Kat’s heart pounded so furiously that her chest hurt as she carefully pulled the truck out of the parking space. Her gaze darted around the lot and across the street, looking for any signs of the Hummer or dark sedan. There were so many vehicles in this stretch of strip malls that trying to spot a specific one was futile.
She struggled not to keep glancing toward her Civic where Dillon now sat in the driver’s seat. If anything happens to him…She didn’t finish the thought.
She waited at the edge of the driveway for a break in traffic and then turned left. A block later, she stopped at a red light.
Without moving her head, she stared at the rearview mirror. Dillon pulled out of the same driveway and went right. Before he’d driven half a block, a black sedan shot out of a parking lot on the opposite side of the street. The Civic made a sudden left turn and disappeared with the sedan close behind.
A car horn blared, and Kat jumped. The bright green light told her to go, but her foot remained frozen on the brake. Another angry blast from behind convinced her to press the accelerator. Her eyes shifted between the road ahead and the spot where her Civic had vanished. An irrational urge to spin the truck around and go search for Dillon swept over her. She managed to pull to the curb before her right leg started shaking so badly that she couldn’t control it. She shifted into Park and closed her eyes.
Dillon was shouldering the danger aimed at her. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. As much as she wished she could deal with this mess by herself, she had to think of Skye. Her daughter’s safety had to outweigh her own and Dillon’s.
A growl like a mother bear’s escaped her tight throat. Cuss words followed.
She allowed herself one last glance before she drove away from the curb and headed for Dillon’s apartment. Thankfully, no Hummer or black sedan followed her.
After circling the complex twice and seeing no signs of either vehicle, Kat parked the truck in a visitor’s space. Dillon had pocketed the garage remote earlier so he could quickly hide the Civic when he arrived.
She scurried into Dillon’s apartment. Fifteen minutes had already passed, and time seemed to accelerate with each passing second. Hurry, Dillon, hurry.
What would she say if she had to call Conrad? How would she explain that Dillon was in danger because of her? His San Francisco friends already hated her for what had happened two years ago. Would this situation make his San Diego colleagues hate her also?
Twenty minutes.
Kat paced back and forth across the living room, peeking through the peephole each time she reached the front door. Had the bad guys caught Dillon? What would they do if he refused to tell them where she was? Or what if he’d had an accident while evading them? All sorts of awful scenarios filled her head.
Dropping onto the couch, she yanked the ski cap off and let her hair tumble past her shoulders. She propped her elbows on her knees and held her head with both hands.
She’d made a huge mistake contacting Dillon. Not only because her problems had put him in physical danger, but also because she’d put both their hearts in emotional danger. She still loved him so much. How was she going to leave him again?
Thirty minutes.
Oh God, please protect him. Please, please, please…
Her cell rang. She bolted off the couch and snatched it from her purse. When she saw the screen, disappointment sucked the air from her lungs. Although tempted not to answer, she thought better of it.
“Hi, Charlie.”
“Hey, Kat. Where are you?”
“Huh?”
“I’m at your house, and you’re not here. Where are you?” he repeated.
Why did the question suddenly make her uneasy? “My house?”
Charlie chuckled. “You know, where you live.”
“Right. That house.” She giggled to hide her anxiety. “I’m visiting…a friend. Why are you at my place? Is something wrong at work?”
“Nah. I just brought you some flowers. Lame, huh?”
“No, Charlie, it’s sweet. You really shouldn’t have.”
“To be honest, they’re just an excuse to see you. It’s been kinda lonely this week without you.”
Nooo. Not now. Please don’t try to change our friendship. I don’t need the complication. She drew a fortifying breath. “Well, you should probably get used to it because I won’t be back…until next week.” Actually, she didn’t expect to be back ever. She’d be gone by next week, but Charlie shouldn’t be the first to know her plans. Dillon deserved that consideration.
He hesitated. “When are you going to be home?”
Again, uneasiness prickled her nape. “I don’t know. Why?”
Another pause. “What should I do with the flowers?”
She exhaled. Of course there was a logical reason for his question. “I may not be home today so you better not leave them. Maybe keep them for me at the office.”
“You’re not coming home?”
“Probably not. I feel safer staying with a friend since the…attempted break-in.”
“I hope Skye is with your folks. Between your concussion and the intruder, you’re probably not in a good position to take care of her.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Charlie was one of the few people who knew about her daughter.
“Don’t worry. Skye’s right here with me, and she’s fine,” Kat lied. “In fact, she’s calling me so I need to go. Thanks for the flowers, Charlie. I’ll look forward to seeing them at the office next week.”
After their good-byes, Kat’s heart pounded painfully. What is wrong with me? Am I getting paranoid? She glanced at her watch: forty minutes.
Nah, she wasn’t paranoid. At this very moment, her former fiancé was risking his life so the bad guys wouldn’t find her. Her tires had been shot out to make her crash. Someone had tried to break into her home. And now, a friend’s innocent questions made her question his intent. Add to the mix that she was having sex with Dillon and was still in love with him. Her world had definitely spiraled out of control.
Her hand gripped the phone tighter, and her heart raced faster. She dialed her mother.
