Maybe you should talk to Maddox about becoming an operative.”
“Bite your tongue,” Cal said. “I like Rachelle working in a safe environment.”
Rachelle smiled at the medic. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I’m happy with my job.”
When the microwave’s heating cycle ended, Jackson removed the tea bag and added sugar. He gave the mug to Rachelle. “I know you don’t add sugar to your tea, but you’ve been through a lot.”
“Thanks for taking such good care of me.”
He cleared his throat. “Yes, ma’am.”
That made her laugh despite the ball of ice in her stomach. “Have you looked at the pictures Stokes sent?” she asked Jon.
“Not with the feds in the room.”
“Let’s see them. I need to know what I’m facing.” Why was she in danger? What did she see that made her a target of Falcon?