To Trick a Hacker: Women of Purgatory 3

by India Kells

  Dylan paused the video. She knew what came next, and she didn’t need to see it. It’s Owen she needed to see, and until he reappeared, there was work to do.

  “So, the voyeurism part of the evening is over?” Mac winked at her.

  Dylan shook her head. “I already know what happens next. And don’t worry, you won’t be forced to see the naked ass of your brother-in-law.”

  “Heaven forbid!” Dramatic, Mac clutched at her heart.

  Dylan chuckled and reverted to her initial search. It took some doing, as at first, all feeds seemed to have been deleted by her. Clever girl. All but one, the office feed, and in mere seconds, the brown-haired girl appeared on the screen. As Dylan estimated, it was a couple of seconds before she had gone through the window herself.

  Mac inched closer to the screen. “So, that’s our target? The one who hacked the unhackable Purgatory server?”

  “Yeah, at least all points toward her. But she’s so young.”

  “Sure, and you’re so old!”

  Dylan rolled her eyes. “Mac, that’s not what I meant and you know it. She looked barely twenty.” Using the image on screen, she started a face recognition search in parallel. Reverting to the initial camera feed, Dylan played it in reverse, and saw indeed that the girl had broken in through the same window she had used.

  “But why this place? There are thousands of servers in Dallas, why use this one specifically? And why Dallas?”

  “The only thread I see about me with this is Owen. But how could she find out about him, and about where he worked? And worst, why would have any interest in him? Apparently, I’m the object of her obsession.”

  “That’s probably why she targeted Owen. She suspected that you have a connection to him. His club is like a fortress, and by the time she would have learned about him, setting up an attack would have been too risky. The message she’s sending is linked to Owen, and by the time you found the source of the attack, she would know everything about him.”

  Dylan turned to Mac. “Everything useful, his military record, his work, his friends, his family.”

  And it clicked in Mac’s eyes, the instant she realized the implication. As she pulled her cell phone out, Dylan continued to watch the feed a moment more. The screen blinked. No, not the screen, the feed, as it had been cut. At the next shot, Dylan’s fingers stilled on the keys.

  She must have made a sound, because Mac put her call on mute, and leaned to check her screen.

  “Holy Mother of God.”

  “Yeah, you could say that.” The black-and-white image was frozen, but it showed Amaryllis, leaning on her office chair, her eyes vacant. Her body was naked, as far as she could see, but on every inch of skin, symbols were carved, half covered with dripping blood. The same markings as she had seen on other victims but done hastily. The same she had seen on Dee, Bear, and her. The girl must have come back to finish her work. Probably just after Amaryllis closed up. After their previous intrusion, the woman would have made certain the place was secured before working alone in her office. The feed she had accessed was the one planted by the creepy brunette. It wasn’t a coincidence that she could see it. And Dylan bet a trip to Bora Bora that this same feed was on its way to Morton as well. The weasel would have a field day seeing her face on the tape. Even with all precautions, she had been exposed.

  Dylan was partly relieved that it wasn’t Knudson’s ghost coming back to haunt her. She should have trusted Beatrice when she ensured the corpse at the morgue was the one of the serial murderer. That girl was the copycat, from the beginning. But so many questions had to be answered. One thing was for sure, that crazy girl was targeting specific people. At first, people Dylan had known and was fond of. And now, someone from Owen’s past. Owen who had become important in a short few weeks.

  Dylan’s mind reverted to her cop’s training and years in the field. This wasn’t a serial killer in the pure sense of the term. It was a killer with a target. It would have to be determined if the girl wanted to kill her. After all, she had the chance in that dark alley and didn’t take it. Instead, she was closing in. Circling around her, searching for an opening. Silently asking something from her.

  “Her next target is someone of the Sorenson family.”

  Frowning, Mac ended her call. “Why would you say that? Because a former boss of Owen’s has been killed?”

  “No, because it has to be someone she could use to bring me out of hiding. Someone I care about. You said it yourself, the club was protected, his brothers are highly trained. That leaves …”

  “Mary.” Mac dialed her cell phone again. “I’ll reach for Lance.”

  Seconds stretched, as both women waited for the connection.

  “Lance? It’s Mac, where are you? Is Mary with you?”

  Mac’s body relaxed as she heard his answer.

  “Listen, be careful, your mother might be a target. I’ll call Wes and try to reach Owen. Let’s meet here as soon as possible.”

  Dylan wanted to pull her hair out when Mac disconnected. “I led her right here. Like a damn rookie! I revealed a weakness right to her.”

  “You didn’t know, Dylan. How could you know whom she would target? You’re not even sure of what she wants! Or what her motive is.”

  Dylan didn’t want to believe it; there must be a clue she was missing. “Are they coming back?”

