by Cara Carnes
“I think that’s far enough,” Mary advised.
“You’re at two strikes, Sara. One more and you’re gone. There are too many good people where we’re going. I won’t put their asses on the line for a belligerent, spoiled little girl not ready to grow the hell up. I gave you a choice when you went in. I offered you a support system, a family ready to take you in and help raise your daughter. But you wanted to go it alone.”
“I didn’t know it was going to be so hard.”
“Are you going to your therapy appointments?”
“All she ever did was ask questions and make me talk.”
“She was one of the best around and the only reason I put you in Chicago. Otherwise you would’ve been in some podunk town with nothing bigger than a McDonald’s.” Zoey crossed her arms. “You’re going to a secured compound with a lot of good men and women. If you want to stay there, you’ll pitch in and do your part. You’ll go to therapy sessions and take care of your daughter. You’ll grow up.”
“He’s going to find me.”
“Well, thanks to that phone call he already has. He’ll know exactly where you are, Sara. Make no mistakes about that. You can’t go back into my network after today because I won’t ever trust you to do your part in keeping it safe.”
“But you promised.”
“I’ve kept my promise, Sara. Have you?”
The girl paled. She shook her head. “I just needed help and was too scared to tell you.”
And there it was. The truth. The slight tremble in the girl’s thin frame gave Zoey pause. She was young, terrified, and a new mother with no idea what the heck she was doing. Zoey should’ve trusted her instincts and placed her with someone.
Which meant this fiasco was as much Zoey’s fault as it was Sara’s.
“Next time you’ll know that when push comes to shove, you ask for help. You knew you could come to me with anything, no matter what,” Zoey said gently. “The next few days aren’t going to be easy because in order to keep you safe, we’re going to have to switch tactics.”
“What does that mean?” The girl gulped as she took her daughter’s foot and rubbed it.
“It means I’m doing what I should’ve done when I waded into your troubles,” Zoey said. “It means I’m taking your father down.”
“He’s too powerful. You can’t go against him.”
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Gage said. “There’s no running from a man like him, not long term. The only way you’ll be safe is if he’s taken down. That means we’ll be asking a lot of questions you’ll likely not want to answer.”
“You’ll be safe,” Brooklyn said. “But Zoey’s right. There’s no plan C with this, Sara. If we lose this war we’re about to declare, I’m not sure there’s anything else we can do for you.”
There was always a plan C and D and many more after that, but it was time Sara took her situation seriously.
“I’m sorry you got hurt because of me,” Sara said as she looked up at Gage.
“It’s just a scratch.”
Unlikely. Jesse had spent almost half an hour cleaning and tending the injury Zoey had yet to see. Concern kept her quiet because they were running low on time. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Sara?”
“I shape up or I’m shipped out.”
“Without Ariana,” Zoey added. “Either way, she’s safe.”
“I’ll do better. I didn’t think he’d find me because of one call. Rosa never would have said anything to him.”
“Rosa was your nanny.”
The girl nodded. “I was scared and Ariana wouldn’t stop crying. I got the phone to use an app someone at work mentioned. It didn’t help, so I called Rosa. She said to take her to the hospital.”
“Well, the app could have tracked you if you logged in through one of your social media accounts or with your email address. Remember we talked about that.”
Sara’s face reddened. “I forgot.”
“We’ll go over the rules again when we get to the compound. Where’s the phone now?”
“I tossed it at the hospital. I got scared when Ben said you were coming. I knew you’d be pissed if you found it.”
“If you mess up, Sara, it’s always smarter to admit it up front so it can be addressed. Hiding things doesn’t help anyone.” Zoey glanced at Gage. She’d learned that lesson. She should have trusted him and everyone else with what she did when she first arrived at The Arsenal.
“If this heart-to-heart is done, we’ve got a plane to board,” Levi commented. “I’ll get her ready to roll.”
“Great,” Zoey muttered. Another plane ride. Her gut somersaulted at the thought, but her mind was fretting over Sara. She hoped she wasn’t making a huge mistake taking her back to The Arsenal.
