“So you’re a feminist. And an activist.”
“Yes. But I’m not a terrorist. I’m not advocating anyone harm anyone. I’m simply advocating that we stop harming ourselves by not pushing back. We need to be asserting our right to choice in our lives. It’s like an honor code, but about freedom. Our freedom.”
Levi bowed his head and rubbed his palm over the edge of his hair. What Zaida was up in arms about was stuff he thought the wider, general U.S. population had already come to terms with. She mentioned the different cultures represented in her group meetings. Perhaps this was a bigger issue for them. Or perhaps, he just wasn’t seeing the whole picture because it wasn’t one that affected him. She was clearly passionate about it, so it behooved him to keep trying to understand.
Lives were at stake. A lot of them.
“Levi, women here in this country are being denied access to birth control based on the religious beliefs of their employers, all the while male enhancement drugs are still covered. That’s not okay. Women make seventy-five cents to every dollar of their male counterparts. That’s not okay. Women in some parts of Africa and South America are brutally raped as a means of destroying entire cultures—full-on genocide. That’s not okay. Being forced into polygamy, here or abroad, is not okay.”
Levi held up a hand. “So how is saying no in a violent rape situation going to help those women?”
Zaida looked away as she blinked against her tears. He saw them roll down her face. She swiped them away before they hit her shirt. “This is bigger than that. I thought if we could help women stand up for themselves, if we could influence healthy populations to honor our freedoms, it would spill over into the more at-risk populations. It would become a worldwide behavioral norm.”
“So you’re seeking to impose your worldview on others? That’s your rebellion?”
“No. This isn’t a value judgment at all. I don’t care how many spouses you have if you choose to be in that situation. I don’t care how many children you do or don’t have as long as you were part of the decision about those children. I don’t care if you do or don’t use birth control, if you’ve exercised your right to make that decision. I’m not advocating living a certain way, only that you consciously know you have choices. In everything, every aspect of your life. I don’t care what your beliefs are as long as you believe in yourself.”
Levi sighed. “That’s it? That’s your freedom code?”
“Yes. It isn’t a view my parents espouse. They’re live and let live people, like Mike was. But that isn’t enough for me. Ignoring a problem only lets it grow. We have to pull together and fight for the lives we want. I know that I can only influence the people I interact with, and then, only some of them. But my group meetings give us an outlet to reinforce those beliefs. We support each other in learning about and exercising our freedoms.”
He looked at her. She was trembling. Her eyes were still watering. Even the women from Black Squadron hadn’t summoned such a depth of emotion. She couldn’t be faking it, could she?
He went over and gripped her shoulders. “I think I get it. At least I’m beginning to. But it still doesn’t answer the question about your ties to Syrian terrorists and their cells here.”
She sighed and leaned her forehead against his chest. He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her as a fierce need to protect her pierced his shell. It was hard to imagine these slim shoulders, this beautiful, vibrant woman being a tool for terrorists.
But, as ever, he’d slipped back to his pre-Black Squadron days, when he still believed women were soft creations to be protected. He had to find the answers. If Zaida was innocent, then he needed to clear her name. And if she was guilty, then he needed to figure that out before the whispers being reported on the dark web became fight calls.
“Can I meet your group? When’s the next one being held?” he asked.
She looked up at him. “Is that the only way?”
“Yes.”
“Please don’t make this a witch hunt through my friends.”
“I’m not looking for a scapegoat. I’m looking for a terrorist. Big difference. You can tell them I’m a new member.”
She shook her head. “They won’t believe it. Your eyes are too intense.”
That wasn’t something he’d expected her to say. Had she noticed his eyes because she found him attractive or because she was reading him…as an operative would?
Geez. Why did women have to be like a two-sided blade with no handle?
“Then tell them I’m a new boyfriend.”
“They’ll know I’m lying.”
“You don’t do men?”
Warm color deepened the tone of her face. “I’ve never brought a boyfriend to our meetings.”
“Have you dated anyone since you started the group?” All right, fine. That was for his personal edification, not the op.
“No.”
“Well,”—he grinned—”maybe you finally fell for someone.”
She gave him a caustic huff and pulled free. “Of course. That makes total sense. I would fall for the man about to tear my life to shreds.”
“You could look at it that way. Or maybe I’m here to help you hold your life together.”
“Why can’t I follow my own advice and say no to this?”
“Because you aren’t selfish. There’s more at stake than just you. Gather your friends for one of your salons tomorrow.”
She nodded. “I will. It’s not one of my regular meeting nights, but I should be able to get some people there. I have to tell you, though, most of my Muslim friends won’t come, not after getting the worm and its ransomware.”
“Try anyway. I need to talk to them. We can go visit them individually, but bringing them to a familiar environment might put them more at ease. I need to ask you something. I know it looks as if I’m still focused on you, but I have to follow the leads. The bad guys are expert at shifting blame and covering their tracks. We’ll get them, but only if you’re open and honest with me.”
