“We did.” There was pride in Tate’s voice, but it didn’t last. “Problem is, Phoenix was still out there. He has a distinct signature, and he’s fond of taunting us. That last little operation was led by the son of the contractor we took out of commission in the first op. The kid was out for vengeance, and he targeted our team, drew us in and led us right by the nose. When we caught him, he tried to convince us he was the hacker, but it became evident pretty quickly he didn’t have the skills. Phoenix watched us the entire time we were working the mission. He was always a step ahead, as though he had an ear to our plans, and, in the end, the cell nearly took out a soldier and one of our men in Kentucky. He went underground for a few months, then popped up in a hack at your school about a year ago.”
“Wait.” Surely she’d heard him wrong. She’d had no idea the system was hacked until two days ago. How long had her past been biting her heels? “A year ago? You’re sure?” How hadn’t she spotted him? She was the best. If he was poking around in the system she’d built and strengthened herself, then he was better. Pride, fear and anger spun in a combustible mix.
“He’d been snooping in your system for months before we found him. We’d been scouring networks, and one of our trackers pinged him about six months ago. We traced him to some planted files on your network and had another operative dig into it. He didn’t find anything suspicious on your end. The guys we sent in to do a cursory search never knew you, and you don’t show up on any of the school’s public sites.”
“I stay out of the limelight.” It was necessary with the work she’d once done. Plenty of terrorists would love nothing more than to take out a member of their unit. For four years, she’d done her job as tech director and teacher, trying to keep her past where it belonged.
“Naturally. Problem is, it seems as if our hacker found you and has been gathering intel on you, waiting for his moment. You’re the only one who can tell me why.”
Meghan stepped closer and pressed her palms against the worn metal of the truck hood. How long had he been watching, waiting to strike? “Why not let us know we were hacked?”
“We didn’t want you to do something to tip him off.” Tate didn’t appear to notice her discomfort. “Intel from some other sources point to an impending attack on the power grid, and one of the few hackers in play who can handle such a play right now is Phoenix. We have to take him out now, while we have an in, or we could be facing a serious disaster.”
The weight of the situation tore Meghan’s focus from herself. This was what she’d fought against when she was beside Tate in the military. “How’s the operation?”
“At the moment, slow. We were able to figure out who’s doing his grunt work. It’s a small street gang, the kind that will do anything to prove themselves. Isaac Koffman has insecurity issues, and he’ll do whatever it takes to bolster his street cred. He wants to move his crew into the big time, be a national syndicate, but he hasn’t got the brains to pull off the types of crimes he’d need to do in order to make a name. He’s got delusions of grandeur and no way to propel himself into the big time. Isaac’s prime material for manipulation, willing to drag his crew into things others wouldn’t touch for fear of getting caught. Made it easy for our hacker to use him and easy for me to get inside.”
Always go for the weakest link. When they couldn’t hit the big guys directly, they’d go for the contractors. Security was lax there. She’d run the same scheme with Tate before, and it tended to work.
But guys like Isaac were also the ones with the itchiest trigger fingers, desperate to assert and to keep their authority. Tate was fortunate Isaac hadn’t punished him for Meghan’s escape today, especially with the kind of hacker Phoenix had proved to be. But she’d been around enough punks like him to understand the wannabe mobster’s thought process. “Isaac thinks as long as you’re around, you’ll catch the flack for my getaway. Phoenix is why he didn’t cut you loose or kill you himself.”
“Exactly. If things go our way, the big guy may be angry enough to deal with me personally.”
“Which could get you killed.” For real this time. Meghan backed away from the truck and paced toward the house. The thought dug at her still-bruised heart, and she didn’t need him to read it on her face. She wasn’t ready to lose him twice, especially when she still didn’t know where he’d gone the first time. If she had to grieve for him all over again, the pain might be the one foe that could destroy her.
“Here’s hoping it doesn’t go that far.” Tate glanced at his watch, a chunky black monster, the same kind he’d worn for as long as she’d known him. “I have to go. It’s a pretty good drive to Saginaw from here. I’m hoping Phoenix has already heard Isaac’s report and decided he needs a face-to-face with me.”
It was a long shot with the kind of shadowy hacker they were targeting, but it was probably their best shot. Still, Meghan didn’t like him walking straight into danger without someone guarding his back. “I’m going with you.”
“Oh, no, you’re not.” He held up a hand to stem her building argument. “Think. They catch sight of you anywhere near me and we’re done. You’re captured and I’m dead. Like it or not—and I know you’re not a fan of the idea—I have to go this one alone.”
She opened her mouth and closed it again. No, she wasn’t a fan. Not one bit. But he was right. And the truth made it an even harder pill to swallow. “Fine. But if I don’t hear from you in the next twelve hours, I’m coming after you. And if it goes south...”
“Fair enough.” He looked up from his watch, searching her face in a way that skipped electricity across her skin. “You’re a valuable asset.”
The jolt fizzled. There it was again. She was nothing but a means to an end.
Tate stilled, the sudden lack of movement ushering silence between them. “But I also need...” His voice deepened. “Despite what you think, I trust you.” A flash Meghan couldn’t read slipped across his features, then vanished. He turned toward the house. “You’re sure you’re safe here?”
Whatever the flash was, it must have been a trick of the moonlight, because he was all business. It didn’t stop Meghan from wanting to rewind the moment and make him say whatever she imagined he’d thought. “Safer here than anywhere else.” Then again, safety was probably a thin thread. If Phoenix was the hacker who had blackmailed her years ago, then she was in bigger trouble than she’d thought. Still, she couldn’t ask for help. Not yet. When it came to Tate and her former team, full disclosure meant risking everything. She’d been blackmailed in college, had been young and scared, but none of that would matter. She’d hacked personal data for an unknown entity who could turn out to be a terrorist, and the truth was enough to send her to jail for a long time if her team found the truth.
No, she couldn’t tell Tate about anything yet. Not until she was certain she really could trust the man who’d let her believe he was dead, who could be up to anything now. No, she needed answers first.
“Stay low. I’ll be in touch.” He stepped closer, then stopped and almost smiled. “It’s good to see you, McGuire. Really good.” He held her gaze for a moment, then turned and walked away.
* * *
Dawn was creeping over the edges of the horizon when Tate rattled the truck to a stop in front of the small house on a back street near Saginaw. With peeling white paint, faded wood and a sagging front porch, the place was a testament to Isaac’s failures. The man’s life goal was to be the leader of a crime ring capable of driving fear into the heart of the nation. The saving grace was Isaac lacked the mental acuity to build such an empire.
Tate had lost count of the times he’d had to hold back his fist to keep from knocking Isaac’s arrogance down a few pegs. He’d love to take the guy down