Page 21 of Mountain Rescue
“Sorry about that, Rachel. I just wanted to show you that I’m good at what I do. As for the police tracing your call, they probably didn’t, or you’d have an Asheville officer on your doorstep by now. Which brings up the question, do you trust the detective?”
“I think so, but I can’t swear to that.” But no more direct calls to Detective Diaz.
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll dig into him a little.”
“That’s definitely okay, and thanks.”
“Not a problem. You need to make this call now?” Carter asked.
She glanced at Dallas, and he shrugged, telling her that it was her decision. She’d never been so unsure of what to do in her life. Damn Robert to hell for doing this to her.
“Yeah, I might as well get it over with.” She pulled the notepaper out of her pocket and read off the FBI agent’s name and number.
“Just so you know, I’ll be listening in,” Carter said. “If anything feels off, I’ll disconnect.”
“Who are you?” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but really, without even seeing the man, he was scary.
“Just an ordinary man who can help you.”
Dallas snorted. There was nothing ordinary about his friend. Carter Jeffers, now the owner of Titan Group, had been a brilliant and deadly Delta Force operator. Those men were even more secretive than the SEALs. Dallas, along with Jack and Noah, could physically protect Rachel, but Carter could make her invisible to anyone trying to find her.
If he was willing, and Dallas hoped Carter found the situation with Rachel intriguing enough to catch his interest, he could help track down Robert Hargrove. For one thing, he didn’t have to follow the rules the FBI did, and he wasn’t shy about crossing a line in his investigations if it was for the greater good. He also had resources and the kind of technology the FBI only dreamed of.
“One last thing before you talk to them, Rachel. The number of the phone you’re talking on isn’t going to show up when we call them, and that’s going to tell them you’ve figured out how to hide it, which is going to up their curiosity. If they ask how you did that, don’t answer. If they ask for your number, give them this one...you have a pen?”
“I’ll remember it,” Dallas said, handing her his phone.
After Carter rattled off the number, and while he was doing his magic to hide her location and connecting her with the FBI, Dallas went inside. He found a pen and wrote down the number. Returning to the porch, he settled down to listen to the conversation.
“Special agent Jim Rhodes speaking.”
“Mr. Rhodes, this is Rachel Denning. Detective Diaz said you wanted to talk to me.”
“Yes, and thank you for calling, Ms. Denning. We’d like to sit down with you and discuss the situation you’ve found yourself in with Robert Hargrove. Special agent Laura Macklin and I can come to your home if you’d be more comfortable talking to us there. Or you can come to our office. Your choice.”
“That’s not possible. I’m not in LA at the moment.”
“Where are you? We can have agents from a local field office meet with you.”
“Someplace safe. You’ll have to ask your questions over the phone.”
“Rachel...may I call you Rachel?”
“Sure.”
“Thank you. Rachel, we can’t protect you if we don’t know where you are, and if Robert Hargrove is as dangerous as we believe, you want us at your side. Are you within driving distance to LA?”
Dallas could envision Carter rolling his eyes at their attempt to find out where she was.
“If I am, I’m still not meeting you in person. If you want to talk to me, you’ll have to do it by my rules.”
He grinned. She wasn’t giving the agent any clue as to where she was. His wildcat was no one’s fool. He’d bet his favorite horse that they already knew she wasn’t at home.
The agent sighed. “I understand you’re afraid, and for now, we’ll do it your way. But at some point, we need to meet with you.”
“We’ll see. What do you want to know?”
“Everything. Start from the beginning. We will be recording what you tell us.”
