Jerrica drew in a breath and almost plowed into Gray’s back. She dropped to a crouch and put her hand behind her to grab Amit’s ankle.
The wheels on one of the chairs squeaked as it spun around, and then a smooth, low voice drilled through the hum of the computers. “Don’t shoot. I own the place.”
Jerrica dropped to her knees in relief and peeked out from behind Gray’s broad frame. She choked. “Olaf.”
Gray’s back stiffened. He stepped to the side but didn’t lower his weapon. “This is the world-famous Olaf?”
Amit stamped his feet behind her. “My God. I almost tumbled backward down the stairs.”
“You don’t need any more injuries, my boy. Come in and rest your bones.” Olaf flicked the end of his long scarf at Gray. “You can put the gun away.”
Gray shoved the gun back in his jacket, but Jerrica could see his hand in his pocket still holding it.
She scrambled to her feet and crossed the room in three long strides, hitching her purse over her shoulder. Olaf stood to greet her, wrapping her in a bear hug, the scent of his favorite tobacco engulfing her.
“What are you doing here? Is it safe for you?”
“Apparently, it’s not safe for you.” He pinched her shoulders and set her away from him as his eyes narrowed. “You’re traveling with an armed body guard now?”
Turning, Jerrica reached out a hand to Gray. “I’m sorry. This is Gray Prescott. Gray, this is Olaf, Dreadworm’s founder.”
Gray’s jaw visibly tensed, and for a few seconds Jerrica feared the two men would have a standoff, neither approaching the other.
Gray’s gaze flicked toward her, and then he made the first move. He approached Olaf as if staking out a poisonous snake, but he held out his hand, the one that had previously been fondling his gun.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in hiding?”
Olaf’s icy blue eyes crinkled at the corners, but his lips tightened briefly. “I had to come back to rescue my empire, it would seem. One of my New York team dead, one on the run, one beaten and one...stalked.”
“Not much of an empire.” Gray gave Olaf’s hand one last squeeze before he released it, almost tossing it away.
“Ah, you’re the Delta Force boyfriend—the one who left Jerrica in the lurch.”
Jerrica forced a laugh from her throat. “That’s ridiculous. I wasn’t in any lurch, and Gray has been our savior these past few days.”
“I’ll second that.” Amit hobbled past the three of them and sank into a chair. “In fact, we just came to the office so I could pick up my fake ID.”
“Heading out of town, Amit?” Olaf wrapped his scarf around one hand.
He always had liked to dress dramatically, but Jerrica couldn’t help feeling his flamboyance was inappropriate right now. Although technically no longer hiding outside of the country, he still needed to hide.
Jerrica stepped between Amit and Olaf. “Amit is on his way out, but even we don’t know where. I figure it’s best if we all just keep ourselves to ourselves right now.”
Gray had made a sharp move behind her, and she ducked toward Amit’s desk drawer to avoid Gray’s stare drilling the back of her head.
Amit coughed and grabbed his ribs. “Yeah, totally incognito. Isn’t that what you always taught us? I don’t plan to show anyone my ID, either, except at the airport.”
“Which is where?” Jerrica tugged on the locked drawer.
“It’s not in there.” Amit struggled to his feet and crossed to the bathroom in the corner. “Give me a little credit. I’m not that obvious. I had instructions to keep it in a secret location, and that’s exactly what I did.”
Amit emerged from the bathroom with nothing in his hands. Wherever he’d stashed his ID, he now had it concealed on his person. He’d picked up on her direction quickly. She’d never realized how completely she could count on Amit—and now he was leaving.
Amit clapped Olaf on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you again, Olaf, but I have to run. I’m a programmer, a hacker. I’m not cut out for danger. I can work on...other things while I’m away. I’ll leave the super-secret stuff to Jerrica.”
“Where are you staying, Olaf?” Jerrica slipped one strap of her backpack over her shoulder.
“In the spirit of secrecy, I’m going to keep that to myself...for now. Just know I’m safe, and I’ll help you as much as I can with this current situation.” His light-colored eyes, which gave him an otherworldly look, shifted briefly to Gray. “Can you tell me any more about what you’ve found in that database?”
