“He’s not going to stay out of it,” Felicity said, once she and Ted were back in the SUV. “I can feel it.”

“Jeez, Fee. You don’t trust anyone, do you?” Ted slid his aviator shades on then pulled out of the lot. “I liked him.”

She glanced at Ted’s right hip, where the bullet from a terror suspect had stuck him two years prior. “Pardon me, if I don’t trust your opinions on people, Wilson. You thought your shooter was a nice guy too.”

Ted chuckled. “True. And he was. Just off his nut, that’s all. And armed. Never give a crazy guy a gun.”

“Words to live by.” Felicity pulled out her own sunglasses and shoved them on her face. Truth was, she’d kind of liked Jace Stevens too. More than she wanted to admit. He’d seemed attentive and honest and genuine. Didn’t help that he was gorgeous, with his shaggy surfer-esque, sun-streaked honey hair and those twinkling brown eyes that hinted at all sorts of naughty mischief. He was definitely better looking in person than in his pictures. She sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe we’re approaching this whole thing wrong. Maybe we shouldn’t have gone there.”

“Jeez, lighten up. We asked the guy a couple of questions. It’s no big deal.” Ted switched lanes to pass a slower moving car ahead, heading for the small coastal town of Ortega, California. “But I admit I don’t get this whole connection you see between the deaths and Brothers In Arms. Yeah, they were all SEALs, but otherwise it seems like a dead end.”

“I wanted to talk to him, see if he’d confirm what we already knew or give us something more to go on. Plus, Jace Stevens is the guy who flunked Kevin Quinn out of the SEAL program. That’s got to cause some resentment on Quinn’s part.”

“Maybe.” Ted shrugged, slowing down to take a sharp curve in the road. “Why not let Stevens talk to the guy then? Get him riled up. Maybe Quinn will slip and say something.”

“Getting Quinn riled up is exactly what I don’t want to happen yet. If Stevens goes in there, guns blazing, and intimidates Quinn, he’ll take off and we might never find him again.” Felicity threw up her hands in exasperation. “That’s why the more I think about it, the more I think going to the compound was a huge mistake.”

“Stop being so hard on yourself, okay? You’re going to bust an artery or something.” Ted shook his head and slowed again as they entered the outskirts of Ortega. “There’s nothing we can do about it now, so sit back and see what happens okay, partner?”

Felicity rolled her eyes and slumped in her seat, staring out at the passing scenery. Ortega was a scenic delight, all mission-style architecture and white-washed ease. In the distance, the Pacific Ocean sparkled and danced and seagulls swooped and called from the blue skies above.

It seemed so idyllic, it made her teeth ache. She exhaled and leaned her forehead against the window as they headed for their budget hotel. Felicity hadn’t always been such a pessimistic hardass. Back when she was a kid, she’d been a real practical joker, always spoofing people and pulling pranks. Then one day, when she was ten, she’d locked her baby brother in the neighbor’s shed as payback for a stunt he’d pulled and pretty much ruined her brother’s life. To this day, he’d never really forgiven her.

Fun and games led to pain and tragedy. Better to be serious and stoic and play it safe.

No matter how suffocating safety could be.

They were staying near the heart of the small town and Ted signaled as they approached the lot beside the building. Felicity straightened and rolled her stiff shoulders. “You hear anything back yet on your teaching application for Quantico?”

“Nope.” Ted found a spot near the side entrance. “Probably won’t until this case is over either. Another reason for us to sit tight and see what happens. All I want is to get out of this one alive, so I can spend the rest of my days until retirement sitting on the sidelines. Please, don’t blow this for me, partner.”

“Fine.” Felicity sighed as she got out of the SUV. The fly in the ointment in this though was the fact they may have to take some risks to bring whoever was killing these Navy SEALs to justice. The fact some sicko would murder America’s heroes was bad enough. Worse, they tried to shame their deaths with the stigma of suicide.

It made her blood boil. She joined Ted on the sidewalk. Still, Ted was a good friend and a great partner. She didn’t want to risk his future in pursuit of her case, but not doing anything rankled.

As they walked inside and headed up to their third-floor rooms, Jace’s face flashed into Felicity’s mind again. Ted liked the guy. Truth was, she did too. She hoped he wouldn’t do something stupid like try to go after Kevin Quinn on his own. Quinn had friends in very high places and knew lots of powerful people. If the public’s perception of Brothers In Arms was on shaky ground now, she shuddered to think what would happen to the business if some of Quinn’s political friends got ahold of it.

Too bad her gut told her Jace Stevens was about to do exactly what she’d warned him not to do. If he did, Felicity planned to be there to stop him.