He typed. They’re on to us. Am regrouping at our usual spot to complete transaction. Should have final payment tomorrow night. Don’t use this cell again. Will be getting new ones. Give one to you at the meeting.
He hit send. Watched it disappear. He was close now. So close.
Oh, the rush. Pure ecstasy.
He sat back and watched, waiting as a short, stocky agent who’d come outside returned to the house.
Once the door closed, Wiley duckwalked to her car. Quietly, stealthily as he’d learned to do in prison. Sneak up on your intended victim, let your shiv hit the mark, then get out of there.
The phone was his shiv tonight. Making the final cut. Drawing blood. It was the end for Brandt.
BY THE TIME NINA walked through Becca’s front door, she was sick with worry and simply wanted to hash the recent incident out with her friends, then create a plan of action. Unfortunately, Kait and Becca weren’t alone. Sam and Connor were seated in the small living room, too.
Kait jumped up and rushed over to greet Nina. “I hope you don’t mind that I invited Sam and Connor. I thought they might be able to help us figure this out.” She drew Nina into a hug. “You poor thing. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have my home searched.”
“It was horrible.” Tears pricked Nina’s eyes, but she willed them away before pulling from Kait’s hug. “I have a new respect for how innocent suspects feel. The guys were pawing through my stuff. My underwear drawer. Could it get any more humiliating?” Despite her best effort, the tears started falling. “I’ll never be able to look at them the same way again.”
“They’ll forget it about it soon enough.” Sam joined them, his arm going around Kait’s waist and tugging her close.
Nina swiped away her tears and forced out a smile for Sam. “Sounds like you speak from experience.”
“I had to toss a coworker’s house once.”
Kait looked up at him. “You’ve never shared that story with me.”
“Trust me, darlin’,” he purred in his smooth Texas drawl. “There are a bunch of stories I haven’t told you. By the time we’re old and gray and rocking on Nina’s porch, you’ll know most of them.”
Kait arched a brow. “Most?”
He winked. “Some stories no one needs to hear.”
Usually Nina loved their banter, but right now she was annoyed that they seemed so carefree when her life was crumbling around her. She was ashamed for thinking that way, since they’d had to work through several difficult issues to be together, but at the moment, Nina couldn’t get beyond her own problem.
Quinn seemed to pick up on her discomfort and stepped forward to introduce himself to Sam and Connor.
Becca joined them, eyeing Quinn suspiciously. “What are you doing here, Quinn?”
Nina didn’t like Becca’s tone. Not after the care Quinn had just taken with her. “He was there for me when Sulyard was being such a bully, so I asked him to join us.”
Becca and Kait both raised their eyebrows.
“We should get started,” Nina said to distract them.
“Nina, can you help me get some drinks from the kitchen first.” Becca sounded more agreeable all of a sudden.
Nina suspected the little side trip had nothing to do with drinks, but she wouldn’t make a scene by refusing, so she followed Becca into the tiny galley kitchen.
Becca spun on her. “What are you doing?”
“About what?”
“Quinn, as if you didn’t know. I’m not even going to ask why he was at your house this early in the morning. But I can’t ignore the way you’re letting him get to you again.”
Nina shrugged and wished she’d opted not to join Becca. She understood the emotions driving Nina when it came to her causes, but Becca often couldn’t comprehend the same relationship needs. “I get that he’s been there for you, but this is about Ty. Once he’s no longer in trouble, Quinn will take off again.”
“I know that.” Thinking of him leaving again, coupled with everything else, made her so sad. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying.
“Then why don’t you send him on his way. You don’t need him. You’ve got us to help get you out of this mess.”
“I beg to differ.” Quinn’s deep voice came from behind them. “I have skills that none of you possess. After Sulyard’s little performance, it’s looking like Nina will need every bit of help she can find, or she’ll end up behind bars.”
Hearing Quinn voice her greatest fear was the last straw. She couldn’t hold her tears back any longer, and they flowed like a river over her cheeks.
“Leave us, Becca,” Quinn commanded.
“Is that okay with you?” Becca asked.
Nina knew she should listen to Becca and send Quinn packing. Yet, there she was nodding. Becca departed, her surly gaze remaining on Quinn as she passed.
Quinn stepped closer and used a gentle thumb to wipe the tears from Nina’s cheek. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn’t have been so blunt, but I don’t want your friends shutting me out.”
“Why?” she asked with a sob.
He rested his forehead on hers, his breath warm against her skin. “I can’t stand the thought of leaving you right now. Not when you’re in so much trouble. I want to help. Please let me.” He settled his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, then lifted his head and stared into her eyes.
Her skin tingled in response to the caring she saw there. She could barely breathe with him so close—with his sincere desire to be there for her. She knew he’d be gone tomorrow or the next day, but she wanted him there now.
“Stay.” The word came out on a whisper.
