“Yeah, someone is after her,” Shane said.
“Not possible.”
Shane nodded. “Totally possible.”
They were off again. Somehow she managed not to roll her eyes at the male byplay. As much as she wanted to keep her private life private, she knew that would no longer be possible. Her connection to the side business led to a whole new list of suspects. “I do some work for this website called Wall of Dishonor.”
Cam’s eyes widened. “The SEAL-outing one?”
She took in Cam’s show of interest and noted a bit of awe in his tone. The support came as a sharp contrast to Shane’s reaction. “You know it?”
“Of course. I check it out now and then, and silently curse the liars who have their photos posted.” Cam leaned forward with his elbows balanced on his knees. “You work there?”
“I do research and investigate. Corroborate the charges people lodge with the site about people lying about their service.” It was a simplistic explanation, but going into the details about requests from the government for information and all the calls and contacts with people who could confirm the stories, or not, would bore them.
Cam nodded. “Cool.”
“No, not cool,” Shane barked out.
In case she hoped he’d changed his position, he dashed that. “Shane thinks I’m being irresponsible.”
Cam looked at Shane. “Why? Those guys should be dragged out to face those who really did serve. Like you, for instance.”
“It’s dangerous,” Shane said in a growling voice.
Since he’d skipped over Cam’s point, she made one of her own. “So is driving.”
Not that it had any noticeable impact on Shane. He kept right on talking. “Do you think Holt would like knowing she’s doing this?”
“Is this really about Holt?” Cam almost whispered.
Exactly the question she wanted to ask. A man did not kiss like that, hold a woman with that sort of fierce grip, if he didn’t think about her. At least she hoped that was true. “I’ve always liked Cam best.”
Shane scoffed. “Get over it.”
“Holt is in love with, and planning to spend the rest of his life with, a woman who dedicated the last few years to helping people escape a cult involved in gunrunning. How could he get upset about his sister having the same sort of bravery?” Cam asked.
For the first time all day Makena felt lighter. Some of the tension dragging her down eased. Hearing Cam give Shane a hard time shifted life back into perspective for her. “Well, Shane?”
“It’s different when it’s your sister.” Shane shifted in his seat, and then did it again. For a man who rarely struggled with nerves, he seemed to be in a battle now.
Cam’s eyebrow lifted. “Makena isn’t your sister.”
“This conversation is over.” Shane emphasized his point by standing up. He walked into the kitchen.
She watched because she couldn’t not watch. Something about the lazy gait that was anything but. “Because he says so.”
Cam’s amusement hadn’t faded one bit. “Apparently.”
Just as quickly as he’d left, Shane returned to the living area with a pad of paper in his hand. He scribbled something with his left hand. “We need to look into Jeff Horvath and—”
Cam frowned. “Who?”
“One of the men she exposed.” Shane glanced up, but his expression stayed blank. “The same one who knows who she is and where she lives and followed us tonight.”
“So he’s behind all this?” Cam sounded doubtful.
“I’m not sure yet, but he’s angry.” Shane lowered the pages in his hand. “Out of control.”
She bit her lip while she debated sharing the other part of the story. “He’s also a bit of a stalker.”
Shane’s gaze shot to Cam. “Do you see what I’m saying about her being in danger?”
“You’ve made your point.” And if he used the word danger one more time, her head might explode.
“I’ll need a list of names of the guys you exposed.” Shane flipped through the pages. “And the names of everyone you work with at the site. Work and personal contact information. The usual.”
Only in his world did any of this qualify as normal, but she had a bigger problem. “Why?”
Shane didn’t look up. “They could be in danger or part of the problem. We won’t know until we start digging.”
That was the problem. The idea of someone breaching Tyler Cowls’s privacy had anxiety jumping around inside her. He would hate it and she could lose her position. “There’s one guy, but he’s really secretive.”