Page 44 of SEAL's Resolve
“That’s the one.”
“Last I heard, Harmon was in jail.”
“Paroled. Kristi’s kidnapping was his first foray into that area.”
“Lucky me,” she muttered.
“Do you have enough to hold him?” Rafe asked.
“Yeah. Multiple parole violations. Two of Cal’s buddies from the Metro Nashville PD will escort Harmon back to Nashville tomorrow. He won’t bother Kristi again for a long time.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“Forget it, Torres.”
“Why?”
Josh leveled a pointed look at him. “Circumstances have changed.”
While Rafe couldn’t deny that truth, he didn’t like having access to Harmon denied. “Would you back off if you were in my shoes?”
A snort. “Ethan wouldn’t let me anywhere near Harmon if that criminal threatened my wife or daughters. He knows I’d kill him at the first opportunity.”
Rafe’s lips curved. Ethan Blackhawk, Josh’s brother-in-law, was also Otter Creek’s police chief and an Army Ranger with serious tracking skills. Rafe would have to set aside his plan to talk to the kidnapper. He doubted Harmon knew much anyway.
Josh sipped his coffee and turned to Jon. “I assume your hacking has been lucrative.”
“Would I do that?’
He snorted. “You live to thwart law and order, frog boy.”
The sniper chuckled. “I looked into Hugh Ward’s background. If you’re commenting on my computer skills as a Fortress operative, you know me well. If you’re commenting as a cop, I’ll tell you what anyone could find, then tell my teammates more interesting things.”
Josh rolled his eyes and sipped more coffee. “Talk. I’m off duty.”
“I can’t imagine what you found,” Kristi said. “Hugh’s a good man.”
“What do you know about him?”
“We’ve been friends since elementary school. He’s a hedge fund manager for Starbridge. His parents and mine met in college and became fast friends. Hugh is well-liked and is a patron of many charities. He asked me to marry him. I haven’t turned him down yet, but I will as soon as I have a chance to talk to him.”
Josh’s eyebrows rose. “Isn’t Starbridge owned by Ward Industries?”
“That’s right.”
“Ward Industries is a rival of Stewart Group. Your father knows about Ward’s marriage proposal?”
“He’s pressuring me to accept. If I do, Dad will bring Hugh on board Stewart Group as a vice president.”
“Sounds like he’s offering a dowry to the man who marries his daughter.”
Her cheeks colored. “Dad likes Hugh and views this as an encouragement to do what he thinks is best for me.”
“Is it?”
“No.”
The lack of hesitation or a detailed, defensive explanation settled the last of Rafe’s doubts about his own relationship with Kristi. Did Ward see her as a means to a career advancement or was he truly in love with her? “What did you learn about Ward, Jon?”