Despite the early hour, The Arsenal was fully awake by the time they arrived at the main compound. Vi, Mary, Addy, Rhea, Bree, Riley, and Kamren all met Zoey and Sara as they exited the back of the van with Ariana in tow. Logan Callister braved the huddle of women but paused a couple feet from Sara.
“I’m Doctor Callister, but everyone calls me Logan.” He flashed a grin almost sexier than Gage’s at Sara. “Why don’t you come with me, and we’ll take a look at Ariana?”
“Erm, okay.”
“I’ll go with you,” Brooklyn offered.
While Zoey was thankful for a moment of respite from the young woman, the sea of expectant faces greeting her was a problem within itself. She had a lot of explaining to do to a lot of people, but the cluster of women who’d befriended her weren’t about to wait.
They were brilliant, brave, and amazing. Each of them had their own superpower, but none realized it. It was one of the ten thousand reasons Zoey loved each of them. She looked around. “Where’s Ellie?”
“I dunno. I texted and told her you were coming back. She said she’d try and get here early,” Bree said.
Kamren’s lips thinned.
Ellie was a Marville resident like Kamren. Zoey had long suspected that Dallas’s fiancée knew a bit more about The Arsenal’s new office manager than she’d shared. Now that Sara was semi-secured at the compound and her secret had been shared with everyone, Zoey added figuring out what Ellie was hiding to her list.
The woman was deathly shy. At first Zoey had assumed that was why she kept to herself, but there was far more at play with the woman. And Jesse. The man was downright rude to Ellie, which was strange since Jesse was one of the sweetest men Zoey had ever met.
“Are you okay?” Bree asked.
“I’m not the one who Spidermanned his way from one third-story window to another,” Zoey muttered as she glared at Mary.
“It wasn’t her idea; it was mine,” Vi said. “But he’d already come to the decision himself. He likely would’ve scaled the building, if needed.”
“He’s a loon.”
“No, he’s a ninja,” Rhea said. “Come on, we’ve got the whiteboard room set up.”
“Shouldn’t we get a plan in place for Sara first?” Zoey asked. She glanced back at the huddle of men. Where had Gage gone? Logan needed to take a look at him.
“It’s one of the agenda items after we get a few answers,” Mary said.
“Either way, Sara’s not your problem while she’s here at the compound,” Rhea said. “Bree and I are on Sara and Ariana duty. You need to remain distant from her so she doesn’t rely on your bailing her out. She’ll grow up faster if she’s not treated like a victim. Bree and I can give her that while also ensuring she’s doing okay and going to therapy.”
Zoey expended a relieved sigh. Rhea and Bree were the perfect choices to handle Sara. They approached everything from an analytical perspective, which means they could remain objective. Vi and Mary could as well, but they’d likely be busy with operations. “Thank you.”
“That frees up your time to focus on the problems at hand,” Vi said. “We can’t form a plan if we don’t know the potential risks. From what we’re seeing, there’s more brewing under
the surface than we first suspected.”
There was far more now that Cherling had hired someone to snatch his daughter. Anger rose within Zoey as she contemplated her options. “You hooked all my programs into HERA after I downloaded them?”
“Yeah, why?” Vi’s gaze narrowed.
“You all want answers, but there’s not enough time to waste. How about a show-and-tell instead?” Zoey headed to the whiteboard room. A herd of women followed. “Warning, I’m in really foul mood. I tend to do really stupid things when I’m pissed.”
“We’ve got your back,” Bree said as she double-timed her way to Zoey’s side. “What do you need?”
“Caffeine,” Zoey replied, knowing the woman wouldn’t stop asking until she was given a task. She’d been a damn good friend—one of the first to insert herself quite forcefully into Zoey’s life.
“On it. Come on, Rhea. Let’s raid the mess hall. We’ll need snacks.”
“I’ll help,” Riley said. The woman’s voice was deeper than before.