He cupped the side of her face, drawing her closer. Then his mouth was on hers, warm and gentle. Nina sensed a moment of pure shock as the tenderness of his lips curled through her. It was a kiss filled with promises, so different than the playful one at her house. She let herself melt into him when she should be backing away, but she felt free for the first time in a long time. Felt the wounds from his abandonment disappear. She threw herself into returning his kiss. Deepening it. Forgetting all about her problems. About his leaving.
“Ahem.” Kait’s voice came from behind. “We all need to get to work, so we should get started.”
Nina tried to push away, but Quinn held firm.
“We’ll be right there,” he said, his breathing ragged.
Nina heard Kait depart.
Quinn leaned back but kept his hands on her hips. “I want you to know I’m here for you, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere while you’re in trouble.”
While you’re in trouble. Just like that, his cold reminder of why she shouldn’t have let him back into her life sent all her warm feelings packing.
QUINN PUSHED HIS plate across the table. He couldn’t eat another bite of Nina’s biscuits with gravy, grits, and country ham all washed down with black coffee. Thick, dark, and potent—the way he liked it. After their impromptu meeting, she’d offered to cook breakfast for everyone. Cooking was therapy for her, and he wished the others would have joined him, but they needed to go to work. Still, she’d sent Quinn to the store for groceries, then cooked enough for his whole platoon.
He rubbed his stomach and leaned back. He could get used to spending his early mornings this way. Not at Becca’s condo where Nina needed to hang out while Sulyard processed her home, but in Nina’s cozy kitchen. It was the first time in months that the unsettled feeling plaguing him had let up, and he didn’t feel like he needed to be busy to still his mind. Shoot, it was first time in a good long time that he’d been this comfortable.
Not Nina, though. She kept saying she was going to wolf down an entire pan of biscuits, but she’d picked at the same one for almost twenty minutes as she stared into space. She’d been even more uneasy after the g
roup’s brainstorming session—the group had concluded that the person trying to set her up was most likely someone she’d once put away, someone seeking revenge. Nina and Becca would try to get Nina’s files so she could search for strong suspects.
She was also worried that the recent hack of the NFL meant a potential terrorist had paid to have his name removed and could be entering the U.S. right now.
That possibility had them all acting kind of skittish.
His phone rang, making her jump.
“Relax,” he told her as he glanced at Caller ID. He was glad to see it wasn’t his mother calling. After Sulyard had showed up at Nina’s house, Quinn had phoned his mother to ask her to call if Ty was arrested. Quinn figured it was only a matter of time before that happened, too.
“Stone,” Quinn said to the unknown caller.
“It’s Becca. Don’t tell Nina I’m calling. I don’t want her to know anything about this until you’re on the road to meet me.”
“Meet you?” Quinn stepped outside where Nina couldn’t overhear him. “What’s going on?”
“Sulyard’s on his way to my place to arrest Nina.”
“He what?” Quinn’s voice echoed down the quiet street.
“Cool it. I don’t want her to know.”
“Why in the world not? She has a right to know.”
“Sure she does, but what do you think she’ll do when she finds out?”
“Stand her ground. Argue with him.”
“Exactly. She’d never agree to take off without thinking about it first, but that’s just what she needs to do when the evidence against her is so compelling.”
“What evidence?”
“I don’t have time to explain. Just trust me when I say Sulyard had no problem securing an arrest warrant. She’ll be booked if she doesn’t leave. If someone she arrested is setting her up, she won’t be able to review her files from jail to determine who it is.”
Thinking about Nina in jail made his gut churn. “You seriously think I can convince her to leave without an explanation?”
“You have to. If you can’t sweet talk her, then use your usual strong-arm tactics—pick her up and carry her out of there.”
A vision of tossing Nina over his shoulder and hauling her out made him smile.
“Meet me at The Falls restaurant.” Becca gave him directions to a place near the Columbia Gorge.
“I’m not so sure meeting near Triple Falls is a good idea.”
“I’ll explain the reason when we meet. Now go. Get Nina and get going.”
Quinn hung up, and Becca’s sense of urgency had him on the move toward the door. Doubting they’d return, he grabbed her notebook with the list and put it in a grocery bag. In the kitchen, he turned off the oven and took out the last pan of biscuits.
“Hey.” Nina shot him a look. “Those have a few more minutes to go.”
“We need to leave.”
“What? Why?”
“I have a lead to track down, but I need your help,” he lied, hoping she’d forgive him later.
“Was that the phone call you received?”
He nodded. “C’mon. Grab your purse and jacket and let’s move.”
She slipped her feet into her sneakers and ran a hand over her hair. “Let me freshen up first. I’ll be ready in five.”
“We don’t have five.”
She studied him. “What’s going on, Quinn?’
“Nothing. Now let’s go.” He took her arm and steered her toward the front door, grabbing the grocery bag on the way past the table. She tried to shake his hand off, but he held firm and hoped he wasn’t bruising her.
“Don’t manhandle me.” She peered up at him, her disappointment making him regret his straightforward tactic.
He met her gaze. “If I let go, will you leave with me right now? No primping. Just walk out the door.”
