Page 9 of Operation Rescue
She almost laughed at the idea that she could ever play it cool around Blaine Everett.
“Where?” was all she could manage.
“In San Juan Cap near the mission at the moment. I need that list.”
She could hardly blame him for his short tone and blunt words. After all, she was the one who had walked out on him. But it still stung, and she didn’t like that it did. After two years, she’d hoped to be further along in this journey she’d never wanted to be on in the first place.
You did it. You’re the one who ran, not him. Never him. Never, ever.
“I have it all in a document I put together last night. Tell me where to send it. It’s kind of long,” she added in warning.
He gave her an email address that had no name connection to him that she could see, a .org address, and she couldn’t help wondering if maybe it was a girlfriend’s work address. Surely some lucky woman with more courage and endurance than she had had snapped Blaine up by now?
And if she was jealous at the very idea, that was her own stupid fault.
* * *
Blaine stared out the window at the fountain in the back courtyard while Rafe looked over the list showing on the screen. They were in the front building now, clearly the actual headquarters of Foxworth Southwest.
“I’ll take the official ones, the cops and county sheriff,” Rafe said, and Blaine turned his attention back to where it needed to be. “I can call and name-drop Foxworth on them and maybe get more than an anxious parent could.” At Blaine’s raised-brow expression, he shrugged. “We’ve got a rep, and with law enforcement it’s generally a good one, because we don’t care who gets the credit as long as the right thing gets done.”
“Okay,” Blaine said, becoming more amazed every time something Rafe said indicated the reach and influence of these people he now worked for. He supposed he should have guessed the crew that took out a governor and a sitting senator would have some pull.
But that feeling was quickly overtaken by apprehension when he realized he was going to be contacting people as Ethan’s father, someone who as far as they knew was rarely in the picture.
At least there wasn’t a stepfather to deal with. He’d made sure of that when she’d first called, because he wanted to know what he might be dealing with. Sort of like checking the weather one last time before you took off.
He get in a fight with your husband?
There is no husband.
Boyfriend?
That either, not that it’s your business.
Oh, heck no, none of my business. Unless he’s abusing my son and that’s why he ran.
She’d almost hung up on him then, he could practically feel it over the phone connection. He supposed it was a measure of how worried she was that she didn’t. Which in turn told him he had to take this seriously.
“—you can take the parents of his friends, get what you can,” Rafe was saying, and he tuned back in, giving himself an inward shake at letting his focus wander.
“Okay. I’ll try, but I’m no cop or trained interviewer.”
“Do it in person.” Rafe gave him a crooked, half smile. “You’re less intimidating than I seem to be, to civilians.”
“You do have that thousand-mile stare,” Blaine said, only half kidding. There was indeed something about the guy that intimidated even combat veterans.
“And take Cutter with you,” Rafe added.
Blaine gave him a startled look. “The dog?”
“He makes people react differently.” Blaine was sure he must have looked doubtful, because Rafe went on. “Took me a while to accept the effect he has, but he calms people. Might help with the kids, too.”
Blaine couldn’t deny that. After all, he’d felt it himself. And he supposed having a dog as company would at least keep some kids, friends of Ethan’s, from taking off the minute they found out who he was. Who knows what his son had told them about him. Maybe that he didn’t even care enough to visit more than a few times a year. He figured that was what Erin had told him, to keep him from knowing he hadn’t come more often because she made it so difficult.
He’s your son, I’d never deny you visitation, but I need to make arrangements when you come, so I need plenty of advance notice.
Which had eliminated a few times when he’d had a couple of days drop unexpectedly out of his calendar and he could have visited, spur of the moment. He hadn’t been sure at first what arrangements she had to make, but after the third time he’d realized the arrangements were for her to be elsewhere.
