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reliable officers acting out of character. It happens, especially when sex is involved.”
    “Normally, sir, I’d agree with that—if it were two other people.” Before Alex could interrupt, Cantore continued, “But it’s more than personalities. Captain Montgomery was worried about Captain Thomas while we were out in the field. He told me something had her scared and that he’d asked Captain Hunter to watch out for her while we were gone.”
    Alex went still. “Did he tell you what had her alarmed?”
    “Marsh didn’t know, Colonel. That was part of what had him so antsy to get back to the city. Captain Thomas doesn’t frighten easily. If something had her worried, it was big.”
    Instead of responding, Alex studied the man standing in front of his desk. Cantore needed a haircut and a shave too, but the fact that he was the chief warrant officer of a Special Forces team said a lot. And despite what Alex had said about the men being a disgrace, it was far from true. Montgomery had a topnotch group and their records were exemplary. The only point that had him hesitating was Cantore’s obvious need to protect his captain. He might be exaggerating the situation.
    “There’s one more thing, Colonel.”
    Alex returned his attention to the chief and waited.
    “Yesterday evening, I was sitting on Marsh’s front porch. As I was waiting to talk to him, I saw Captain Thomas hurry by and she was headed east. When I told my captain that, he muttered a curse and took off after her. I haven’t seen him since then, and neither has anyone else we’ve asked.”
    With a scowl, Alex considered what the chief had said. First point was that Montgomery’s team had been doing their own investigation into their captain’s disappearance. He wasn’t surprised by that—these men were obviously a close-knit group—but he didn’t like it. The second thing undermined the chief’s position, though he clearly didn’t believe it would. Montgomery had taken off after Thomas and disappeared. It definitely sounded as if he’d hooked up with her and gotten lucky.
    “Anything else to add, Chief Cantore?”
    Alex didn’t miss the way the man’s jaw tightened. He’d figured out that his arguments hadn’t swayed Alex’s opinion. “No, sir,” Cantore said brusquely.
    “Then you can join your men at the barber. I want all of you in my anteroom at oh eight hundred; that hasn’t changed.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Dismissed.” The noncom saluted and pivoted to leave. “Chief, if you or your men find any evidence as to the whereabouts of either Captain Montgomery or Captain Thomas, I expect to be informed. Understood?”
    “Yes, sir,” the man gritted out tightly.
    The door closed with a snap behind the chief, but not hard enough for Alex to take issue with it. His lips quirked. Expressing disapproval that subtly took skill.
    A knock wiped the smirk off his face. “Enter.”
    Sergeant Foster walked in with a handheld computer. The tablet was wafer thin and lightweight but still a powerful machine. “Sir, HQ is having a tech glitch—they can’t transmit. They had this tablet with Captain Thomas’s file brought over for you.”
    “Thanks, Sergeant,” Alex said, taking the computer and placing it square on the blotter atop his desk. “That’ll be all.”
    After his aide exited, Alex fired up the tablet. The first thing he saw as the screen lit up was an image of Thomas. His heart rate doubled.
    But sir, it’s important.
    Son of a bitch. Maybe it really had been important. She’d chased after him and hadn’t backed down until he’d practically taken off her head. Now he had to give some credence to Cantore’s insistence that the two captains weren’t off screwing each other’s brains out.
    Alex pinched the bridge of his nose and stared at the girl’s picture. Shit. He might have been the last person to see Captain Kendall Thomas before she disappeared.
    *** *** ***
     
    Alex dragged his feet as he walked down the