Finding the Way Back: A Stealth Ops Novel Read online

  “Say what?” Knox pushed back, the wheels of his chair sliding on the polished floors. “The president authorized us being here?”

  POTUS changed his mind. He was risking his legacy for the teams. They owed him one.

  “You expect me to believe you didn’t know?” Mendez crossed his arms. “We already have a multiagency task force assembled. I’ve got Homeland breathing down my back.” He threw a hand toward the busy office area on the other side of the door. “But the bureau is fully capable of handling this, and the last thing I need is a bunch of SEALs running around playing commando.”

  A.J. cupped his mouth, hiding a smirk at Mendez’s words.

  Either Mendez didn’t know jack shit about the SEALs, or he did, and he was trying to piss them off.

  “Liam and Wyatt are two of the best snipers in the country. If anyone should take a look at that crime scene, it’s them. We’re assets. Not your competition.” Knox’s biceps tightened, but he kept his hands in his lap so he wouldn’t come across overly defensive. Too much was at stake to get booted. “Let us help you.”

  “And what do you get out of it?”

  “Easy,” he returned. “I get to ensure my parents stay alive.”

  Chapter Four

  “Anyone else surprised POTUS called in a favor for us with Mendez?” A.J. asked as they drove through Uptown Charlotte, heading toward the arena where Knox’s dad had given his speech earlier.

  “Guess he had a change of heart. Rydell wants Bennett to win as much as we do.” Liam braced the side of Knox’s front seat and leaned forward. “Hopefully, your dad will be on board with keeping us if he wins.”

  After the talk he had with his dad, he was semi-hopeful that he might even approve of Knox staying on board, too. Now he had to keep him alive.

  “Well, at least your dad supports us tagging along for a bit,” Liam said as Wyatt parallel-parked the Suburban behind Mendez’s black sedan. They were down the street from the roped-off crime scene. Police and agents had barricaded the entire area. An active shooter was still on the loose, and the city had been placed on high alert.

  “Thanks again for coming with me.” He repositioned his Falcons cap and tugged at the brim.

  “What else would we do if we weren’t here? Sip mojitos at the beach?” Wyatt flashed him a grin.

  A.J. reached forward from the back seat and socked Wyatt on the bicep. “When in your life have you ever had a mojito?”

  God, the two of them—they never stopped, but he’d sure as hell miss working missions with them if their off-the-books world came to an end.

  Once they were out of the SUV, Knox examined the area as they walked a few paces behind Mendez.

  The stadium took up the entire block on one side of the street, and the hotel was in perfect position across the way for a sniper to take the shot.

  Mendez showed his badge to two officers protecting the entrance to the crime scene and motioned for them to follow.

  “I’d like to know what type of wind we were dealing with earlier,” Liam commented as they ducked under the yellow caution tape, which swayed in the slight breeze.

  “Your father and mother exited the arena at ten o’clock this morning out that entrance,” he said while pointing to the doors off in the distance. “There were ten minutes on the schedule to answer questions from a group of reporters assembled out here, and they were walking toward the media when the first shot was fired. The bullet went right between your parents and hit the ground behind them.”

  Knox crouched, removed his glasses, and studied the ground where the bullet had landed.

  “How long between shots?” Wyatt asked as Knox rose and placed his shades back on.

  “It was quick—only long enough to realign his target,” Mendez said.

  Knox thought back to the media footage of the event he’d watched on his phone over and over again on the drive to Charlotte. It’d been surreal.

  “Two bodyguards were positioned in front of your parents and two behind, which would’ve made the shot pretty difficult,” Mendez explained. “After the first bullet, the bodyguards immediately used their bodies as shields.”

  “And the second bullet hit a vest.” Knox cradled the back of his neck, observing the scene.

  “Shortly after, the fire alarm at the hotel went off.”

  “Guaranteeing his escape.” Knox frowned.

  “Hundreds of people flooding the streets—it was chaos.” Mendez pointed to the hotel. “Also, the security cameras were disabled in the hotel lobby and on the tenth floor prior to the shooting.”

