SEAL's RESOLVE - Rebecca Deel Page 0,90
her father?
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Rafe escorted Kristi up the walkway to her home where Eli met them in the living room. “Anything?” he asked his team leader.
“Jon hacked into Stewart Group’s computer system and is hunting for the right camera feeds.”
“Where is he?”
“Kitchen. Update me while Jon works his magic.”
Rafe walked with Kristi and Jackson to the kitchen while he summarized what they’d seen at Stewart’s office.
Eli dropped onto a chair across from his partner. “Whoever took Stewart is probably the one who planted the bomb to kill Kristi.”
“Why?” Kristi demanded. “Are they angry because they didn’t get the ransom money for me?”
“It’s possible. More likely, they did it to torture your father.”
Rafe frowned. “What if this isn’t about money?”
Cal and Jackson exchanged glances, and Jon snorted.
He held up his hand. “Okay. Point taken. What if this isn’t only about money?” Something was bugging him, something he’d seen in the files. But what? “I need to check something.”
Rafe took the stairs two at a time and retrieved his laptop. Back in the kitchen, he sat at the table and booted up his computer. Kristi set another bottle of water by his hand. “Thanks,” he murmured, breaking the seal and sipping while he scanned the first file.
She sat beside him. “What are you reading?”
“The file from your first kidnapping.”
“That was twenty years ago, Rafe. What does that kidnapping have to do with what’s happening now?”
“I’m not sure it does, but if this kidnapping wasn’t only about money, another possible motive is revenge.”
“Dad’s competitive in the business world. Any number of business competitors who lost a contract to him should be added to the list of possible suspects with motive to harm Dad.”
“While that’s true, I can’t see a business competitor using you as a means to twist the knife in your father,” Cal said. “They’d be more likely to outbid him or plant a spy at Stewart Group.”
“I thought you suspected Hugh.”
“His alibi checked out,” Rafe said. “While he’s not off the suspect list, I’ve dropped him from the top spot.” Much as it pained him to do so. Rafe would have taken great satisfaction in laying Ward out with one punch if he’d been guilty of setting up Kristi’s kidnapping.
Eli pulled out his phone. “I need to update Brent. Although I hate to wake him, he’ll want to know about Stewart.”
“Need help scanning security feeds, Jon?” Cal asked.
“Soon.”
Jackson brought a bottle of water to Kristi. “Drink.”
“I’m all right.”
He merely raised his eyebrow.
Sighing, Kristi broke and seal and drank half the water before setting down the bottle.
Rafe scanned the document he’d pulled up. A word caught his eye. He stopped, reread that line, and frowned. Switching to the files of Kristi’s former security team, he clicked on Dan Adams’ file first. Not this one. Good. He wanted Adams to have a chance with Fortress. The soldier would be a good asset for the company, and Brent desperately needed skilled help. The requests for Fortress assistance were growing exponentially.
He checked Sean Howell’s background. Adams’ partner was a lazy bum with a couple of connections to Ward Security that helped him secure a job, but nothing that raised a red flag.
Rafe shifted his attention to Mike Fleming’s background. Although he had a record of DUIs and some time in the county lockup for drunk driving and public intoxication, his personal behavior wasn’t a problem. His father, however, had been in prison for kidnapping and assault. George Fleming had died while behind bars. No obvious connection to Kristi’s first kidnapping.
Rafe clicked on Roderick Hale’s file. Halfway down the second page, he stopped. While no birth father was listed, Hale was born to an unwed mother.
Rafe clicked on his preferred search engine and typed in Angie Hale’s name with her date of birth and social security number. When a link popped up, he clicked and read the document. His brow furrowed. Angie Hale had passed away from cancer last month. Roderick was her only child and heir. Angie had worked dead-end jobs, often two or three at a time to keep food on the table. No history of drug or alcohol abuse.
He scanned further and discovered that the woman never finished high school. A quick calculation told Rafe that Angie became pregnant in high school and dropped out to give birth to Roderick and raise him. Tough decision. Rafe had nothing but respect for the scared teen who made a hard choice and did her best to put a roof over their heads and food on their