“Will you tell me what’s going on?”
“In the car,” he said and got them moving again. He loosened his grip, but didn’t fully release her. There was no way he would risk her taking a stance and ending up behind bars.
Chapter Twenty-Two
ARMS CROSSED, NINA sulked in the passenger seat. She hated it when Quinn pushed her around. She’d opened her mouth to say something to him many times, but decided there was no point. She was in the car, and they were heading who knows where, whether she wanted to go or not.
He eventually turned onto the scenic highway, and she pointed at the road sign for the gorge. “So the big secret is we’re going back to Triple Falls?”
“No.”
“Then why are we out here again?”
“We’re meeting Becca.”
“Becca? She called you?”
He nodded but didn’t elaborate.
“Why didn’t she ask to talk to me?”
He didn’t respond, just kept his focus on the road.
Nina grabbed his arm and held it until he looked at her. “What are you not telling me, Quinn?”
He glanced at her, his eyes filled with remorse. “Sulyard was on the way to arrest you. Becca didn’t want that to happen.”
“Arrest me? But how?”
“Becca says he has compelling evidence of your involvement in the hack.”
“He can’t. I mean, I haven’t done anything.” Her mind raced over this crazy development, imagining Sulyard getting the warrant for her arrest and having everyone think she was a criminal. She didn’t have anything to hide. “We have to go back. Running like this will convince him of my guilt. Turn around. I have to tell him he’s making a mistake.”
Quinn shook his head. “It’d be a good idea to hear what Becca has to say first. Then if you still want me to take you, I will.”
He had a point. If Sulyard’s evidence was valid—which she knew it wasn’t—she could always turn herself in.
“Fine.” She released his arm.
They soon pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant that resembled an old barn with rows of white rocking chairs out front. Nina would normally take time to sit a spell, as her grandmother had always said, but Becca’s car was parked out front, and Nina was eager to hear what kind of evidence Sulyard had collected.
Becca met them at the door and grabbed Nina up in a hug, raising Nina’s concern to Chernobyl level. Becca wasn’t a hugger. If she thought Nina needed one, it wasn’t a good sign.
Becca drew back. “Thank goodness, you made it.”
Nina eyed her friend. “No thanks to you telling me what was going on.”
“Go ahead and vent.” Becca took Nina’s arm and led her to a table. She heard Quinn following. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. If I hadn’t, you’d be on your way to booking right now. At least this way, you have a chance to weigh your options.” A deep frown marred her face. “Not that you have many of them.”
“You’re scaring me, Bex.”
“Let’s sit down and review the evidence.” Quinn pulled out a chair for Nina, then one for Becca.
“Thanks for helping me out,” Becca said to Quinn, as she dropped a folder on the table.
He nodded, but said nothing else and took a seat next to Nina. How far they’d come in only a few hours—from Becca busting Quinn’s chops at her apartment to becoming co-conspirators.
Becca opened the folder filled with reports but rested her hand on the first one, preventing Nina from reading it. “You should know before we get started that things are moving quickly on the investigation. When I first called Quinn, Sulyard was erring on the side of caution by taking you in. But Kait called me on the way here and they’ve uncovered additional information that has him upping his search for you.” She turned to Quinn. “FYI, you’re also included in the alert Sulyard released.”
“Quinn’s done nothing,” Nin
a said.
He looked at her. “Neither have you.”
“And yet, here we are, with overwhelming evidence pointing to your guilt.” Becca slid a report across the table. “The first page holds the details for the most recent breach of the NFL. The second page contains information on the computer found at your house.”
Nina scanned the pages.
Her heart lurched, and she pushed the report away to sit in stunned silence.
“What is it?” Quinn asked.
She met his gaze. “The MAC address for the computer found at my house matches the computer used to breach the NFL.”
“What’s a Mac address?” he asked.
“It stands for Media Access Control,” Becca offered. “Basically, a manufacturer assigns a unique number to every device that uses IP to access the internet.”
“Okay,” Quinn said. “Nina mentioned before that the IP address tells you where the internet was accessed from. But I still don’t get how that’s related to this MAC address.”
“For example,” Becca said. “If we each used the restaurant’s Wi-Fi to access the internet, there would be three separate entries on the restaurant’s wireless router log, because we each have a different MAC address.”
A light bulb went off in Quinn’s eyes. “So if we went to different websites, the router would record which one of us visited which sites.”
“Exactly.”
He shot a confused look at Nina. “But that means your wireless network was used, too. Is that even possible? Don’t you have some sort of password or something to keep unauthorized people out?”
She nodded. “My network is as secure as it can be. It’s virtually impossible for anyone to access the signal without the password, so I haven’t a clue how he got in.”
Becca sat forward. “You secured it electronically, but how about physically?”
Nina swung her focus to Becca. “I don’t follow.”
“Obviously, the real hacker entered your house to leave the computer. If you have the password written down for the router, which most of us do, he could have gained access that way.”
Web of Shadows Page 21