Page 50 of Chasing Grace
The issue of his daughter dealt with, the colonel moved on. “Jackson Lowe is in Washington. I want him located and a recovery team en route ASAP. We need to know what his involvement is. If he has information on Wright, I want it by morning.”
“Jay’s on it.” If anyone could find Jackson fast, it was Jay Mann. A tech wizard with mad computer skills, he had a way of finding information buried so deep, half the time it was in Chinese.
“Good. One last thing, before you go head-to-head with my daughter. Grant Kincaid is in Palo Pinto.”
Chase snapped to attention, an immediate desire to eliminate the threat to Gray flooding his system with the urge to kill.
Colonel Grayson shook his head. “Easy, Sergeant. Kincaid already had his chance in Everett, and he didn’t take it.”
Chase’s clenched jaw twitched in frustration. “He fired his weapon three times.”
“Warning shots.” Colonel Grayson waved his hand in dismissal. “He works for Adam, and he’s here to assist with protecting Gray. His orders are to stay off her radar, keep an eye out for any of Bodak’s bastards, and to advise you if they get too close. Nothing more.”
Disbelief had Chase shaking his head. “With all due respect, sir. I don’t know your son, but as Sam Black, he put a bullet into a rock wall a foot from Gray’s chest. I’m not sure he should be the judge of what’s best for her safety.”
Colonel Grayson frowned. “Had to be done.”
“Sir?”
“You may not know Adam, but he knows you. He knows his sister too. Better than anyone. The threat to her life had to be credible to get both your asses moving in the same direction. That bullet accomplished exactly what he meant it to.”
“You’re saying he knew I was there?”
“I’m saying he has full details on all mission parameters. He knew you were somewhere in Cougar Canyon. But if it makes you feel any better, he wasn’t able to detect your exact location.”
“Sir—”
The colonel threw up a palm. “I get it, Mackenzie. You have questions. Corporal Hoyt’s arranging for a full debrief at zero seven hundred. You’ll get your answers along with the rest of the JTT. Until then—you have my daughter to deal with.”
“Yes, sir.” Dismissed, Chase’s entire focus turned to Gray. He needed to get to her and fast. Regardless of Adam Grayson’s opinion and the colonel’s faith in his son’s ability to judge character, Chase didn’t know Grant Kincaid, and he sure as fuck didn’t trust him.
“Sergeant.”
One foot already out the door, he looked over his shoulder at Gray’s father. “Sir?”
“To be clear, Kincaid is off-limits unless he proves to be a direct threat to my daughter or the mission. Understood?”
For the first time in the course of his career, Chase hesitated in acknowledging his orders.
The delay didn’t go over well, and the colonel’s gaze turned sharp enough to cut steel. “Understood, Sergeant?”
He gave an affirmative, albeit reluctant, nod. “Yes, sir. Understood.”
Under the watchfuleye of her newfound security detail, Gray had already downed her first glass of cheap-ass vodka by the time Chase found her exactly where he’d arranged for her to be. In his room. Well, his and Tak’s room. Apparently, free beds were at a premium, and there were no vacancies at the inn.
“All I’m asking for is five minutes,” Chase said.
“I’m busy.” She couldn’t look at him as she set her glass on the small table serving as her personal bar. Keeping her hand steady while she poured another drink took some effort, but she managed to refrain from spilling any of the vile liquid before she replaced the cap.
“I want to talk to you. Alone.”
“And I want you to go fuck yourself.” Gray waved the bottle in his general direction. “You think either one of us is getting what we want tonight?”
Irritated and possibly taking offense to her suggestion, Chase grabbed the vodka from her hand and threw it across the room. Being plastic, the bottle bounced off the wall, and Tak had to dodge the ricochet.
“Hey!” Gray swept her gaze back to Chase, anger quickly replacing the hurt she’d been nursing. “Does your fiancée know you throw shit when you’re pissed?”
Unsuccessfully trying to hide the fact he found the situation hilarious, Cody snorted and retrieved the missile from the scarred plank at his feet, setting it on the table beside the chair he’d hunkered down in.
