A stretch of silence passed before Adrian stood and offered the man his hand. “Thanks for sharing what you know about this.”
“Of course.” Ben stood and returned the gesture. “Sorry I couldn’t be more help.”
“It’s okay.” Jenna’s mouth curved into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I appreciate you taking the time to meet with us.”
“This guy and I go back a long way.”
Using that to his advantage, Adrian picked up the photo of Stella Gallagher and asked Ben, “Mind if I take this?”
“Sure. We have it saved in the system, so I can just print another copy.”
“Thanks.” He slid it into his back pocket.
“Let me walk you out.”
Ben started around the edge of his desk when his phone began to ring.
“Saved by the bell,” Adrian joked.
Ben’s rounded belly bounced as he scoffed. “Saved or slaughtered. Depends on who’s calling.”
With a tip of his chin, Adrian took Jenna’s hand in his. “We’ll find our way out.”
Back at the rental car, he pulled the photo out of his pocket and set it on the hood. Using his phone, he snapped a picture.
Standing across from him by the passenger door, Jenna asked, “Why’d you do that?”
“I’m sending it to Gabe.” He typed out a quick text that included the Gallagher woman’s basic intel.
“For…” Jenna let the word linger.
Adrian hit send. “I asked him to have Nate find out what he could about her.”
Nathan Carter was former Naval intelligence and Bravo Team’s technical analyst. The guy was crazy smart, and his computer skills were more than a little impressive.
“You think there’s more to the story than what Ben told us?”
“If there is, Nate’s the guy to find it.” Adrian started to reach for his door, but Jenna’s next comment stopped him.
“Isn’t Nate the name of the Bravo Team guy you shot?” Her expression was unreadable. “I thought that’s what Elle said, anyway.”
Shit.
He wondered what else Elle had shared about him. Not that it mattered, because he wasn’t going to lie.
Not to Jenna.
So he nodded. “Shot him in the shoulder.”
Shot him, kidnapped his wife…almost got her killed.
“She said it was so you wouldn’t blow your cover. That it was all part of the job and that you actually did what you could to protect Nate’s wife.”
Gracelynn wasn’t Nate’s wife at the time, but yeah. That’s exactly what he’d done. Still, his gut tucked in with regret.
So many regrets.
“It was.”