The air in the room stilled and if a paperclip had dropped to the floor right then, it would have sounded like a lead weight.
Jerrica shook her head. “Nothing yet, but someone out there thinks we’re onto something—and it must be pretty important.”
“Deadly important. It’s the database itself and the fact that you breached it...good work.” Olaf aimed a tight smile at Gray. “At least some of us think this is good work.”
Gray finally moved after holding himself in a tense bundle ever since entering the room. “We have to get Amit to the airport.”
“We do, Olaf.” Jerrica leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad you’re here, but you’ll have to tell me later why and how. If the Feds get wind of your presence, they’ll pick you up in a flash.”
“They aren’t going to get wind of anything. You’re the only ones who know I’m here, the only ones who have seen me without my disguise.” He squeezed her hand. “We’ll talk later and catch up...on everything. Regular channels, my dear.”
“Got it.” Jerrica took Amit’s arm. “Be careful, Olaf. You have no idea what we’ve been dealing with here.”
Gray dipped his head once in Olaf’s direction. “Don’t do anything to put Jerrica in further danger.”
“Seems like you’ve done a fine job of that already, Lieutenant Prescott.”
Clenching his fists at his side, Gray took a step toward Olaf.
Amit put a hand on Gray’s chest. “Are you going to help me get out of this city or what?”
Jerrica swallowed. “Let’s go.”
The three of them left the Dreadworm office in silence, and walked a few blocks before Jerrica ordered a car to take them to the airport.
As Gray stood on the curb, he folded his arms and hunched his shoulders. “So, that’s Olaf. Why didn’t you tell him everything? Why didn’t you tell him Amit was going to Boston?”
“I’m not sure.” Jerrica swung her foot off the curb and tapped the heel of her boot against it on the back swing.
Gray lifted one eyebrow. “You finally believe me about Cedar’s message?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t feel right to tell Olaf everything.” She poked Amit’s arm. “I’m glad you didn’t reveal your ID to him...or us.”
Amit replied. “I agree. Something doesn’t feel right. Why is he here? He knows if he steps foot in this country, he’s subject to immediate arrest.”
“Maybe what you two are onto is too big for him to pass up. Maybe he wants the credit himself.” Gray nudged her shoulder. “Is that the car?”
“It is.” She picked up Amit’s bag and handed it to him. “That doesn’t make sense, Gray. No one hacker gets credit for a data breach. It’s all Dreadworm. We’re all Dreadworm.”
Gray waved at the oncoming sedan. “And right now, that’s not a good thing to be.”
THEY SAW AMIT safely to the airport and returned to her apartment. As they went through the basement door, Jerrica shook her head at the remnants of chalk dust.
“I don’t think Cedar is coming back, but if he never planned to follow up, I wish he hadn’t left such a cryptic message.” She hooked her thumbs in the front pockets of her jeans, feigning a nonchalance she didn’t exactly feel.
With the door closed behind them, Gray turned to her in the stairwell. “Do you really think it was cryptic? Something about Cedar’s message must’ve rung a bell with you. You weren’t exactly forthcoming with Olaf when you saw him at Dreadworm...or that surprised to see him.”
She flattened a hand against her chest. “I didn’t know he was coming back, if that’s what you mean, and something about that message did make me uneasy. It’s Olaf. What else could it mean except that he’s involved somehow?”
After they entered her apartment, Gray pulled his suitcase toward the stairs. “I’m going to shower and put on some clean clothes. I’m sick of this shirt.”
“I kinda like it.” She looked him up and down. “Now that we have everything translated, I’m going to take a crack at the code, or at least see if there’s some kind of program I can write to decipher it.”
As Gray trudged up the stairs with his suitcase in tow, Jerrica released a long sigh. The tension between him and Olaf had set her on edge, but had Gray acted any differently toward Olaf her boss might have been more suspicious than usual.
