Stalked - By Allison Brennan Page 0,19
don’t have a choice when our Father calls us home. Go get the last book. Read it to me, Peter.”
Five days later, an hour after I finished reading The Last Battle, Grams died.
CHAPTER NINE
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Sean Rogan woke up early Thursday morning and walked eight blocks to the gym with his partner at RCK East, Patrick Kincaid.
“Did you find anything on Laughlin?” Patrick asked.
“So far, he appears clean and I haven’t found any connections between him and Lucy or with anyone in your family. But it’s taking forever to get what I need.”
Patrick laughed. “You get pissy when you can’t break the rules.”
“I don’t break the rules.” Much. “I bend them.”
Sean usually sent the grunt work for background checks to RCK headquarters in Sacramento—they had more staff than the two-man office he and Patrick ran in D.C. In the digital age, information and how it was obtained changed rapidly. It took time to legally and quietly research anyone, and running a background on a federal agent had to be handled with special care.
In addition, Sean didn’t want his brother looking over his shoulder. Duke wouldn’t have a problem with a pro bono request from Lucy, but Sean preferred to keep his personal projects personal.
“So what do you know?” Patrick asked.
“Laughlin’s thirty-nine, from Missouri, been an agent for fourteen years, master’s from Northwestern in accounting—who gets a master’s in accounting?”
Patrick rolled his eyes. He opened the gym door for Sean and they both swiped their membership cards at the kiosk.
“He’s worked on the White Collar Squad in Detroit for the past five years, part of the joint gang task force, where his specialty is money laundering. He’s SWAT certified, but not part of the Detroit mobilization team.”
“Sounds like a good guy.”
“On paper.” He was harassing Lucy, and that made him an asshole in Sean’s book.
“What does Lucy think she’s going to get from this information?”
“I’m not done.” They dropped their bags against the wall and picked up free weights. “She just wants information to help her figure out why he dislikes her.”
“Slight exaggeration?”
“If you’d talked to Lucy, you’d think the same thing. If this guy’s harassing her—”
“You’ll stay out of it,” Patrick said. “Don’t make waves, not now.”
It irritated Sean that Patrick thought he’d jeopardize Lucy’s career. “I’m doing what she asked. She can use the information as she sees fit.”
Patrick hadn’t been happy when Sean first started dating his sister, but Sean supposed if he had a younger sister he’d be protective as well. Patrick seemed to have adjusted over the last few months, which was a relief, since they’d been friends long before Sean fell in love with Lucy.
Sean continued, “I think she talked to Kate, and whatever happened, Lucy is now more concerned. She didn’t give me the details, but there’s something weird going on. I trust her instincts.”
“So if Lucy knows his history, she can profile him and adjust the way she interacts.”
Sean nodded. “That’s how Lucy would handle it.”
“Maybe it’s you he has the problem with,” Patrick teased. “From your old days.”
Any other time, Sean would have laughed—it was common knowledge that he’d been a gifted hacker and now was hired to test Internet security for companies and governments. But he was worried about one crime no one was supposed to know about—yet at least one person did. Five more months and the statute of limitations would be up, and then Sean could breathe easier.
“Didn’t know you were so touchy,” Patrick said.
“You might be right, but it might not be me, specifically. Remember how Noah Armstrong hated me because of RCK?”
Patrick glanced at him with mock surprise. “You mean he likes you now?”
Sean glared at Patrick. Special Agent Noah Armstrong wasn’t Sean’s favorite person. Whether Noah admitted it or not, it was obvious he was infatuated with Lucy, and that irritated Sean. But they had called a truce, and Sean respected Noah. “Regarding Laughlin,” Sean continued, “he could very well have a problem with Lucy because of another Kincaid. No military service, but I can go a little deeper. The sooner I find the connection the better for Lucy. Information is power.”
“Good thing, it keeps our bills paid. If you need my help, let me know.” Patrick waved at an attractive tall and lanky blonde who smiled as she approached them. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
“Who’s that?”
“Brandy. We’re playing racquetball.”
“Brandy Dale?”
“Yep.” Patrick had been seeing the daughter of one of their former clients, but Sean hadn’t met Brandy yet.
“We should go out this