Zoey’s gut tightened as she halted and smiled at the three women. The angry, red scar along Riley’s neck was healing well. That’s what Logan had assured everyone when he’d returned days ago.
The woman had been dealt a huge blow when her best friend tried to kill her, but she’d survived. Zoey admired her tenacity and inner strength. Riley Mason was a lot like her six brothers.
By the time Zoey had entered the whiteboard room, everyone had assigned themselves tasks and headed off to complete them. Everyone except Vi and Mary. The two women sat where they always did at the end of the table where the computer equipment was. Zoey set up beside Vi’s seat.
Her laptop thudded on the glass standing-desktop.
“I’m sorry,” she offered into the silence. “I should have come to you both sooner.”
“You had your reasons for keeping it quiet. From what I’ve seen, I would’ve done the same thing,” Vi said. “Things haven’t exactly been calm around here.”
No, they hadn’t, but that wasn’t an excuse. The Arsenal was now inserted into the problem because Zoey hadn’t given them the warning they deserved. She’d find a way to make it up to them.
“What are you planning?” Mary asked.
“Something illegal,” she admitted. “And reckless.”
“Been there, done that,” the woman commented.
“It’s a bit nuts,” Zoey added.
“Just about everything we do is,” Vi said. “Go big or go home.”
Zoey smiled as she sat and got her stuff situated. A companionable silence descended amongst them as the two women’s fingers flew over the keyboard with an almost synchronous sound.
“What?” Vi asked.
“You two.”
“What?” Mary asked.
“You’re kind of freaky when you do that, you know…the whole typing to the same rhythm thing? It’s almost freakier than finishing each other’s sentences.”
The two women smirked because they’d heard it a lot from Cord. As if on cue, the man entered the room with the rest of the testosterone crew in tow. Zoey swallowed the nervousness in her throat as Gage settled behind her.
She did a half a turn and glared over at him. “This isn’t your wall. You lean over there with the other team leaders.”
“Not today.” His eyes twinkled with amusement. “Am I making you nervous, Little Bit?”
“Erm. Yeah. Besides, you should be in medical getting examined by Logan.”
“What for?” Gage asked. Arms crossed, he smirked.
“Lots of things,” she spat back as phantom fears from the past resurfaced. “You probably need stitches.”
“It’s just a scratch.”
Just a scratch he’d gotten vaulting himself to a tiny window ledge thirty feet in the freaking air. Zoey expelled a frustrated breath. “Scratches get infected. Infections can get bad. You could lose your skin or a whole hunk of your side. Then you’d look all weird ’cause there’d be a gaping hole.”
Gage reached across the small space between them and caressed her cheek with his thumb. “Is that what happened? You lost someone in a hospital, didn’t you?”
Zoey’s heart clenched. “This isn’t about me, Sanderson.”
“Everything’s about you right now, Little Bit.” His voice was low and gravelly and melted her insides. “But you’re right. We’ll chat about this later.”
They most certainly wouldn’t. Zoey harrumphed her thoughts on his decision and turned to face her computer. If Gage wanted to lean on the small wall behind her, fine. What did she care? She took a deep breath and inhaled his scent deeper.
Ugh.
Bree, Riley, Rhea, and the rest of the female contingent arrived with enough food and beverages to feed a small army—which was good since the guys had all shown up.
“Whiteboarding is for the geek squad,” Zoey muttered. “Don’t you all have some asses to kick or something?”
“Yeah, but we need to find out whose first,” Jesse commented.
“Right. We’ll start with the team at the hospital. It looks like Josiah Weathers and his crew at Weathers Enterprises,” Mary said with a slight growl in her voice. “Dirty mercs, third-tier at best, but it looks like some of the Hive and Collective dregs have found a new home.”
“Convenient. Now we can finish taking out the trash,” Jud said. “I love when garbage rounds itself up.”
“Josiah’s got a nonexistent moral compass,” Gage said. “Almost signed up with him before Dylan dragged my ass here.”