“Go ahead.” Zaida sat on the back of his sofa. Beau came over to sit next to her. He nudged his head under her hand. That, more than anything she said or did, gave Levi confidence in her innocence. She carefully ran her hand over his soft fur, touching him absently while she focused on Levi.
Levi had to hide his smile. “You said you called Mike, right?” Maybe starting back at the beginning of all of this might help them find the missing pieces.
She nodded. “Mike’s an old friend of the family. Was, I mean. He always checked in with my parents when he was in town. They go way back.”
“So he contacted your folks. How was it you met with him but they didn’t?”
“Their schedules conflicted, so I went without them. We had a good conversation. I told him about that ransomware message. We talked about my freedom code. He said that was what the worm was called that spread the ransomware.”
Her dad had pretty much thrown her under the bus earlier, Levi thought, wondering if he was focusing his investigation on the wrong Hussan. “And Jamal is really a friend, not part of all of this?” It was a point of note that Jamal was capable of writing and releasing this worm. But if he had done so, why did things point to Zaida?
She shrugged. “My parents want me to settle down. He’s their best candidate. They want grandkids. It’s the whole circle of life thing. You know.”
He didn’t, really. His parents hadn’t survived long into his adulthood. “So are you not interested in Jamal? Or just you’re just completely rebelling against your folks?”
“Jamal and I are not a fit. He’s too overbearing.”
“And apparently a criminal,” Levi said.
“And that. I’m not opposed to marrying someone and having kids, though I have no intention of settling down.”
“So you’re living the arc of your stories.”
Her raven brows lifted. “Have you read my stuff?”
“I listened to part of an audio version.”
“And?” She bit
her bottom lip.
Cripes, that was sexy. He could imagine her nibbling the sensitive skin of his cock. He cleared his throat. “Definitely chick stuff. But I enjoyed it.”
She smiled. “Did you jump to the sex scenes or skip them?”
“You mean some scenes weren’t sex? I guess I just heard the good parts.”
She huffed an exasperated sigh. “No. You missed all the good stuff. Everything that led up to their intimacy…and came out of it.”
He grinned at her. “I’ll have to do another listen.”
“A full one this time.”
“Do you gals really spend so much time on emotional thinking?”
That seemed to take her aback. “Well. Yeah. That’s the important stuff in relationships. Guys don’t?”
“No.”
“So what fills your mind then?”
He shrugged…and couldn’t hold back another grin. “Food. Sex. Sports. Guns. Weather. Cars. Terrorist machinations. The usual stuff.”
This time she grinned as she crossed her arms. “So food before sex for you?”
“Food’s certainly been more plentiful than sex. Lately, anyway. I try not to think about what I can’t have.”
She walked toward him, slowly, her eyes holding his. His dick tightened. Fuck. The damned thing didn’t even have eyes and it knew she was near.
“Why no sex for you?” she asked.
He bent his legs, opening them, easing the pressure on his groin. “I guess sex was widely available. But I was looking for more. I want something permanent. Or at least, longer lasting than a super-charged weekend.”
“I know some single women.” She walked into the open space between his legs.
His gaze lowered from her eyes to her mouth, then back. “Do you?”
“Yeah. What are you looking for?”
“If I knew, I probably wouldn’t still be single.”
“Maybe it’s like any other subjective thing. You’ll know it when you see it.”
“Damn straight.” What if he’d already seen it? What if it was standing right in front of him?
He leaned forward. She did too. He loved the way she smelled. Exotic and familiar. Sweet and spicy. He wondered if her skin was that fragrant all over her body.
Jules. Remember Jules, he warned himself. “There’s something we have to do today.”
“What is it?” Her espresso eyes were dilated and unfocused. Her voice was rough. There was a new sweet scent coming from her heated body that did nothing to disarm his persistent hard-on.
“We need to get your computers up to Wyoming to have a friend check them for viruses.”
She pulled back fast. Her eyes were confused at first, then angry, then blank. “Do you trust this friend not to plant something on my computers?”
“I do. They’re on the same team as Kelan, the guy we met in the parking garage at your place. I trust them; we go back a long way. Our teams ran into each other on some missions. We need to go back to your place and get your desktop.”
“Do you think it’s safe to go back to my apartment?” Zaida asked.
“I’ve been told it’s clear,” Levi answered.
“Will Beau be all right without you?” she asked, looking back at his black shepherd.
“He’s got his couch, food and water. And he has open access to his dog run through the doggie door. He’s good until we get back.” Levi tilted his head as he looked at her. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were starting to like him.”
She gave him a closed-lipped smile. “He is very soft.”
8
Zaida looked over at Levi, who was calmly holding the steering wheel. He seemed a fair investigator. He certainly was a phenomenal cook. She glanced back out her passenger window. His home was magical. She was surprised to regret leaving his property. She wondered how many other women had been there…but then she remembered his narrow twin bed and smiled.
She turned to him again. “Are you lonely, Levi?”
He sent her a measuring glance, then faced the road again. A half-smile curled one side of his mouth. “What makes you ask that?”
“The romance author in me, I suppose.”