Olaf knew Gray’s family background, knew Gray held him and Dreadworm in low esteem. Olaf hadn’t seemed surprised to see Gray at her side, although neither she nor Amit had revealed to Olaf the nature of the data they’d uncovered. As far as Olaf knew, she and Amit had stumbled onto a dark database linked to the government’s information banks, suggesting a government employee had access to set something up on the sly. They hadn’t told Olaf about Major Denver or even about the terrorist plot.
Now she was keeping secrets from both Olaf and Gray.
She swept her laptop from the counter and settled on the sofa, tucking one leg beneath her and balancing the computer on her knee. She studied the messages back and forth, discussions of mundane office work but obviously filled with code words—words that stood for something else—much like the codes Dreadworm used on the TV message boards.
Their codes on the fan sites had been predetermined between them on the phone—no way to track down any key. Had these people done the same? Most likely. They wouldn’t want to leave a blueprint to deciphering their communications.
“That feels better.” Gray jumped from the last step, spreading his arms. “You can come in for a hug now that I’m not wearing the same shirt.”
She lifted her laptop. “Love to, but I’m otherwise engaged.”
He sat beside her and flicked a strand of hair from her neck. “Are you going to be ready to head to my parents’ place in DC?”
“You contacted them?”
“I did. I figured if we’re going to stop this thing, we need to be closer to the halls of power.”
“Are you going to tell your father what we know so far? It would be good to get someone in government on our side, someone who could make discreet inquiries in the right quarters, someone who can help decode what we have.”
“Once we do turn it over, you’ll be safe.”
“Unless I’m arrested.”
Rubbing a circle on her back, he said, “I’m not going to let that happen. I’d like to tell my father what we know without telling him how we know it.”
She drummed her fingertips on her chest. “You can blame it all on me.”
“I’m not going to do that.” He ran a knuckle along the edge of her collarbone. “I want to introduce you to them as my girlfriend, not a Dreadworm hacker.”
A little thrill ran down her back. “Are you sure? You told them about me before, and they were not encouraging. I guess they don’t want Jimmy James as an in-law.”
“They weren’t encouraging because they hadn’t met you. And your father died almost ten years ago.” He caressed the indentation on her throat with his thumb.
She swallowed. “You have to be sure, Gray. I don’t want you thinking this is some sexy adventure where we’ll catch the bad guys together and then, when we go back to our regular lives, you’re stuck with the hacker girl.”
“But I love the hacker girl.” He cupped her face with the palm of his hand. “I don’t think I can live without the hacker girl. Tried it—didn’t like it.”
Her nose tingled and the words on the screen blurred in front of her. “What if your family hates me?”
“Impossible.”
“’Cuz I’m not changing to gain their approval.” She swiped her hand beneath her nose.
“Do I look like the kind of guy who needs parental approval for my dates?” He squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest.
“So, you’re bringing me home to, what? Prove to your parents that you won’t toe the line?”
He grunted, snatched the laptop from her leg and shoved it onto the coffee table. Then he pulled her into his lap, forcing her to straddle him. He took her face in his hands and kissed her so thoroughly, all thoughts of code, Olaf, her father and his parents fled to the hazy corners of her mind.
When she came up for air, she traced the line of his jaw with her finger. “You look like the kind of guy who would protect me at all costs and damn the torpedoes.”
“And don’t you forget that—ever. I’m never going to let you down again, Jerrica.”
Her cheeks caught fire, and she shifted off his lap and scooped up the computer. “I just started working on inputting similar words in this program—names, places, numbers. I think I can get somewhere with this.”
He tilted his head, and she could feel his eyes boring into the side of her face. Would he feel so protective of her if he knew the truth about her father?
She had to come clean. He’d just told her he loved her, and she couldn’t say it back even though she wanted to...and did with all her heart.
She had to break this code and save Major Denver for him. Then maybe nothing she had to confess would change his mind about her. He’d be so indebted to her, he’d forgive her anything.
“If anyone can do it, you can.” His hand skimmed down her back. “While you’re working on that, I’ll see about getting my parents’ private jet up here to take us down to DC.”
“Really?” Her fingers paused over the keyboard. “Do you think it’s necessary? Amit flew under his fake ID because he didn’t have his own personal bodyguard. As long as you’re with me, I think I’ll be okay.”
