Free In Harm's Way (Heroes of Quantico Series, Book 3) by Irene Hannon Page A

leak. He wanted to find
out more about the intriguing woman an arm's length away. Although she'd spoken about her background in a conversational,
straightforward manner, the kind of trauma she'd endured must
have taken a toll. Yet it didn't show. Rachel Sutton radiated a
quiet, steady strength, suggesting she'd weathered the storms
in her life admirably. Far better, he suspected, than he had. A
dozen questions clamored to be asked. But a personal discussion
wasn't the purpose of his visit tonight.
    Leaning forward, he clasped his hands between his knees and
concentrated on the matter at hand. "If you didn't tell anyone
else, I think your friend is the key."
    Rachel shook her head. "I don't buy that. The only time she and
Joe talked about it was when they went to dinner last Thursday,
and she said he agreed to keep it confidential:"
    "They were in a restaurant?"
    "Yes"
    "It's not difficult to eavesdrop in a public place:"
    I suppose that's true, but the odds of someone in the media
just happening to sit close enough to hear their conversation
seem very low'
    "Stranger things have happened. A lot of the tips we get are the result of people being in the right place at the right time.
What restaurant did they go to?"

    "I'm not sure. I could find out from her on Monday."
    "How about tonight? I can ask the restaurant to check the
credit card receipts from last Thursday and see if any of them
belonged to Claudia Barnes. That could tell us how the leak
happened. I'd rather nail this sooner than later"
    "Sure. I can give her a call. With two kids under six, they're
spending Valentine's Day watching an animated video:" Flashing
him a quick grin, Rachel rose. "Give me a couple of minutes"
    True to her word, she was back in less than ninety seconds and
relayed the information. "If there is a match, is there anything
I can do to stop the story?"
    Nick wished there was. From the little she'd told him about
her past, it sounded like Rachel had endured far more than her
share of difficulties. "I'd like to say yes, but the answer is not
much. Freedom of the press and all that. Unfortunately, St. Louis
Scene leans toward the more sensational stuff. They've called our
media relations office in the past, trying to dig up information for
crime-related stories, and despite our `no comment' response,
they tend to do the pieces anyway. A lot of what they write is
speculation and conjecture, but they're careful to couch their
coverage in those terms rather than present it as fact. Or they
get quotes from pseudo experts or friends of victims. That buys
them a lot of wiggle room:'
    Distress tightened Rachel's features. "In other words, I'm out
of luck"
    "Unless they decide not to run the story based on your unwillingness to cooperate"
    "The reporter seemed very determined. I got the feeling she's
not going to back down" Her shoulders slumped.
    Nick tried to think of some way to console her. "Look at it
this way, Ms. Sutton. Most people who know about or read St. Louis Scene are aware of its reputation. I think readers take
the coverage with a grain of salt. And the publication doesn't
have a huge circulation. It's pretty much under the radar screen
for the average St. Louisan. I suspect most of the people you
associate with aren't the type who waste their time on that sort
of tabloid. The coverage is also very fleeting. A week after it
comes out, it will be old news:'

    Rachel's tense posture eased slightly, and the hint of a smile
touched those soft lips. "Thanks for trying to put a better spin
on this"
    "Everything I said is true. But just to satisfy our curiosity,
I'll check with the restaurant tomorrow morning and let you
know what I find"
    "I appreciate that"
    His business was finished. It was time to leave. But Nick didn't
move. Nor did Rachel.
    In the sudden stillness, she ran the tip of her tongue over
her lips in a gesture he'd come to recognize as nothing more
than a nervous habit. Yet it