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just as the other team members are. He’s moving us into position.”
    “And yet you’re still willing to go to Houston.” Crest said his words as a statement rather than a question. “You’re nevertheless going to do what Ryland wants you to do.”
    “Are you saying I shouldn’t go?” Taryn asked, surprised that Crest would feel that way. “You can’t sit there and say that you wouldn’t if you were in my position.”
    “Of course I would. That goes without saying.” Crest rested a hand on his knee and a glint of light shined off of his Marine Corps emblem ring that she knew he’d personally had handcrafted out of white gold. The eagle, globe, and anchor gave credence to his time served and the pride he felt for having served his country. Taking Ryland down would be another notch on his belt, but it was a needed one. “We just need to keep one step ahead, which is why I brought Fallon in. She can draw up an adjusted profile so that we can get a bead on Ryland. We need to know what makes him tick in order to cut the right wire.”
    “I wouldn’t mind letting Ryland implode,” Taryn muttered, suddenly feeling as tired as Ethan obviously was. Again she wondered what Fallon had wanted to speak with him about. Taryn waved a hand toward her makeshift desk. “Do we have anything outstanding that I need to do before Ethan and I leave tomorrow? I know you have a secondary technical team from the Bureau that you’re going to use, but they like to follow protocol.”
    Crest stood up and shook his head, apparently not wanting to know all the little back doors and holes that Taryn used when absolutely needed. She covered her tracks well and always made sure that the trail didn’t lead back to CSA. Sometimes rules were made to be broken. It could tilt the battleground in their favor and that was essential in their dealings with Ryland.
    “Taryn, I hired you because you’re the best at what you do. I don’t need to know the details.” Crest made his way to the door. “We’ll keep working on our end, but I want you and Ethan to stay in touch twice a day. That’s an order that I expect you to follow or I’ll yank both of your asses back here, regardless if you’ve found the information that you’re looking for or not. Understood?”
    “Understood.”
    Taryn breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally alone. She quickly grabbed one of her various notebooks and turned it to a blank page. She wrote her father’s name on the top of the sheet, underlining it twice. Penning in the family tree, she also included her aunt and several cousins. It would be easy to seek them out, although Taryn couldn’t remember the last time she spoke with that side of the family. It had to be at her father’s funeral. Trying to remember that day, she couldn’t recall anyone mentioning anything about another woman or a child.
    Her mother Sharon had been born and raised in Wisconsin. Taryn’s parents had met while Sharon had been on vacation with her family. The two of them had been in their early twenties, so it was doubtful that her mom would remember any of George’s friends. That didn’t mean Taryn wouldn’t follow up, but the one person who would be able to recall that far in the past was her Aunt Lisa.
    “You know something, don’t you,” Taryn said softly as she circled her aunt’s name. The woman had always run with the more elite crowd, thinking she was too good for the likes of their blue collar family. Taryn’s grandparents had long since passed and George and Aunt Lisa had only kept in touch at the holidays. Was there more to the family separation than social status? “I’ll find out, one way or the other.”

Chapter Three

    “S o what did Fallon want to talk to you about?” Taryn asked, sitting in the passenger side of her Pathfinder. She refused to drive in Ethan’s POS when they could ride in the comfort of her vehicle. They always argued over who would drive and she always caved. Truthfully, she’d