“You weren’t okay in that alley behind the coffeehouse. You weren’t okay in the park. Besides, it’s easier this way, and my parents will insist when they realize I’m bringing my girlfriend home.” He shrugged. “They like to show off, and they’ll want to make a good impression on you.”
“Even Jimmy James’ daughter?” She wrinkled her nose. “Make sure they know I have beaucoup bucks of my own, and that I’m not interested in you for your money.”
“Already told them all about your multi-million-dollar settlement from the government when we were together before. Believe me, the minute I mentioned your name my father probably had a background check done on you.”
“That’s exactly the kind of thing Dreadworm fights against—government intrusion into our lives.” She ground her back teeth.
“I know. I don’t care if you and my parents agree on anything, just that you don’t kill each other.” He kissed the side of her head. “I’m going to work on our transportation, and then we should think about dinner.”
Gray left her to her own tortured thoughts and the repetitive work of scanning the coded messages, finding similar words and plucking them from the text—a perfect complement to those tortured thoughts.
She jumped when Gray placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry, hacker girl. Did I scare you?”
“Can you blame me for being on edge?”
His fingers dug into her flesh briefly. “Is that what it is? Stress? You’re up and down, back and forth.”
“I’m all right.” She toyed with his fingers resting on her shoulder. “I couldn’t do this without you here, Gray.”
“I couldn’t do this—” he flicked his fingers at her computer screen “—without you. And I can’t do any of it without food. Let’s go out and get something to eat.”
“Do you think it’s safe?” She slid her laptop onto the sofa cushion and stretched her arms above her head, reaching for the ceiling.
“They haven’t been able to track us out of this apartment yet. I don’t know if they gave up...or they’re planning something else. Does Olaf know where you live?”
“Yes, he does.”
“Did Kiera?”
“No.” She craned her head around to look at his face. “What are you getting at?”
“These people located you before Amit showed up on your doorstep. They were squeezing info out of Kiera, but they couldn’t have gotten your address out of her because she didn’t know it. They didn’t get it from Cedar.”
“How do you know they didn’t get it from Cedar? Maybe they followed him here.” She rubbed the edge of the tattoo that snaked onto her wrist.
“If they’d done that, they would’ve been waiting for us in that alley a long time ago. So, where’d they get your address?”
“Maybe it is Olaf.” She raked a hand through her hair. “But we’re back to the motive. Why would Olaf betray the people in his own organization? This type of database, it’s Dreadworm’s lifeblood. I don’t know why he’d jeopardize it.”
“Is it Dreadworm’s lifeblood? What you and Amit are working on will blow the cover off a covert operation. Covert. This is not government-sanctioned. Dreadworm likes to stick it to the Feds.”
“Is that what you believe?” She chewed on her bottom lip. No wonder Dreadworm was a sore spot for Gray.
“Of course it’s what I believe.” He swept an arm through the air. “You have blinders on, Jerrica. Olaf has brainwashed you.”
A knot twisted in her gut. “That’s ridiculous. You know why I don’t trust the government.”
“I do, and I understand that, but what we’re dealing with now has nothing to do with the government. It’s anti-government. These are rogue operatives within the government, using their positions of power to cause chaos, disrupt our foreign policy, perhaps forge alliances with our enemies.”
“I don’t want that, Gray. I really, really don’t.” She yanked on the sleeve of his shirt. “You don’t believe that of me, do you?”
“No. I just don’t want you to trust Olaf—and it’s not because I’m jealous of the influence he has over you.”
“Influence.” She swept her tongue across her bottom lip. “It’s not influence. H-he’s my boss.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay. Whatever you say. Let’s eat.”
With Amit gone, Jerrica secured her laptop beneath the floorboards in the spare room and grabbed her purse from the back of a chair. “I’m not sure we need jackets. It’s starting to warm up.”
Gray stuffed his arms into his and patted a pocket. “I’d wear it if it were a hundred degrees out there. Easier to carry my weapon.”
