SEAL's RESOLVE - Rebecca Deel Page 0,92
scene indicates he was kidnapped, and his daughter is worried sick. If the information you share doesn’t relate to the kidnapping, I won’t mention the name to anyone. You know I’ll keep my word.”
Laura sighed. “All right. I certainly don’t want this victim’s daughter to lose her father like my children did theirs. I also trust your judgment.”
“Thank you for helping. Who is Roderick Hale’s father?”
“A no-good loser named Trevor Cain. I don’t see how that knowledge can help, Cal. Cain is in prison and isn’t due to be released for several more years. He never had anything to do with Angie after she got pregnant.”
Kristi clamped a hand over her mouth and dashed from the kitchen. Rafe followed behind her seconds later as she raced for the bathroom attached to the workroom.
By the time Rafe walked into the workroom, Kristi was throwing up. He found a washcloth in one of the vanity drawers and wet the cloth with cold water. Wringing it out, he pressed the cloth to the back of her neck with one hand while he supported Kristi with an arm around her waist.
When her stomach was empty, Rafe helped her sit on the side of the tub, then retrieved a bottle of water from the small fridge in the workroom and handed it to her. “Sip this. I’ll be right back.”
Returning to the kitchen, he nuked a mug of Kristi’s favorite peppermint tea while Cal pumped Laura for information about Cain and Angie’s relationship, added a dash of sugar, and took the brew with him to the bathroom.
Rafe sat on the edge of the bathtub beside Kristi and wrapped her hands around the warm mug. “This will help,” he murmured.
Since her hands shook, he kept his hands over hers and helped her hold the mug while she sipped the tea. When she finished the drink, he set the mug on the floor and wrapped his arms around Kristi, holding her until the shaking stopped. She melted against him.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, nuzzling his throat. “I didn’t mean to fall apart like that.”
“Don’t. You have nothing for which to apologize. Your reaction is understandable.”
“I thought I was stronger than this, but hearing his name sent me back into that closet like a scared ten-year-old.”
“Baby, you’re so strong, you amaze me. Hearing the name of Hale’s birth father caught you off guard. Anyone who survived what you did would have a strong reaction.”
She sighed. “Roderick Hale kidnapped my father, didn’t he?”
“We’ll see what the security camera footage shows. This may be a coincidence. We don’t know if Angie told her son who his father was.”
“You don’t believe that.”
No, he didn’t. However, he’d learned over the years as a SEAL and an FBI agent not to leap to conclusions. “No matter what I believe, we need evidence. If Hale is involved, we still don’t know where he might have taken your father since we can’t track his phone.” Adams might be able to give them a hand with that, though. “Do feel up to returning to the kitchen? No one will think less of you if you’re not ready.”
“I’m not giving in to my fear and hiding in a bathroom.” She stood. “Let’s go.”
Rafe’s teammates were still around the table, working on their computers. As soon as Jackson saw them, he stood and came to Kristi. “You okay?”
“I’m better. Sorry for the disruption.”
“No problem. Come sit down. Rafe, the boss wants you to call him.”
Rafe seated Kristi and brushed his mouth over hers. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” After a light brush of his fingers over her cheek, he walked out the back door to the deck railing and called Brent. “It’s Rafe.”
“Someone’s been attempting to access Stewart’s personal financial accounts,” his boss said in lieu of a greeting.
“How do you know?”
“I instructed the techs to keep an eye on his bank accounts when I learned about the warehouse fire.”
“Good call.” One he should have thought of himself. In all fairness, though, Rafe had been more concerned about Kristi’s wellbeing rather than her father’s money. “I’m assuming they haven’t been successful.”
“Nope,” Brent said, amusement in his voice. “The techs watching the accounts said the attempted hacker kept entering the wrong the password. The hacker is locked out.”
“That will make someone angry.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Either Stewart gave the kidnappers the wrong information or he deliberately keyed in the wrong password.”
“Probably the latter. You know what’s coming next.”
“Yes.”
“What will you do?”
“Whatever I have to do to protect Kristi.” No matter the