“Well, hello, Katie dear. Are you feeling better?”
“Is Skye okay?” she asked breathlessly.
Her mom hesitated. “Of course. You know we would’ve called if anythin’ was wrong. You sound funny. Is everythin’ all right?”
Should I tell her? Oh, Jesus, what can I say? “Uh, Mom, there are some problems at work.”
“Problems? What kind of problems?”
She could hear her mother’s frown. “I can’t…I don’t know exactly. But…um…things are kind of weird. My accident and the intruder may be related to…the problems at the plant.”
“My heavens, Katie. You should tell the police.”
“I’ve told…the authorities.”
“Ah, that’s why the FBI agent was calling you at the hospital.”
“Right. But the FBI says I don’t have enough evidence.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to quit ASAP and move away with Skye.”
Aileen gasped. “Move? Again? Oh dear.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but now I’m worried Skye and I might not be safe.”
“I understand. What can we do to help?”
“Take care of Skye so I can get ready to leave.”
“When are you leaving?”
“By Monday.”
She jumped when she heard someone at the front door.
“Bye, Mom. Give Skye a kiss for—”
The door swung open, and she disconnected in the same instant.
Chapter 21
The sight of Kat, safe in his apartment, swamped Dillon with relief. He’d been worried for the past forty-five minutes, but the chase had been so intense he’d never had his hands free long enough to call.
The way Kat flew into his arms told him she’d been worried sick too. God, this situation sucked. And it was so diff
erent from working an op with his fellow agents. Obviously, he was always concerned for his colleagues, but they were trained to deal with this sort of shit. Kat wasn’t. She was an innocent civilian, and these assholes would eat her alive if given the chance.
Whoever these guys were, they were pros. Losing them had been a real challenge. Of course, it didn’t help that he was driving a Civic instead of his Ford F-150; he’d really missed the familiar power. In fact, if it hadn’t been for his split-second timing in circumventing a railroad crossing guardrail and sprinting in front of an oncoming train, they would’ve caught him. He didn’t dare share that detail with Kat.
He also couldn’t tell her why he’d insisted on helping retrieve her car. First, he didn’t trust anyone else to do it—today, tomorrow, or ever. It was his responsibility to keep her safe. And second, he had hoped to trap the bastards in a situation where he could garner some information about them. He knew not to expect something as basic and helpful as license plates, but if he’d gotten a closer look, he might’ve gleaned something useful: identifying marks on the vehicle or the appearance of the occupants. But their ability to skillfully maneuver their car had thwarted his plan, and he’d gained nothing but further confirmation that they were professionals.
Damn. The situation was careening out of control fast. He needed credible evidence—soon—to convince his boss to get the FBI officially involved.
“Hey, babe, it’s okay,” he whispered against her ear.
“Oh God, Dillon. I was so afraid…Y-you were gone so long.” A sob punctuated her statement.
“Hey, hey, hey. I’m here. I’m fine. But we’ve got work to do.”
“Work? If the FBI won’t help, I want to call the police or the CIA or the NSA or the NRC. One of the alphabet agencies has to see the seriousness of this mess.”
“No one will listen until we get solid evidence. We’re almost there, Kat. I need to get back on the system and then check out Farook’s computer.”
“What about all the stuff you’ve seen in Diablo Beach’s computer system? Isn’t that solid evidence?” she asked, sniffling.
“The first question would be how did I obtain it.”
She went still. “Oh.”
“Yeah. ‘Oh.’ I want to stop these bastards, but I don’t want to go to prison for hacking into a nuclear power plant.”
“Our government wouldn’t do anything to punish you. They didn’t do a damn thing when the Chinese hacked the Office of Personnel Management or the Russians hacked the IRS or the Iranians hacked a New York dam. And I’m sure there are many more successful hackings by our enemies that the American public doesn’t even know about,” Kat complained.
“Believe me, I’m just as frustrated as you are. Cyber attacks are another form of terrorism, and the US seriously needs some counterterrorism operatives with mad computer skills to fight them.” He paused. Counterterrorism. He still owed Rex an answer on the offer to transfer. Had he just made his decision?
Kat leaned back to look up into his face. “I don’t want you to go to jail either. What’s the plan?”
“Let’s grab some fast food and head back to the man cave for me to finish up on the Diablo Beach system.” He jammed his fingers through his hair. “What time does your boss leave?”
She shrugged. “It depends. His shift is up at five, but he hangs around almost all night sometimes. I could call and ask if Farook’s left.”
“No. We’ll use the security cams again. Take whatever you need to get us into the plant because we probably won’t come back here until afterward.”
Thirty minutes later, they were ensconced in the storage unit with burgers, fries, and sodas. Sitting on the futon, Kat ate her dinner and occupied herself with her phone. Dillon sat at the computer table, working with Chaos, but this time he used earbuds and a mic instead of having the other hacker on speakerphone. He didn’t want Kat to hear their conversation.
“Do you see what I mean?” he asked Chaos quietly. “I don’t think Pakistan is the origination point for these program changes.”
“Yeah. I think you’re right. The Pakistan server is just a pass-through like the others. So where is the asshole?”