She led the way down to the basement, and they slipped into the alley. This time, they shot across the alley and ducked between two buildings to make their way out to a different street. Each time they had used a different route. If someone circled her building around to the back, they’d find an exit door on the side of the building but only the building next to hers had a door to the alley, and nobody would know to watch that door unless he or she knew about the connection between the two buildings.
This time they exited onto the street next to a dry cleaner.
“Someplace nearby?” Gray took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers as he glanced over his shoulder.
“There’s a Mediterranean place about three blocks down. Sound okay?”
“As long as I can get some meat.” They walked for a couple of minutes, then he steered her close to a building to get out of the stream of pedestrian traffic and leaned over to tie his shoe...which was already tied.
“What do you see?” She pressed her shoulders against the brick wall, her knees suddenly weak.
“A guy who’s been behind us for a block—meandering but always following our path. He just ducked into a shop.”
“What does he look like?” Jerrica slid her gaze to the left without moving her head.
“Medium height, baseball cap, jeans, Chucks.”
As Gray straightened to his full height, Jerrica pushed off the wall. “What kind of baseball cap? What team?”
Gray jerked his head to the side. “I can’t tell from this distance—dark color, blue maybe. Why?”
“Cedar’s signature is a Dodgers baseball cap.”
“He might be following us to talk to us...or kill us.” Gray took her arm and steered her through the crowd.
“That wouldn’t be easy if we’re in a crowded restaurant.” She bumped his shoulder. “Besides, if he’s warning me about Olaf, I don’t think Cedar is working with him.”
“And if it’s not Cedar, someone else is following us.” Gray brushed some imaginary debris from his shoulder and twisted his head, peering behind them. “Dodgers.”
“It’s Cedar. Too much of a coincidence.” Jerrica wiped her sweaty palms on the thighs of her black pants. “He’s not going to approach us out here, so let’s keep walking and leave the ball in his court.”
“He’d better not make any suspicious moves—or any more suspicious moves—than he has already.” Gray released her hand and stuck his own in the pocket of his jacket. “Why doesn’t he contact you through the normal channels?”
“He heard what happened to Kiera. He probably thinks someone compromised our mode of communication.”
“Someone or Olaf?”
“I guess he’ll tell us, won’t he?” She tipped her head in Cedar’s general direction. “Or he’s following us to see if anyone else is following us.”
“You’re giving me a headache. How much farther is this restaurant?”
“A half a block up and to the right.”
They trudged on in silence, Gray throwing discreet glances behind them every few seconds to keep tabs on Cedar. “He’s still with us.”
“Just as long as nobody else is.” She poked his ribs. “You’ve been so fixated on Cedar, have you been paying attention to the rest of our surroundings? We don’t have any other tails, do we?”
“That’s why Cedar stuck out. I’ve been scanning behind us ever since we popped out from between those two buildings. We’re still good. Like I said before, maybe they gave up getting to you outside your apartment.”
They turned the corner, and Jerrica plucked at Gray’s sleeve. “It’s up there, on the right, blue awning.”
Gray opened the door for her, and she stepped into the noise. Someone would have to be bold to take a shot at them in here—or try to abduct her. Maybe they could enjoy a meal in peace—at least until Cedar got here.
Would he really point the finger at Olaf? She couldn’t believe Olaf would ever hurt her, but she hadn’t been hurt. That man in the alley had had ample opportunity to knife her. The guy in Washington Square Park had had a clear shot at her. She’d escaped both times, thanks to Gray. But if Gray hadn’t been there, would she be dead right now or secreted away somewhere?
She even had an idea of where. She shivered, and Gray entwined his fingers with hers.
He asked, “Are you all right?”
“Hungry and tired. I’ll be fine.”
The host showed them to a table near the bar. “Is this okay?”
“Yes.” Gray pulled out a chair for her and then took the seat facing the door, his back to the bar.
Jerrica leaned in. “You’re watching for Cedar?”
“I wanna see his demeanor when he comes through that door. I wanna see his hands.”
She ran her tongue around the inside of her dry mouth. “I hope, for his sake, he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“You and me both.”
Cedar took his time getting there. She and Gray got water, tea and pita bread, and had placed their order before Gray’s eyes narrowed.
