Another gun dealer dropped.
Fire ceased.
Evan breathed heavy, listening. It remained quiet. “Could be waiting. Could have run when they realized we had backup.”
“Question is,” Terry asked, “did they know we were law enforcement, or had they planned all along to clip us and take the cash and guns?”
“Good question,” Evan replied. Or had one of his own blabbed to take Evan out? The bullets had stayed heavy on him.
A whistle sounded.
Linn turned. “That’s Wallace from ATF. Coast is clear.”
But was it? Evan couldn’t trust anyone. Wilder and Jody wouldn’t make themselves known. His phone buzzed and he checked his text. From Jody.
The coast was clear.
Evan and the rest of his task force met up at the SUV. Everyone shared a theory. Terry returned to the group, shaking his head. “Six dead. A couple of them were carrying IDs.”
“Can’t be sure they’re real. Probably aren’t,” Evan said.
Terry handed the two wallets to Evan. “No, probably not. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get a hit in the database on one or all of these aliases, and that can give us a lead to the name of the gun dealer or the people who made these identities for them.”
Good point. Surely Terry wasn’t a dirty agent.
“Let’s call this mess in. Get some techs out here. Coroner. I’m really looking forward to all the paperwork.” Terry’s sarcasm garnered a chuckle from the other agents.
Linn paused. “If they knew we were busting them...how’d they find out? Nobody on the Arsenal site would have a way of tracing our usernames to our real identities.”
Linn had hit the nail on the head. No one spoke—no need.
One of them had tipped off the gun dealers.
* * *
By midnight Evan, Jody and Wilder sat at the kitchen table with cups of coffee. Jody looked irritated.
“I wish we knew for sure if they’d planned to flip the deal upside down or if they’d been notified you were all agents. It’d make a big difference in our investigation.”
If one of the shooters had made it out alive they could have questioned him. If only they’d caught the few that fled. Maybe the morning would bring a new lead. They’d get back online with their usernames, but they might be compromised now. Evan raked his hand through his hair. “I’m going to try to get a few hours of shut-eye. You should do the same.”
At eight thirty the next morning his phone rang.
Zoey Wyatt. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and answered through a thick fog of exhaustion. “Zoey. What’s going on?”
“Hey, Evan. Look—” her voice was low “—I’m at the office. You can’t come in.”
“What? I plan to be there around nine. We had a late night last—”
“No, you don’t understand. You’re going to be arrested,” she whispered frantically.
That woke him up. Evan sat straight up in bed. “What? Why?”
“It’s all over the office...and the news.” Zoey sounded like she might cry.
Evan turned on the TV to the national news and watched in horror. He’d been implicated in taking money in exchange for tipping off gun dealers in a sting operation. “This is ridiculous! Get me Layla.” She already had files pulled and he needed her quick fingers ASAP.
“She hasn’t come in yet this morning.”
Evan wasn’t sure he believed that. She was usually in by eight sharp. “How did this leak?”
“Anonymous tip to Channel 10, and then SAC Bevin had your emails checked after they contacted him for a statement. They found an exchange between you and the gun dealers, using your username. Five hundred grand is what they say you requested to give them the information about the setup and task force. There’s an offshore bank account with your name on it, Evan. You got to get out of Dodge. Fast.”
A fugitive? He could explain. Though sharing the truth now only looked like a weak attempt to get out of this mess. He snatched his laptop and checked his emails. There it was. An exchange with the gun dealers.
Anyone who knew him would know he’d never do this. And be sloppy about it? Clearly, he was being framed.
It hit him that it wouldn’t matter. They’d arrest him until he could be cleared. But he couldn’t aid the investigation locked up in a cell. Someone was playing a nasty game. And doing a good job of ruining his reputation, his career, his integrity.
Reality struck him. This is what had happened to Jody in Afghanistan. What he’d done to her only a few short years later.
“Thanks, Zoey. Don’t call me again. I don’t want to get you in trouble.” He hung up and flew to the living room. Jody and Wilder stood watching the TV.
“We have to get you somewhere safe.” Jody pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’ve escaped another attempt on your life, and I can’t help but think that this is a direct response to you dodging yet another bullet. If they arrest you, then there’s a much better chance that you won’t escape a hit in a prison cell.”
Evan sank on the couch. Jody was right. He was being boxed in to be taken down.
“Five minutes,” Jody said. “That’s all you have, if that. I’m not sure why they haven’t already descended on the place.”
“You can’t harbor a fugitive.”
“You let us worry about that,” Wilder said.
“You’re down to four minutes, Evan. Go.” Jody wouldn’t budge. Fire flashed in her eyes and Evan ran to his room to grab what he could.
How was he going to prove his innocence?
* * *
Jody paced in front of the fireplace at CCM. They’d gotten Evan out of his house in the nick of time, but it wouldn’t be long before authorities came knocking. They’d connect the dots. Evan had been in communication with CCM for the rally and that dot would connect to Jody on a personal level, especially since they’d been seen together at the basketball game and had publicly acknowledged they were “dating.”