“Don’t know yet. But he or they are good, damn good.” He glanced over his shoulder at Kat and found her lying down with her eyes closed. “Chaos, do you see what I embedded in the second operation file?”
“Huh? I didn’t know you’d been in there.”
“Look at it.”
After a few minutes, Chaos was back. “Holy shit, Shadow. Are you sure you want to do that?”
“Hopefully, I won’t have to use it. But I wanted to be sure you knew it was there.”
A long silence followed.
“Chaos?”
“I’m not sure I want to know about it, man. Are you sure about the time frame?”
“Close enough.”
“And the source? What if it doesn’t get it all or gets too much?” Chaos asked.
“Again, close enough.”
“Fuck, Shadow. That’s some serious shit.”
“This whole thing is serious shit. FYI, I already verified the older versions of the programs are still stored in the system. Just remember where this is, okay?”
Chaos exhaled loudly. “Gotcha.”
“Next point. I’m taking a clean burner phone. I don’t want to be carrying anything with your number on it.” He read his friend the new number and then slid the tiny phone inside his shoe. “Only call the new one in an absolute emergency. And if I call you…answer immediately.”
“Gotcha.”
“Have you seen Farook leave?”
“Yeah. I’ve been monitoring the cams like you asked me to. The dude left about five thirty.”
“Great. Scotty and I will be heading to Diablo Beach in about ten minutes. Should be there in another twenty. We’ll be driving a white Ford F-150. Track us—everywhere—on the security cameras.”
“Holy shit.”
“What?”
“I’ve never…uh…seen you, man. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Look, Chaos, this is deadly serious. If I have to give up my anonymity to stay alive, it’s a good trade-off.”
“Fuck, man. Maybe it’s time to turn this over to the Feds.”
“If we get what I need tonight, we will. Are we clear on everything?”
* * *
As Dillon’s truck sped along I-5, Kat’s stomach churned like it was trying to make butter out of the excessive acid roiling inside her. Cloak-and-dagger operations definitely weren’t her thing. Dillon’s reassurances only slightly tempered her anxiety because he was unaware of her greatest responsibility as Skye’s mother. How did parents with careers in the US intelligence agencies balance their commitments to their country against their responsibilities to their families? After this experience, Kat realized it must be agonizingly hard.
When they approached the Basilone Road exit, Dillon slowed more than necessary. Without even glancing at him, Kat knew he was staring at the site of her accident just as she was. The memory of that night’s terror littered her skin with goose bumps. Her thoughts—then as now—jumped to Skye.
“You ready?” Dillon asked quietly.
She gulped. “Sure.”
“I know this isn’t easy for you, Kat, but you’re doing great. Hang in there. We should be able to turn this over to the FBI soon.”
She nodded.
He stopped the truck at the security gate, lowered his window, and turned on the interior light. Unfortunately, she didn’t recognize the armed guard who stepped out of the kiosk.
Kat leaned across the console with her Diablo Beach ID in her outstretched hand. “Hi. I’m Katriona MacKenzie. I’m one of the night shift operators. I’m currently on sick leave, but I need to get something from my locker.”
The guard scrutinized the ID and compared it to her face before stepping back inside and entering something in the computer. Returning, he handed the ID back to her. “I was so
rry to hear about your accident, Ms. MacKenzie. Glad you’re okay. Who’s this?” he asked, turning his no-nonsense gaze to Dillon.
“This is Dillon O’Malley. He’s…a friend and was kind enough to bring me tonight since I’m not supposed to drive yet.”
With a nod, he handed the guard his driver’s license. The man repeated the vetting process, spending a couple extra minutes at the computer before handing Dillon a visitor’s badge and a parking pass for the truck.
“You’re required to stay with Ms. MacKenzie at all times,” he warned.
“No problem. It’s great to have an excuse to be her shadow,” he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
The guard responded with a man-to-man snort.
“Did you smile for the camera?” Dillon asked as he drove away.
“No. Why?”
“Chaos is tracking us on the cams. As soon as we passed through the security gate, he paused the cameras in Farook’s building so no one monitoring the feed will see us. He won’t turn them back on until we drive out.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” She thought she heard the Mission: Impossible theme song in the background.
Once parked in the almost empty employees’ lot, they hurried to the building housing Farook’s office.
“You’re sure about the cameras?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“God, I hope you’re right because I have no legitimate reason to be in here tonight.”
She drew a deep breath and unlocked the door. They scooted inside.
The administrative offices were filled with shadows from the subdued nighttime lighting. At least they didn’t have to find their way in complete darkness or risk using a flashlight.
Kat led Dillon to the open door of her boss’s office. “Hurry.”
He hooked his arm around her neck. “Why hurry? Looks comfy. I thought I’d take a little snooze while I’m in there.” He pecked a kiss on her cheek. “Relax, babe.”
“Relax, my ass,” she hissed. “Do it so we can get out of here.”
He made a funny face as if he wanted to comment on her ass but decided against it, and then slipped into the office. Pushing the desk chair aside, he knelt in front of the computer. She could no longer see him from the doorway.
Wanted (FBI Heat Book 3) Page 14