Jerrica swiveled her head to the side and watched Cedar, his Dodgers baseball cap pulled low on his forehead, navigate his way through the tables on his way to the bar. His hands swung freely at his sides, and he never even glanced their way.
“So far, so good.” Gray’s eye twitched and he took a gulp of water from his glass. “What’s his plan?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, but as long as he doesn’t pull out a knife, a gun or a needle, I’m good.”
“A needle?” Gray’s eyebrows shot up to his tousled hair.
“I think that’s how they poisoned Russell. How else? He’d been at school all day. Someone bumped into him and did something—needle, skin poison.”
“All Cedar has is a beer.”
Jerrica glanced up as the bartender placed a mug in front of Cedar, who then crooked his finger at a waitress. Jerrica dropped her gaze to her iced tea, stirring it with her straw.
Her cautious coworker wanted to keep their connection a secret. Who was she to blow his cover?
When their food came, Jerrica pointed her fork at Gray’s lamb kebab. “Let me know what you think.”
A waitress approached their table with two beers and tossed down a couple of cocktail napkins. “Compliments of your friend at the bar, but he doesn’t want any thanks. That’s what he told me to say, anyway.”
“Okay, well, thank you, then.” Gray curled his fingers around the handle and raised the glass to her before she turned away.
“What does this mean?” Jerrica flicked some foam from the top of the mug.
“The waitress placed an extra napkin on the table, right in front of you.” Gray tapped it with his finger. “Take a look at it.”
Jerrica pinched the edge of the napkin and turned it over. A black scrawl covered the square. She smoothed her thumb across the paper and read aloud in a low voice. “Be careful. Olaf is back. He must be the one who outed Kiera, all of us. I was being followed.”
Jerrica’s heart fluttered in her chest, and she gulped in a few breaths. “I’m going to reply.”
“Go ahead. He’s still at the bar.”
Jerrica dipped her hand into her purse, pulled out a pen and put the point to the napkin. It scratched the paper. She shook the pen. “No ink.”
She dropped the pen on the table and dug through her purse for another. “This one works. What should I write?”
“Ask him how he knows it’s Olaf and why?”
Jerrica scribbled the questions on the napkin and asked their waiter to send over the cocktail waitress.
When the waitress arrived, Jerrica crumpled the napkin in her hand. “Can you please take this back to the bar?”
The waitress rolled her eyes, but she took the napkin from Jerrica and walked back to the bar with her empty tray. She dropped the balled-up paper in front of Cedar and returned to work.
Jerrica tried to concentrate on her food, but her stomach churned. Why would Olaf betray them? It didn’t make sense. Had these people bought him off, or had Dreadworm always put their interests first? The thought sickened her even more. She pressed a hand against her belly.
“What’s wrong?” Gray shoved a water glass toward her. “You look green.”
“I don’t feel well.” She scooted her chair away from the table. “Watch for Cedar’s reply. I’m going to the ladies’ room.”
Gray stood up when she did, his gaze scanning the room.
“It’s okay.” She patted his arm. “We know we weren’t followed—except by Cedar. I’m just humoring him because I know what it’s like to be in a state of paranoia.”
She threaded her way through the tables to the hallway to the left of the bar. When she reached the restroom, she went into one of the stalls. At the table, she’d felt nauseous, but getting up and moving had helped. As she ripped off a short length of toilet paper to blow her nose, someone entered the bathroom and she leaned to the side to peer beneath the stall door.
A pair of sensible low-heeled shoes planted themselves in front of the vanity, and Jerrica eased out a breath.
She blew her nose and dropped the tissue into the toilet. As she exited the stall, she traded gazes in the mirror with a middle-aged woman washing her hands.
The woman smiled and rinsed her hands while Jerrica pumped the soap dispenser at the sink next to her.
The woman passed behind her on her way to the paper towels, and Jerrica felt a sharp stab in her side.
As she gasped and spun around, she raised her fist to bash the woman in the face but her limbs turned to warm jelly.
The woman’s smile broadened as Jerrica slid to the floor.