The admission hung in the room. Zoey’s fingers faltered on the keyboard. Gage was way too good of an operative to ever consider signing on with a third-rate mercenary squad. So why had he?
“You would’ve come to your senses,” Dylan commented. “Just glad I got a chance to kick them into you first. If we nail down a money trail between Josiah and the congressman, that’d make this a quick fight.”
“There’s no visible trail of money received in Josiah’s accounts, and asshats like him won’t work without money upfront,” Vi said. “Which means it was likely a dark web transaction.”
“Those aren’t traceable, right?” Addy asked.
“No,” Cord answered as Zoey said, “Kind of.”
All gazes shifted to Zoey because “kind of” was apparently way more interesting than “no.” Commandos didn’t care for the word no much. No typically resulted in explosions where men like Fallon blew a path to kind of.
“The dark web thrives on anonymity. Nothing is indexed and everything is encrypted, but that doesn’t mean there’s no trail. You just need to know how to find it,” Zoey said as she activated her system and cast it to the screens within the room and on the table’s surface monitors. “I’ve been obsessed with cracking the dark web. Back when I met Vi, she gave me a program she’d written that copied files on hard drives and spread from computer to computer as targets communicated.”
“Right. She’s used it while here,” Marshall said, arms crossed.
Time to speed it up. Commandos were a wee bit impatient. She typed in D0bbyRu$z and hit ENTER. “I tweaked the program a bit.”
“How so?” Mary asked with a grin. “Is this the illegal part you mentioned?”
“Or the dangerous?” Vi added.
“Both,” Zoey hedged with a whisper. “I run it with a couple of other ones I wrote. The modified version of Vi’s program doesn’t leap from computer to computer. It goes from site to site on the dark web using the data it gathers on the users’ devices. Search histories are often cleared, but nothing’s ever truly erased.”
“So you may not be able to search the dark web, but the program searches the computers of the assholes using the sites,” Rhea said.
“And nabs the locations on the web,” Cord said. “That’s brilliant.”
“And not as effective as you’d think on its own,” Zoey admitted. “The next program indexes the information and covers up the trail. The more times it’s run, the more it learns abo
ut the dark web. The final program is a predictive analysis tool. It takes the found locations and establishes potential target locations.” She looked around the room. “This is really all Vi’s genius with a few extra ingredients added.”
“That’s more than a few sprinkles of flavor,” Vi commented. “It’s genius.”
“Okay, layman terms for that?” Nolan asked with a frown.
“Locations frequently move on the dark web, but they’re a series of numbers in the background. Mathematically speaking if there’s a pattern, it could be found,” Bree said. “That’s brilliant.”
“It needs refinement,” Zoey admitted as she typed in the parameters—all the known data about Edward Cherling and Weathers Enterprises. She pasted in all of Cherling’s shell corporations HERA had identified, every bank account identified for both organizations, and all known associates and employees, then hit ENTER.
“The more parameters you enter, the more it’ll find because we’re not searching for a culmination of them all but one hit for any of them. From there the program will spread like a virus and pull data from any site referencing at least one of the parameters.”
“So we get a lot of unnecessary trash in addition to what we want,” Dallas said.
“I’m thinking most of that trash is things people would rather not have unearthed,” Jud commented. “This little program is the sort of dangerous that gets people in my former profession very nervous—nervous enough to send people like me after whoever designed it.”
Zoey gulped. Since Jud had been one of the most elite assassins in existence, that wasn’t something she wanted to hear. But he was right. “That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to share any of this with you all. Knowing is dangerous.”
“Not knowing is worse,” Fallon said.
“A hit on one person is easy to carry out. Going against us all is a different story,” Jesse said. “How long will the search take?”
“It depends on how much it starts to find.” Zoey glanced at Cord. “We’ll need extra storage space allowed for HERA. Anything the program finds will dump into HERA.”
“And HERA will start processing everything found,” Vi said. “This is beyond brilliant, Z.”