The probability of the same person hacking her phone and Evan’s emails was high. This person would have to have some knowledge of their past or it made no sense. Whoever it was had skills. The emails and the text had looked legit. They had to find a way to stop him, but running from criminals and now the law wasn’t making it easy.
Which might very well be the plan of the sinister mind behind this.
Getting Evan to a safe house off the grid was imperative. They could uncover the truth if they had the time to search, which was what Evan had been doing for the past two hours. Frustration lined his brow. He must be hitting walls. But he wouldn’t stop, not even to touch his food or to drink a cup of coffee. Snatching his phone, he vigorously scrolled through it.
“Evan?”
He glanced up as if he’d forgotten where he was. “Yeah?”
“Can your phone be tracked? They can get the geolocation. I even know that much.” She flicked her middle nail with her thumb.
“I’ve encrypted it. It’s safe.” Thanks to consistent hand-raking, his hair poked out like he’d woken from a fitful sleep. Without an opportunity to shave, dark stubble blanketed his cheeks and chin, giving him a rugged appearance.
“You need to eat something.”
“Not hungry.”
“I don’t care.” She strode from the parlor into the kitchen and made him a turkey on rye—his favorite. Laying it in front of him with a bottle of water, she cocked a hip on the table, staring him down.
“I know that look.” He took a bite. “Happy?”
“No. I’ll be happy when you’re safe and cleared.” Evan might have let her take a fall for his mistakes, but he wasn’t crooked or malicious. He wouldn’t betray the agency. Just her.
“Thank you. For the sandwich.”
Jody nodded and sat beside him. “What kind of person could put that much m
oney in an offshore account with your name on it—and overnight? It’s impossible. He’d have to have your passport and banking information, not to mention financial references from your bank here to make sure you weren’t doing anything illegal. I don’t get it. And he’d have to actually have that kind of money to play with. All for a setup?”
Evan pushed his plate away, a half-eaten sandwich left over. He opened the water and sipped. “I don’t think it was a reaction to me slipping through his fingers a few times. I think he’s an organized and prepared person. He’s probably had this in the works from day one. He could have easily gotten my picture and had a passport made on the dark web. It’s not someone on the inside—no one would have those capabilities and me not know it. And I don’t think it’s the gun dealers doing this. It’s too elaborate. Which means...”
“It has to be the site creator of the Arsenal. He was told that you’re trying to take down gun dealers on his site and, ultimately, his site altogether. Either he, or the dirty agent, warned the gun dealers. He wouldn’t want them to get caught. It would get back to buyers and sellers and they would know that the Arsenal site had been jeopardized. They’d leave and find other sites to sell and buy from. He’d lose money. For good.”
Evan closed his laptop. “Plausible and probable theory, but we need proof. Right now it looks like I’m the corrupt agent.”
Wilder, Beckett and Shepherd entered the room, grim expressions on their faces. Wheezer followed and laid down his laptop. “I’ve been doing a search with keywords, like you asked. I have something.” He turned his laptop toward Evan. “This is a dark web assassination site. You’re right that most of these sites are scams. But this site is legit. It’s all anonymous. And it’s so deep in the dark web that you can only find it through certain online forums. It’s not advertised like scam sites. It’s layered with encryption, like an onion, so law enforcement is pretty much at a loss—if they even know about it.”
Fear reached out and gripped Jody’s lungs, squeezing them. “How does it work?”
“See for yourself.” Wheezer pointed to the screen and Jody peered over Evan’s shoulder, horror racing through her blood and leaving it cold.
On the screen was Evan’s picture. His full name. Address. Occupation. Age. Everything personal. Next to the information was a tiny wallet icon with a link. She pointed to it. “Click that.”
“You’ll wish I hadn’t,” Wheezer said.
Evan clicked the wallet icon and a new screen popped up.
Covering his mouth, Evan rocked back on his chair, bumping into Jody. “Someone wants me dead for two million dollars paid in digital currency. Can you confirm that the Bitcoin sitting there in the account is real?”
Wheezer nodded. “It’s there. It’s real. You don’t have one person coming after you, Agent Novak. Or even three. The truth is you could have dozens of people trying to kill you. Any face on the street could be him or her.”
Jody’s bones turned to lead. “What do we do? Who put the hit out?”
Evan studied the screen. “What an arrogant piece of work.” He slammed his fist on the table. Jody glanced over at the computer screen and Wheezer pointed for her.
Lawman1.
The site creator of the Arsenal that Evan was trying to take down.
So he had been clued in by a corrupt agent. How long ago? It would have taken time to get his ducks in a row in order to frame Evan.
Evan laughed, but it came out hard and bitter. “He knows we can now link the hit to him and the Arsenal. But he’s so puffed up in the head he thinks we won’t be able to discover his true identity. Stating his username is a slap in my face. He’s saying, ‘I’m so good you’ll never figure it out. I’m willing to bank on it and give my online username to prove how much better I am than you.’”
Wheezer scratched his head. “Agent Novak is right. Most of these hit requests come from anonymous sources. The fact that Lawman1 made sure to let everyone know sends a strong message. And so far he’s a step or two ahead of us. I’m even having a hard time hacking into the user account. Because that’s the only way we’re gonna stop this.”