“I have a job that exhausts me. A dog that loves me. A fridge full of food waiting to be cooked. All the coffee I want. Life’s pretty good.”
“And a very narrow single bed.”
“When I meet the right woman, she can pick out the bed she wants. That room’s big enough for it.”
“So you’re waiting, like a spider in a web, for her to come to you?”
There was that half-smile again. “Sounds serendipitous.”
“Is it working?” Zaida asked.
He looked at her again. “You tell me.”
What did that mean? Was she the one he’d been waiting for? ‘Cause it was entirely possible he was the very kind of man she’d been holding out for. When he gave her his full attention, it was sometimes hard to breathe. Instead of answering him, she just watched the road…but inside, she was screaming that yes! it was working.
And yet, all they had was a forced intimacy—not one either of them had chosen.
They were silent the rest of the ride. Zaida felt her tension deepen as they entered the Old Town portion of Fort Collins. The drive into town didn’t seem nearly as long as the drive out had been.
Levi used his badge to get into her parking garage, and picked an open guest spot. He locked the Jeep as they crossed the garage. Both of them looked around cautiously as they made their way to the elevator. Before the doors opened, he moved her slightly behind him. Fortunately, no one was coming out. He did that again when they hit her apartment floor. He pressed his key card to her door’s security pad. The door unlocked.
He took her hand and drew her in behind him. She glanced around her space, looking for signs of the violent struggle they’d had to walk through on their way out yesterday, but all of it was gone. The blood. The shards of her broken lamp. The bullet hole in the wall.
She sent Levi a relieved glance. He gave a brief nod, immediately understanding what her look meant. He motioned her to silence, then whispered, “I’m going to clear your apartment. Wait here.”
He moved rapidly through the whole space, opening doors, dipping into rooms. As soon as he went down her hallway, she hurried into the kitchen to the drawer where she’d left her old phone. Fortunately, it still had power. She quickly texted the group of women who worked on her translations, telling them that she couldn’t explain fully, but that all of them should take the next week off and not come to the office. She said some trouble was afoot and they should make themselves scarce until it was figured out. She’d written her message in Arabic, making it a little harder for Levi to read just in case he looked at her phone. Of course, he could always use a translator tool, but maybe he wouldn’t think of that.
No sooner had she sent her message and stowed her phone than Levi had finished his walk through her apartment. He holstered his pistol as he came back to her. “We’re good. Let’s get your stuff and get out of here.”
Zaida followed him into her office. She shut her Mac down, then gathered it, the keyboard, and a mouse.
“Just bring your machine. The guys have the rest of the stuff they need. Also, are there any flash drives you’ve used in the last year? Tablets? Other devices? Other computers? They could be the source of the problem. Bring them too.”
She collected them. He found a nearly empty bin in her closet that he’d dumped and was loading everything into. “What about my ereader?” she asked.
“Bring it. Any of these could be the source of the problem that showed up in Syria.” He looked at her. “You know what I can’t understand? The manuscript that was in that ISIS encampment wasn’t one you’ve published.”
“What was it?” she asked. He hadn’t mentioned that before. She’d just assumed when he’d said manuscript that he meant one of her stories.
He told her the title. “I don’t recall seeing that in your catal
og. Is that something you have on your hard drive?”
”I did publish that, but it came out with a different title. If that’s what they had, then they’d somehow gotten a draft of my unpublished work. I don’t give those out. Not to anyone. Was I hacked?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out today.”
Levi was quiet on the ride up to Wyoming. Zaida tried to puzzle through that. Did his silence mean he was uneasy about where they were going? Or was he worrying about what he’d discover on her computers? She was a little miffed herself. If those terrorists in Syria had her information, what other personal identifying information did they have? And what would happen if they decided to use it?
Their drive took close to two hours. At last they pulled off the highway into a little town called Wolf Creek Bend, which they drove straight through. A few minutes out of town they turned onto a long dirt drive that led up to a huge monstrosity of a timber frame house. A mansion really. She looked at Levi, but didn’t ask to confirm if this was the place or not. His tension was even worse than when they’d been driving. She followed him up to the front door, which opened before they could knock.
Standing there, blocking almost the whole entrance, was a huge, wild-haired man with a scar through one dark brow and a big grin full of white teeth. He hooked hands with Levi then pulled him close for a shoulder to shoulder man-hug.
“Max Cameron,” Levi said, grinning. “Looks like they let just about anyone into Wyoming.”
“I was thinking the same about you. Aren’t you usually slapping around in some ocean somewhere?” Max said.
“Got out of the Navy. Retired at the beginning of the year. Guess someone still had a way to make me feel useful,” Levi said.
“Can’t wait to catch up. That her?” Max nodded in Zaida’s direction.
At his hard glare, Zaida had an overwhelming desire to turn and run. She could wait in the car. Or maybe have Levi drop her off at the diner she’d spotted in town.
Levi reached a hand out for her, which she only very tentatively accepted. Why had she trusted him so completely? Look where it had landed her. Standing face-to-face with some horrible biker gang enforcer type guy.
Freedom Code Page 8
