Cara’s right about the things I liked when I was ten. Girls never hit my radar until I was about fourteen or fifteen. Hell, I was even embarrassed when I got my first hard-on because I had no idea what was wrong with me. One night, I go to bed fine, and then I wake up and am in pain. And the only relief is to touch myself. How wrong is that? So not wrong when you’re a guy.
“I wonder if I should have a chat with EJ?”
She shakes her head. “Maybe mention it to Evan. He might already know. It’s more important for you to strengthen your foundation with him right now. EJ will always be in your life, but Evan’s psyche will always be fragile where you’re concerned.”
“Yours isn’t?”
Cara shrugs. “We weren’t together. You didn’t leave me for Ryley. We broke up because we headed in two different directions. Evan and Ryley didn’t break up. He deployed and expected to find her waiting for him. When he came home, his world was rocked. I honestly think you’re lucky he speaks to you. I think if you weren’t a SEAL and one of the best snipers in the Armed Forces, he would have nothing to do with you.”
“As much as I hate to say it, you’re right.”
“Of course, I am.” Cara smiles. “Just keep being there, and everything will work out. The Archer brothers will be a united front for everything that’s going on.”
“Which is?”
Cara shakes her head. “Not here. When we get home.”
When we get home, I scan the apartment for bugs. I trust absolutely no one, not even all the members on my SEAL team. It’s sad to say, but after what my brother went through and the bogus training mission my team had when Evan returned, someone in my circle is knee-deep in shit and trying to protect themselves.
Once Cara and I clear our space, she turns some music on and turns the volume up high. We meet in the kitchen, where I pour myself a drink, but she declines and says she’ll have water. She hasn’t drunk all day, which I find odd. She’s off work and is usually a social drinker.
“Are you feeling okay?” I ask as I hand her a glass of water.
“Fine,” she says before taking a drink. “I’m having trouble adjusting to the heat in Las Vegas. Dry and over a hundred every day versus the humidity. It’s wiping me out.”
I drink down my two-finger shot of whiskey and pour myself another. “So, what’s going on?”
“The car was a rental. I contacted the agency, hoping they’d give me the information without a warrant. No success. I asked one of my contacts in Vegas to hack into the site. The name came back as Roger Duvry.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar. Are we worried for nothing?”
Cara shakes her head and refills her glass from our filtered pitcher. “Not necessarily. I can’t find him on a flight manifest or even in the DMV, so it’s definitely an alias. I have an RD in my list of child porn viewers, though, so this could be related to Las Vegas.”
“But?”
“But… I don’t know. How does this Roger Duvry get a car rental in San Diego, from an airport location, without having an originating or returning flight, and isn’t on the manifest anywhere?”
“Insider at the rental agency?”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” she says, nodding. “But also,” she pauses. “I don’t know. I overthink a lot lately because I’m trying to take down this sex ring and keep my eye on Lawson’s ring.”
“Are there more players?”
Cara looks at me, “What if Lawson was small potatoes? What if he wasn’t the mastermind behind Evan’s deployment to cover up the Chelsey girl?”
“We can play the what-if game all day long when it comes to this shit.”
“I know, and I hate it. Just when I think I have it all figured out, someone throws a monkey wrench into my theory or timeline, and nothing matches anymore. Lawson is still my number one suspect for anything that has to do with Evan’s case, but my gut says he’s just a puppet.”
“Frannie was his puppet.”
“Her medical file is as thick as New York City’s yellow pages. I was shocked when her psychiatrist sent that in. Most doctors won’t, but he said she was one of the worst cases he’s had in his career and thought BAU could learn something from it. The stuff Lawson made her do—the way he brainwashed her—I don’t know how she managed to stay sane enough to marry River.”
“I don’t either. River didn’t deserve what she did to him.”
“Is he out of the Navy?” Cara asks.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I think Command is afraid to discharge any of the team because of all of this, but I can’t imagine River has any sort of access to the base. He’s the worst AWOL case out there. He shows up out of nowhere and disappears in the blink of an eye. He showed up at Magoo’s after we went to the gun range. Didn’t say much, just sat there, had a beer, and left.”