“I took the light rail. I wanted there to be a record of everywhere Iwent.”
“Smart.” He stopped at a red light, his gaze on his rearview mirror. “You need to report this, let Wuknow.”
“I don’t think he’d believe me. He always thinks I’mlying.”
The light turnedgreen.
“Then I’m calling Darcangelo. He’s up to date on this case. He’ll get Wu to listen.” Joaquin’s phone was plugged into the console on his dash. “CallDarcangelo.”
A few seconds later, a voice Mia recognized came over thespeakers.
“Hey, Ramirez, you keeping out oftrouble?”
“Mia’s here with me, and I’ve got you on speaker. We’re on our way to my place. She spent the day in public because she was afraid to be alone. But just now she saw a guy in a black hoodie watching her. The moment he saw that she’d seen him, hedisappeared.”
There was a pause. “Tess and I are in the middle of dinner with Hunter and Sophie and their kids. Give us thirty minutes, and Hunter and I will head your way. Where can I findyou?”
“We’re going to myplace.”
“See youthere.”
The callended.
Mia looked over at Joaquin. “I’m sorry to wreck yourevening.”
“You did the right thing callingme.”
“I wish I’d gotten a look at hisface.”
“I hope you’ll tell my buddies everything you told me. What you said about this being only the beginning—what did youmean?”
Mia looked out her window. “It’s just a gutfeeling.”
“If you know anything, now is the time to speakup.”
What could she tell them? What had happened at Tell al-Sharruken was classified. The Army had done all it could to bury it. If the story ended up in a police report and made its way into the papers, Mia could facecharges.
Was she willing to go to prison for ahunch?
She couldn’t be sure that the fallout from that nightmare was behind this. Still, she had to tell them something. She didn’t want anyone else to disappear or die. How much could she say? All she knew for certain was that the bastard behind this knew her, Andy, andJason.
That meant he had once been a brother inarms.
* * *
She had seen him.She had lookedright at him. Had she recognizedhim?
Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.
She’d been spooked and had left the bar right after that, climbing into some asshole’s pickup truck. But Mia didn’t have a man in her life. She was the Iron Maiden, the Ice Queen. If you touched her, she’d freeze your dick off. As far as he knew, no one had ever had the balls totry.
He’d gotten a glimpse of the guy’s face through the windshield of that pickup and was sure he’d seen the bastard once beforesomewhere.
Where? Where?Where?
If only his goddamn head didn’t hurt somuch.
He’d been surprised to find out Mia hadn’t been arrested. The papers said she’d been questioned. That was it. She wasn’t even a suspect in Garcia’s death. The cops must be total morons if they couldn’t follow the trail of breadcrumbs he’d left for them. The bloody towels and bath mat and the driver’s license. The textmessage.