“What do you mean?” Jody asked, and glanced at Evan, who was now stalking a path up and down the floor.
“Until that money is gone or a picture of Evan’s dead body appears and the money is released to the killer from Lawman1, it won’t stop. I’m going to keep on working to hack into it and try to dissolve the account or retrieve the Bitcoin. No money, no motive to come for you, but it’s going to take time. Days. Maybe weeks...maybe not at all.”
If Wheezer couldn’t crack it, who could?
Evan didn’t have that kind of time. He was a fugitive now and being hunted by faceless killers.
“Let’s fake his death and get the money. Stop the killers. Easy,” Jody said.
Evan shook his head as he massaged his neck. “And then what? I’m still a fugitive. I go in, whoever is working on the inside knows I’m not truly dead and tells Lawman1 and the hit goes back out. This guy has the kind of money to do this over and over again.”
Wilder had been quiet, that brooding look on his face. “I think the best solution at present is to let Wheezer work on hacking into the system and tracing that offshore account to find proof it came from someone other than Evan. In the meantime, you have to run. From everyone.”
Evan nodded. “I’ll be gone in fifteen minutes. Alone.” He caught Wilder’s eye and Wilder dipped his chin. “I don’t want you arrested for aiding and abetting a fugitive. I’ll find a way to keep in touch.”
“I’ll get you a few burner phones,” Wilder said. “And some cash.”
Evan excused himself and strode through the parlor.
Wilder was going to let him go alone? With everyone on the planet after him? “No,” she boomed. “He needs us. He’s not going by himself.”
“Yes,” Wilder said, “he is. It’s his call. He’s a trained soldier and a special agent.”
“I know but...” But what? Why did the idea of Evan out there alone—without her—send her into a frenzy?
She didn’t want to go there. She was not dropping her guard. Evan was not becoming anything more than a client to her. She stormed from the room. He at least needed supplies, a place to stay. A phone and cash wasn’t enough.
After she packed a few backpacks, she marched down the hall and knocked on the guest room door. When he gave permission for her to enter she stepped inside.
Lemon. Rose. Cinnamon and citrus.
Evan zipped up a duffel bag that lay on the soft yellow-and-blue quilt. “Come to say goodbye and good riddance, did you?” He turned toward the window. She caught his side view; his jaw twitched.
“If you go alone it could be good riddance forever, Evan. Please rethink this.” She crossed the walnut hardwood floor, her hiking boots clunking with each step. Touching his arm, she swallowed hard. “Evan, please,” she softly pleaded. “For me. If I ever meant anything to you...”
He laid his hand on hers—the one resting on his bicep. “Not fair,” he murmured. His thumb rubbed a circle around hers.
It wasn’t fair using herself, but part of her wanted to be enough for him to stay or let someone go with him. And part of her yearned to know if she had ever meant something to him. Had he loved her? Or did he simply feel guilty for what happened between them?
He turned and framed her face. “Jo, if I’m caught and CCM is linked to helping me escape...once again you’re stained. Because of me. I can’t let that happen. The past can’t be fixed or changed. I wish every day that it could. That I had a time machine. So much I’d reverse, do over, do different.” He inhaled, his jaw working hard. “Let me be the man I should have been then, now. Please.” He caressed her bottom lip with his thumb.
“Not fair,” she managed to say.
His hand slid around her neck and up into her hair. “I really do like
your hair,” he whispered, and moved toward her mouth.
“Evan,” she whispered back, unsure if she should let what was about to happen take place. If he kissed her, she might slip over the edge. Again. But she ached for his lips against hers. His kisses had always been skillful. Languid. Buckling her knees and blooming in her heart. Like rain on a Southern summer day.
As his mouth met hers, the window shattered in gunfire.
SIX
“Down!” Evan yanked Jody to the floor.
CCM had been breached.
A killer had discovered Evan’s whereabouts. How? Inside information fueling an educated guess? Glass littered the floor, but he urged Jody to army crawl to the door. He followed, gun in hand.
“How many do you think are out there?” Jody asked.
“I don’t know, but they’re either pros or idiots coming onto CCM property. Do they have any clue about who lives and works here?” Outside in the hall, Evan assessed the situation. “Where are your security cameras?”
“Control office/safe room. With Wheezer.”
“Let’s go.”
Jody led the way down the hall, downstairs and into the section of the house Wilder had remodeled into offices. Wheezer sat at his desk, gun beside him as he studied the cameras, his girlfriend huddled against him with wide eyes.
“Where’s Wilder and the team?” Jody asked. “Amy, you okay?”
She nodded and held tight to Wheezer.
“Fanned out across the perimeter,” Wheezer said.
Evan glanced at the state-of-the-art camera system. “How did he get onto the property without detection?”
“He’s in the north woods. Shot from there.”
“Wow, that’s far.”
“Yeah.”
A pro.
Probably alone, then.
“I need to go. Now.” Evan hated it. Hated leaving Jody, but to keep her safe it was the right thing to do. He wished he had the time to talk about that almost-kiss. What did it mean? Had she forgiven him? Did she...did she want to give it another try?
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