  Wyatt’s attention winged across the street to the hotel, his eyes narrowing once he’d locked on to the tenth floor.

  “We’re issuing warrants for all the private security cams within the vicinity, but it was basically a clusterfuck. I’m not optimistic we’ll get much,” Mendez said.

  “You’re questioning everyone on my dad’s security staff? Maybe the shooter had help.”

  “Yeah, we’ve had our best interrogators talk to them. Nothing looks off, but we’ll keep at it,” Mendez responded.

  “Are all the guests and employees from the hotel accounted for?” Knox asked as Liam stood off to his right with his hands in front of him, calculating angles and distance.

  “I’ll need to check with Special Agent Quinn. She’s been coordinating all the interviews with the guests. She should still be at the hotel now. All guests they tracked down have been relocated to other local hotels during the investigation.”

  “We’re losing daylight, boys. We should get a look from inside the hotel. I’d like to see the vantage point the shooter had.” Wyatt darted across the empty street since it was still blocked off by patrol cars at all major access points.

  “Where are you at on ballistics?” Liam asked once they were in front of the hotel lobby elevators.

  Mendez pulled out his phone. “A three-zero-eight Winchester cartridge. One hundred and eighty grain. Soft nose jacket bullet. Brass case.”

  “The notches around the jacket mouth produce a massive energy release,” Wyatt said as the doors finally opened. “More ideal for a medium to heavier target, but it also gives you a fast kill on a lighter frame.”

  “Since we’re talking less than two hundred meters, our shooter didn’t have to worry too much about the bullet dropping fast,” Liam added as a few plain-clothes officers stepped out of the elevator.

  “This is Special Agent Quinn,” Mendez introduced the team to one of the officers. Her red hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. Minimal makeup. The all-business kind of look Adriana had going for her whenever on the job. “She’ll be working point with me as the special agent in charge out of the Charlotte office.”

  “And you are?” She shook Knox’s hand. An impressive grip.

  “We’re Bennett’s new security team. I’m Alexander James,” A.J. butted in and reached for her hand before Knox could answer. “But you can call me A.J.”

  “His mom couldn’t decide on a name. Don’t mind him. I’m Wyatt. And your first name?”

  “Special Agent Quinn works.” With her shoulders pinned back and her eyes now on Mendez, it was clear she didn’t fear the man. Her pant legs covered heels she was probably wearing to give her petite frame a height boost. “Why’d Bennett bring these guys in?”

  She was irritated with their presence. It was going around. And the two notorious flirts with him sure as hell weren’t going to help win any fans at the straight-edge FBI.

  “That’s Charlie Bennett.” Mendez jerked his chin Knox’s way.

  “Knox works,” he bit out, unable to help himself.

  “Oh.” Her brows slanted. “The son of a presidential candidate is serving as protection?”

  “Working the investigation. I have a team who can step in for protection if needed,” he replied.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. This shouldn’t be happening. How are we letting this happen?” Her hands went to her hips, and maybe Mendez outranked her, but
she stood her ground.

  “Call POTUS if you want. They’re here because of him.” He flicked his wrist for the guys to join him on the elevator. “Where are we at with the guests?”

  “Almost everyone’s been accounted for. Still tracking down a few people who were probably not at the hotel during the actual shooting.”

  “And the staff?” Mendez shot his arm out to keep the doors from closing. “Anyone have their badge stolen? Possible accomplice?”

  “I would’ve led with that,” she replied dryly.

  “Okay, keep me updated on our missing people.” He pulled his hand back. “I’m taking them to the tenth.”

  “You sure you want to do that?” she asked.

  “Not really,” Mendez said as the doors closed.

  “Oh, I like her. And she’s a redhead. Damn. She dating anyone?” A.J. flashed Mendez a smile. Jesus, this guy. Did he want to get shot by the 9mm Mendez probably had holstered at his hip?

  “Like she’d date you,” Wyatt said with a smile.

