Page 62 of Fighting for Scarlett

Like they were one person instead of a dozen, all sets of eyes seemed to hover over his and Scarlett’s joined hands, before blinking almost in unison.

It would be comical if they weren't under more pressure than he’d ever felt in his life.

While he had no intention of hiding the fact that he and Scarlett were a couple, he also wasn’t going to do or say anything that she wasn’t comfortable with. This was her family, the people who mattered most to her, the people who had her back even if she hadn't realized it at first, they handled this however she chose.

“Umm,” she said nervously, obviously sensing the same shock he did. “Tate apologized for being jerky and explained why, and … we’re kind of … together now.” She gave a nervous laugh, and he gave her fingers an encouraging squeeze.

It was the youngest one, genius Cassie, who broke the tension when her face broke out into a huge grin. “That’s amazing, I'm so happy for you, Scar.”

Like all they needed was for one of them to say something, the rest of the people in the room came to life, offering smiles and encouragement, before the reason for the video call settled on all their shoulders and they grew serious.

“Do we have anything?” Tate repeated his question.

Looking exhausted, Fox dragged his fingers through his dark hair. “We’ve made a list of every Prey employee who knew about the Reactivator. It’s longer than I would have liked.”

“There were also two lab workers who have been at Prey during the time Athena Team have been working on the drug,” Night added, his silver-gray eyes filled with helpless frustration.

The same frustration Tate felt.

It was the worst feeling in the world to be helpless.

Knowing it had to be one of the people on the list wasn’t enough. If they couldn’t find the mole in time, Scarlett could pay the ultimate price. He would do whatever it took to keep her safe, but even the best-laid plans could go awry. Especially when dealing with someone so ruthless that would set up an innocent colleague to take the fall for them, knowing what that would entail.

The traitor had allowed Scarlett to be tortured.

Tortured.

And there was more to it than Scarlett had so far admitted if the lie she’d told while taking the polygraph was any indication.

“We’ve started working our way through the list. Prey’s tech people are doing a deep dive into all of their lives,” Spider continued. “Looking into all the usual things. Financial troubles, other motives, anyone with a connection, however small, to Mexico. Damn, I hate that place.” Spider’s now-wife Abigail had been held prisoner by a Mexican cartel leader for over a year before she was found by accident by Spider and his team while they were still in the SEALs. Although the couple had finally gotten their happy ever after, after two previous tries, it was obvious Spider still carried around some guilt.

Tate hadn't realized his grip on Scarlett’s hand had tightened until her thumb began to brush softly across his knuckles.

Soothing him.

Reading him so clearly.

He had messed up with her and almost lost her to the Mexican jungle. If that had happened he would have felt some responsibility.

Clearing his throat, he pushed away his guilt, there was no time for it now. “Do we have anyone who’s standing out as a suspect?”

“One of the lab workers who was let go is high on the list,” Lucy spoke up. “Even though it would have been harder for them to have access to Prey’s systems to fake the emails it wouldn’t have been impossible. Prey rarely fires anyone. The vetting process is so extensive that it usually weeds out anyone unsuitable. But this guy got through anyway. We all had bad experiences with him,” she said, indicating herself and her team. “He was lazy, didn't respect us as a Prey team while he was there just to help us with the workload. He asked all four of us out and was pushy even when we all turned him down.”

Ella shivered at that. “Yeah, he was creepy. That kind of creepy women can just … sense. Everything was documented and reported, and when he was drunk one day and almost messed up—a big mess up that would have cost lives—he was fired.”

“How did he leave? Did he go quietly? Put up fight?” Tate asked. Drinking problems could lead to all sorts of other issues, and it seemed like he might have a personal grudge against Athena Team, which means he could want to not just get the money for the drug, but also make them suffer.

“It was bad,” Scarlett answered. “He lost it, trashed the lab, destroyed equipment, and claimed it wasn’t fair. But it was almost a year ago and we never heard anything from him since.”

“Takes time to set up a deal with a weapons trafficker,” he reminded her. As far as he was concerned, the fired lab worker was top of the list. “Who else stands out?”

“One of the security guards has a brother who recently got himself entangled with a gang,” King replied. “People have been known to do crazy things when it comes to family. It’s less likely he would know about the drug since he doesn’t have direct access to that information, but it’s not impossible that he found out, we weren't actively trying to hide it from anyone.”

“And the third person who stands out is one of our IT people. She would definitely have the skills to fake those emails, and she would have access to everything that went through the computer system,” Chaos explained. “She lost her husband about nine months ago. Terrible car accident, he was in the hospital for almost a month, fought hard, but it wasn’t enough. Now one of her two kids is battling cancer. All those medical bills could make her do something stupid.”

Three viable suspects, that should make him feel better.

But it didn't.

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