  “Yeah, Lance said that they made a detour to get the painkillers Luke had prescribed, and buy you a knee brace. Nothing odd. He said Wes had called him and was already on his way here.”

  “That only leaves Owen.”

  Dylan pushed herself away from the table.

  “You shouldn’t try to get up.”

  Both women turned to see Owen entering the kitchen. He still harbored the same closed-up expression, but his dark blue eyes were solely on her. She wanted to talk about what she had seen, before the gruesome discovery of Amaryllis’s death, whatever the cost.

  “I had to find you. There is something you need to see, Owen.”

  When she turned her screen to him, he blinked, trying to place the image in the context.

  “She’s dead. Amaryllis. It’s the girl, isn’t it?” Thank goodness, the man was brilliant.

  “Yeah, we guessed as much. Now here is her face.” Dylan opened the file for him to see. For a long time, he detailed her, committing the everything to memory.

  “Both images come from the camera feed?”

  “Yeah. I accessed what the girl left for me. I downloaded all I could, and to protect our identity, I deleted everything else. For now, at least. And that’s without knowing if our little creep made a copy or not. I suspect she did, and it’s on its way to Morton.”

  Mac came closer. “Nothing has been reported so far to the police. I checked and the building is still closed. We have to think of a way to tell them there is a dead body inside.”

  “Yeah, it won’t open until eight anyway …” And Owen stilled, suddenly realizing that Mac knew.

  His face took a sickly color, and he swallowed reflectively before hiding himself back behind his thick mask of indifference.

  Mac stepped in his direction, but he took a step back. Dylan could feel waves of anger and uncertainty pouring off him. She pushed herself from her chair, and tried to stand up. Owen put a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stay seated. Dylan breathed deep to get her irritation back in control. Instead, she focused on the man beside her, who didn’t want to cope with the fact that his sister-in-law knew a part of him that he would have preferred to be kept in the shadows. And something he would have kept from his brothers and mother. As if sensing the shift, Mac took a step back.

  “Owen, I don’t care what you did to protect your family. I hope I have the same courage if ever Wes or any of you need me to.” Mac smiled tentatively. “I will never tell your secret. To anyone, not even Wes. I promise, Owen.”

  And she left them alone, swiftly exiting through the back door.

  When Dylan went to take his hand, Owen
exhaled with a rush and evaded her touch before exploding in front of her. “You told her! How dare you! It’s not your secret to tell!”

  Trying to maintain a calm and even voice would not be easy. “She was with me, helping me out. And I know the people of Purgatory, none of them would misjudge you for the decision you made, especially to protect the people you love.”

  Owen started to pace the kitchen like a caged animal. Dylan gently lowered her leg to the floor, ignoring the wakening pain, and pushed herself up, both hands on the table.

  “For God’s sake, stay put, woman!”

  “If I must face your fury, I prefer to be standing, thank you.”

  Owen slid both his hands in his dark golden hair, almost pulling the strands in exasperation. “I won’t attack you.”

  “You can, but you’ll lose.” Her attempt at humor fell flat. “Owen, you can trust Mac. If she says she will keep your secret … Owen, look at me.”

  Eyes still glued to the floor, shook his head.

  Dylan limped a step, but didn’t let go of the table. “Owen—”

  “I wish you had never seen that part of me, Dylan. You probably have seen the footage …”

  “Yes, I did, and there is nothing there.”

  “No, but it could. If not for you barging in, I would have fucked Amy. A long time ago I would even have done it for money. And now I would have done it for a mission. What kind of man does that make me? I saw the look on your face when you entered the lounge, and when we came back here.”

  Dylan hobbled another step, and as she let go of the table, Owen’s face finally lifted up to her, worry etched on his features.

  “I know all that, Owen. And I realized two things after seeing you naked with that woman.”

  “Half-naked.”

  “Semantics.” Dylan smiled, but Owen still kept himself under tight wrap. “First, I saw that you didn’t return there because you wanted to. And from what you told me, the very first time you went there, it wasn’t because you wanted to either. It was a necessity. I accept that. I also know that you’re human, and male, and unless you were made of stone, you would enjoy part of the work. But deep down, you decided on another path because you wanted it. Because that path in the Navy was your true calling. If I hadn’t traced the creep back to Maison Amaryllis, you wouldn’t have set foot there ever again. It’s not who you are, it never was. It was only what you did. For a certain period of your life.”

  And when she saw him take a deeper breath, she found the courage to finish what she started.

  “And the second thing I realized, and what made me react the way I did when I opened that door, is that I have feelings for you. Stronger than I suspected. And jealousy jumped at my throat when I saw that woman straddling you. I would have come in and taken care of her, if I wasn’t already in pursuit after a more dangerous bitch.”