  “Are they always like this?” Mendez looked at Knox.

  Sometimes humor was the only way they got through shit. “Usually much worse,” he answered, allowing his lips to tilt into a semi-smile, feeling slightly guilty for it given the reason he was at the hotel.

  “Is there another way for our shooter to leave this place aside from the stairs or one of these main elevators?” Liam asked once they were on the tenth floor.

  “The service elevators at the back don’t have cameras, but they require a special card to access them. Since the gunman somehow managed to get a hotel room key, it’s possible he also stole an access card to the service elevators, too, and he left that way.” Mendez stopped outside room 1010 and unlocked the door.

  “I’m betting a lot of people come in and out of this hotel every day,” A.J. commented. “I’d check delivery drivers.”

  “This isn’t my first rodeo.” Mendez stepped aside so they could enter. “This suite was the only one not checked out at the time with a view of the Bennetts. You can’t open the windows in the room, but it’s got a small balcony with a sliding door in the bedroom.”

  “What’s he doing?” Mendez asked once they were all inside the master suite. Liam had lowered his body to his elbows in front of the sliding door.

  “What’s it look like? Recreating the shot.” A.J. stood alongside Liam. “Not our first rodeo, either.” He couldn’t hide the snarky bite to his tone.

  “We’re assuming he acted alone without the help of a spotter,” Mendez noted a moment later.

  “Yeah. If he’s highly trained, he wouldn’t necessarily need one.” Knox crossed his arms, observing his teammates as they broke down the scene and calculated possible angles for the shot.

  Liam and Wyatt rarely used spotters on ops. They didn’t have the luxury, so they’d honed their skills to be more precise than ever before.

  And Liam and Wyatt never missed. Well, Liam did last year—but love . . . well, love can do a thing to a man.

  Friendship, too, he supposed. He’d do anything for his brothers. Anything for his family—for Adriana.

  “I don’t like this angle. He’d have to shoot with the door barely open to remain unseen, and with the metal bars on the balcony—it’s nearly an impossible shot.” Liam stood.

  “Well, guess that’s why he missed,” Mendez said.

  Wyatt peered at the ceiling and shut one eye. “Two rooms to the left and one floor up. That might work.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking,” Liam agreed.

  “Then why disable the cams on floor ten?” Mendez asked as Liam shut and locked the glass door.

  “Because where’s the Feds’ focus right now and where is it not?” A.J. held both palms in the air.

  “Disabling the cameras only on this floor was a distraction.” It was a strategic move. A smart one, too. “If the gunman had access to the service elevators he probably came and went that way, pulled the fire alarm when he got to the ground level, then waited for the crowd to rush out. He slipped out unnoticed.”

  Mendez produced a notepad from inside his blazer pocket and flipped through a few pages. “The room you mentioned on the eleventh was checked out. Same with the neighboring rooms. A couple in eleven ten, a single female in eleven twelve, and a couple with a child in eleven-zero-eight.”

  “I’d like to take a look at the cameras on the eleventh floor,” Knox said. “Can we head to security?”

  “We have people down there still going through the footage from the day,” he replied.

  “So, they won’t mind a break.” A.J. winked and slapped Mendez on the back before walking past him toward the door.

  “Liam and I can check out the rooms while you view the cams.” Wyatt held out his palm.

  “Yeah, okay.” Mendez handed him an access card.

  After a few minutes, they entered the security area on the second level of the hotel. “We’re going to take over the cams for a couple minutes,” Mendez told the two FBI agents who were sitting in front of the screens.

  Knox sat next to Mendez once the agents left, and A.J. remained standing off to his left.

  “So.” Mendez grabbed the mouse. “I’ll start when the fire alarm was pulled and go backward, I guess.”

  “The cams in this hotel are shit,” A.J. said a minute later. “No great angles of any of those rooms, either.”

  “Wait. Stop it there.” Knox scooted to the edge of his seat to get a closer look at the screen when Mendez paused it. “Switch to slow motion.”

