“And he’s former NCIS, so he’s used to government crap.” Cam waved his hand in the air. “Business crap is about the same.”
Hope shook her head and mumbled something about men acting like boys. “Tony is pursuing the Mark-as-bad-guy story, I take it.”
“As far as Tony is concerned, the case is closed.”
She never broke eye contact with Connor. “But you disagree.”
“Definitely.” Davis took the question. “We’re going to rip his company apart, look at every piece of paper and check out whatever angle we can find.”
“We think Tony is at the heart of it all,” Joel said.
“Then he needs to pay.” Her hand clenched his thigh. “How can I help?”
Davis laughed, this time full and open. “I like her.”
“Apparently she can shoot a bow and arrow, too,” Cam added.
Connor’s eyebrow rose. “That’s impressive.”
They didn’t know the half of it. She could guide them all and outhike them. They were in shape. The job demanded them to be, but she had stamina that beat them all. Joel was man enough to admit that...and then there was the part where he found it more than a little sexy.
Cam spun his mug around on the table, letting the bottom clank as it turned. “And she managed to date Joel without killing him.”
“Amazing.” Davis shook his head as his voice filled with awe.
Talk about a mood killer. Joel stepped in to end the conversation before it got completely out of hand. Last thing he needed was this group rapid-firing questions at her about his love life. “That’s enough.”
“In case you’re wondering, he dumped me.” This time she moved her hand and put it on the table where everyone could see it.
Yeah, that was definitely enough of this conversation now. Joel knew they were one step from him losing all control over it. “Can we not have this discussion right now?”
Davis’s mouth still hung open. “No way he dumped you.”
“I didn’t believe it either,” Cam said.
Connor’s expression suggested he thought Joel needed serious counseling. “Always thought you were smarter than that, Joel.”
“I’m starting to wonder.” Joel mumbled the response before he could think twice about it.
If Hope caught it, she let it slide because she was already off to another topic. “There’s one more thing. The... What did you call them, riggings? There’s no way any of the men on the trip set those up.”
Davis eyed her up, the appreciation growing with each passing second. “That leaves a rogue angry person or—”
“Charlie.” Joel dropped the one name that kept kicking around his head.
The man blended into the background and didn’t cause trouble. He also knew the area and could have hooked up the riggings and set the whole thing up. The question was why.
“My dad vetted him. Except for some financial issues due to down business like almost everyone else these days, he was fine.” When a slap of silence hit the room, she looked around at each of them. “What?”
And there was the answer to Joel’s question. “Money.”
Davis blew out a long breath. “His background is a place to start. We’ll run through it all again.”
The room erupted in action. Connor started shuffling papers and Davis reached for the laptop. Even Cam grabbed a file and started looking through notes. Except for Hope’s shell-shocked expression,
Joel loved this part of the team operation. They had a mission and a direction. From here they could spin it out, look over everything and run through scenarios.
“Look for recent payments.” Connor handed Davis a paper with a list of items on it. “See if anyone is helping Charlie pay his bills.”
Hope finally snapped out of it. Her expression morphed from blank to furious. Those cheeks turned pink and she clenched the mug with enough force to break it in her hands. “I trusted him. He was out there with a gun, right with us.”
“Kind of makes you want to punch him, doesn’t it?” Cam asked.
Joel reached over and took the cup out of her tight grip. “Stand in line.”
Chapter Fourteen
Tony slammed his car door and walked to the designated meeting spot. He passed other cars in the parking area under the Whitehurst Freeway and kept going until he hit the gravel spot at the far end, away from the bulk of the foot traffic.
It was the middle of the afternoon and traffic whizzed by. Georgetown was a mass of tourists and students. People talked and screamed as they fought for coveted parking spaces and swarmed in a large swath from the waterfront to M Street, where most of the stores and restaurants sat.