  Owen stayed silent, and words continued to flow out of her mouth. “I’m sorry, I know we discussed this less than twenty-four hours ago. I won’t say or do anything about it. I just wanted to tell you, so you ... you know.”

  “Okay, I know. Now.”

  Dylan waited for the awkward moment to pass, but as it didn’t, she hopped back to her chair.

  To fill the uncomfortable silence, she gave him a summary of the situation. “Lance and your mom should be back any minute now. Mac contacted Wes, he should arrive. As soon as I have a name, I’ll dig deeper, make sure we won’t be blinded again. Also, we need to discuss the protection of your mom. I can contact Beatrice. She has hideouts that aren’t even listed anywhere. Since what happened with the Admiral and his son not so long ago, she made sure to have locations only known of her, without any possibility of tracing them back through the system.”

  “Thank you.” The words were said so low, they didn’t register at first in her brain.

  “Owen, I should be the one thanking you. I’m the one who brought this mad, crazy bitch in your family. It’s a big threat—”

  “No, I mean, thank you.”

  She understood now as her chest tightened. “You didn’t judge me on what happened to me and on the things I’ve done. In retrospect, it wasn’t in me to judge you for something you have done to protect your family. I’m not lily-white either, Owen. I’m a fugitive. After thinking about it, it’s another threat to your family. Harboring a fugitive will warrant severe jail time.”

  Owen acquiesced, a slight gleam of amusement lighting up his face. “Yeah, I think so. I wonder if there is a reward for your capture.”

  Dylan pondered it, happy to see him relax and even make a joke. “Well, I’m listed for questioning, there is no definite accusation set for me yet. I can give you the personal number of Director Morton if you want.”

  He nodded and took a step closer, towering over her. “Too bad, I could have bought myself a Ferrari with your reward.”

  “Do you want a Ferrari? I can meddle with a car dealer and get you one. Even put it on Morton’s credit card. Fancy a color?”

  “Will you be in it?” Owen took a step, and then another, closing the distance between them.

  When he crouched by her side, her heart leapt a little, the anticipation of touching him again making her fingers tingle. “Do you want me in it?”

  Instead of answering, he leaned and cupped her cheeks before taking her lips.

  The surge of relief and desire made her heady. She twisted in her chair to grab his shoulder when she bumped her knee and hissed, “Damn it!” She put a hand on her knee.

  “Still hurts?” His hand came to her neck and rubbed soothingly.

  “Like an aching tooth. I can’t wait for Lance to come back with the painkillers and brace.”

  “You’re lucky she didn’t hit you straight on the joint. A broken knee would have required surgery.”

  It was tempting of rolling her eyes at him. “Yeah, lucky me.”

  And as he leaned to kiss her again, Dylan heard a car approaching the house.

  “Here are my painkillers! I never thought I’d be so happy to take drugs.”

  “Even with the meds, you will have to take it easy.”

  Dylan frowned. “I don’t think we have that luxury. As soon as your family is safe and I have the name of that bitch, I’m jumping into the battle.”

  Chapter 28

  Owen kept quiet as Mrs. Sorenson launched into a cooking frenzy with the boys. Dylan was moved to the living room and worked discreetly with Mac. Wesley and Lance clearly wanted answers to the little information that had leaked, but it wasn’t the time and place. And to be honest, Dylan was leaving Owen with the decision of when and what would be told.

  She was getting closer. The recognition software wasn’t perfect, and not as fast as what could be seen in television shows. It took time. Excruciating time.

  “Any luck?” Mac was trying to be hopeful, but if the girl was good at hacking a system, she was also good at erasing herself from the Web.

  Now with the pain taken care of and her knee stabilized in a brace, Dylan didn’t feel so foggy or distracted. The only thing was that annoying thought in her mind, telling her that something was missing. A detail she should look at. But unless her brain would miraculously open itself for all to see, she would have to wait.

  “It’s tiringly slow. And when I try to understand the link between her and Knudson, I don’t see it.”

  Mac curled up on the couch beside her. “Could she be some sort of groupie? A fragile, twisted mind that could have been fascinated by him?”

  “This is how he chose his victims. But the police had the count of all of them. Even after all those years, nobody popped up on our radar. The way he worked, it was one girl at the time, until death. Then, he discarded the body, took a small break, and went back hunting again. Nothing in the investigation concluded otherwise.”

  “But you said so yourself, she had the same marks, and if you smelled right, in that alley behind the café and on your friend, it was Knudson’s distinctive scent. Only one of his victims would h
ave known.”

  “Exactly. As there was no proof and I was deemed traumatized, my affirmation was dismissed from all police reports.”

  “No way this could have been an inside job? Someone on the investigation remembering that bit of information?”

  Dylan thought for a moment and shook her head. “No. She’s too young to have been part of any squad or task force assigned to the case.”

  “She may have hacked into the police system and got the information.”