  A man and woman were walking down the hall then moved out of sight of the camera. “Rewind it.” He watched another few seconds. “They’re heading for the service exit.”

  “We can’t prove that. It’s conjecture,” Mendez said.

  He leaned back in his chair. “Forty seconds after those two are in the hall, the alarm is triggered on the first floor.”

  Mendez went back over the footage again. “I’ll see if I can get a better look at the couple. You think she’s his spotter?”

  “No, I think she’s his hostage,” Knox answered.

  “Head down. Ball cap. The man knew what he was doing,” A.J. said. “He never looks at the cameras. She doesn’t try to hide her face, though.”

  Knox stood. “He could have a gun to her back. Too hard to tell.”

  “I have a feeling the beautiful Quinn will be calling you back to let you know this woman never made it to her new hotel. I guarantee she’s on that missing person list,” A.J. said.

  “See the bag he’s got, too?” Mendez zoomed in on the screen. “Guessing that’s the rifle. Something else in there, too. Computer, maybe.”

  Knox’s cell vibrated a second later. “Hey, which room are you thinking?” he answered.

  “My money is on eleven twelve,” Liam replied.

  Knox shifted the phone away from his ear to share the news. “Eleven twelve, that’s the woman’s room, right?”

  “Yeah, let me call Quinn.” Mendez grabbed his phone and left.

  “Looks like our shooter may have taken a hostage with him,” Knox told Liam.

  “Not an accomplice?”

  “The tech in here isn’t exactly top of the line, but nah, from the looks of it, I don’t think she’s in on it.”

  “All right, we’re heading your way now.” Liam ended the call.

  Mendez returned a few minutes later. “Her name is Sarah Reardon. And you were right, she’s on the list of people our agents have been trying to locate. Agent Quinn’s calling her family now.”

  Knox sat back down. “I’d like to look at more footage and see how the shooter initiated contact. Since there’s no vantage point of her room on camera, we’ll have to check the other angles in the hall and outside the elevator.”

  A few minutes later, Wyatt and Liam joined them in the office. “Anything?”

  “The gunman must’ve hacked the security systems remotely. We have the man and woman on camera exiting the elevators and heading
to her room before the first shot was fired.”

  “Maybe she met him at the hotel bar, and he persuaded her to invite him up to her room?” Liam speculated.

  “But he has no bag when he heads to her room, so how’d he get his gun inside?” A.J. pointed out.

  “We’re going to need to scroll through all the hotel footage from the moment she checked in up until the shooting,” Knox said.

  “I have to meet with your father’s Secret Service detail. They should arrive at Bennett’s new hotel soon. We can head to the field office afterward, and maybe Quinn will have more for us to go on at that point. I’ll have the team over there get started on this now.”

  The guys weren’t used to working this closely with so many official agents, but it did have its advantages—like having an entire office devoted to the case.

  “So, the shooter kills the cams in the lobby and on the tenth for a distraction. He exits the hotel after pulling the first-floor fire alarm and takes this woman with him as his stay-out-of-jail card,” Knox summed up what they’d learned once they were back in the Suburban ten minutes later and en route to Knox’s parents’ hotel outside Uptown.

  “The gunman bought himself at least nine hours with his tenth-floor camera act,” A.J. said from the back seat. “You think this Sarah woman is still alive?”

  “No one died this morning from the shooting,” Knox answered softly. His parents didn’t get hit. The bodyguard survived. “I sure as hell hope that’s the way the story remains.”

  Chapter Five

  “Why do you look like someone killed your dog?” Calloway asked Adriana inside the elevator at the hotel in Charlotte.

  “I don’t have a dog.” And Calloway knew that. He was the only one from work she’d ever dated.

  “And why do you wear shades inside an elevator?” Chen asked Calloway. “Don’t be a movie cliché.”

  Rodriguez, her friend and the agent in charge, barked out a laugh. “He’s right, man.”

  “Chen’s always right.” Adriana rolled her shoulders back, trying to loosen up. To free herself of the nerves even Calloway had noticed with his sunglasses on.