Firewall (25 page)

11:46 P.M. THURSDAY

Grayson drove toward the area where the Escalade had been spotted. Another FBI car sped behind him. A third on its way. Through his night goggles, he saw a glow from the right side of the road. A body lay on the grass. His nerves screamed alarm. He swerved and stopped behind the fallen figure, allowing the car behind him to pass.

He jerked off the night goggles and grabbed the flashlight lying on the dash. The instant the beam settled on the body, he recognized the turquoise shirt and the mass of auburn hair. His focus should be on his job, not the woman on the ground.

“Easy, Grayson,” Joe said. “I’m right here with you.” He grabbed his Glock.

Grayson released his seat belt, not able to get out of the car fast enough. Pulling his gun, he followed the flashlight to where she lay. “Let me know if you see that scum.”

“I’ll kill him and do the world a favor.”

Grayson bent to Taryn’s side. She lay on her back with her right arm holding her left. Her right eye was swollen and a bruise trailed down her cheek. “Taryn. Are you okay?” Her stomach rose and fell, giving him hope. “Taryn?”

“Hey,” she whispered. “Is this my knight in shining armor?”

He wanted to draw her into his arms, but he might hurt her.
“Just your loyal FBI agent. Where do you hurt besides the nasty bruises on your face?”

She blinked and opened her eyes. “My left arm’s broken. Heard it snap.”

“We can get that fixed. Anything else?”

“I’m good. Semi-good.”

Her spirit hadn’t been damaged. “Should I call an ambulance?”

“No. Don’t want the exposure. Just drive me where I need to go.”

She even sounded like an agent. “What about Wallace?”

“Left him a few miles back. He’s on foot somewhere. Has his gun and phone.”

That didn’t make sense with the Escalade parked down the road, but he’d find out more once she was in the car and on the way to a hospital. “I’m going to help you get to the truck and avoid your left arm.” He pulled his shirt over his head and tied it around her arm and neck. “Tell me when something hurts.”

“Like my whole body?” She drew in a breath and reached for him with her right hand while he pulled her to her feet.

“Wallace will pay for this.”

She moaned. “He already has . . . but you can add to his misery.”

Grayson vowed she’d never be beaten like this again. He turned to Joe. “Do you see anything?”

“Nope. You have one tough lady there,” Joe said. “I want to hear her story. Might need to put it in my memoirs.”

“Joe
 
—” her voice still a whisper
 
—“at this rate, I’m going to write my own.”

Only his Taryn could keep her humor in a raw situation. He eased her onto the seat of the old Dodge pickup. “This will be a bit of a squeeze with you in the middle. No seat belts for you.”

“Grayson, be careful of my arm when you slide in, okay?”

“Sure, honey.” He caught himself, but it was too late. Maybe she didn’t hear.

“Grayson.” She swallowed hard. “Concentrate on stopping this
death spree. If you and I are to be something more, it’ll have to happen later.”

He felt like the tables were turned and she was Joe or the SSA. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Actually, it sounded good.”

He chuckled and radioed the other agents about Wallace being on foot and added that he was transporting Taryn to a hospital in Huntsville. Joe joined them on the passenger side.

“Unless you intend to drive with one foot out of this truck, you’ll have to touch me,” she said to Grayson in a weak voice.

“Putting you in more pain is the last thing I want to do,” he said.

“At this point, we’re the Three Musketeers. Feel free to take over my broken arm.”

Joe laughed. “Will you marry me?”

“Not today. Consummating the vows is out of the question.” She gasped. “I can’t believe I said that. Oh, I’m so sorry. What a crude thing to say.”

“It’s the battered body talking,” Joe said. “We’ve heard a whole lot worse.”

“But not from me.”

“What about your tattoo?” Grayson said, remembering one of their first conversations in the hospital.

“What tattoo?”

“Uh, never mind.” He hesitated before drilling her with questions. “Do you feel like talking about Wallace?”

“I have to.” Her voice grew quieter. She relayed what had happened since Wallace picked her up at the convenience store. “I’d heard of devices to disengage trackers. Developed in Germany. Although he denied participating in the airport bombing, he didn’t deny his link to Nehemiah.”

“He gave no indication where Zoey is being held?”

She drew in a breath. “Sorry. I’m trying to be brave. I have to believe she’s somewhere waiting for me. I don’t think God would bring us this far and abandon us.”

Joe’s phone alerted him to a text. “We have an ID on Dina Dancer, confirmed by her brother,” he said. “She’s Dina Pedraza, Jose’s sister.”

“Could she have Zoey?” Taryn said.

Grayson recalled praying for his mother and how he’d asked God to help him hold tight to her hand, even when she released it and disappeared into the whirlwind. “How will you handle it if Dina doesn’t have Zoey and she’s gone?”

“I don’t want to think about it.”

12:32 A.M. FRIDAY

Taryn sucked in her panic. If Zoey wasn’t alive? Could her death be compared to all those who’d died in the airport bombing? A statistic? Was that what Grayson meant? Or did he want her to be strong and face another possible tragedy?

She tried to put herself in his shoes. He was committed to learning the truth and finding the killers. Perhaps he could divorce himself from allowing his heart to take over, but she couldn’t. She formed her words, letting them roll around in her head logically yet woven with intense emotion.

“Every person who dies needlessly deserves the responsible one to be held accountable,” she said. “But I refuse to think of Zoey gone until I see her body. The reason I won’t stop is because of her.” She closed her eyes. “I keep seeing bodies at the airport and hospital corridors lined with the injured.”

“Taryn, I’m not callous,” Grayson said. “If I allow every chaotic event to affect me emotionally, then I can’t do my job.”

“I understand. I just want you to see where I’m coming from.”

“I do. Would it be easier to relax until we can get to a hospital?”

“You mean like sitting in a dark room until someone turns the light on?” A jolt of pain raced to her shoulder. “This arm really does hurt.”

Joe’s gaze flew to her. “What can I do for you?”

“Be yourself.” She held her breath to manage the pain. “Both of you, what else happened tonight?”

“You tell her, Grayson,” Joe said.

“You can. She likes you better.”

“You’re younger. Better-looking.”

“Guys,” she said. “It hurts to laugh.”

“Okay,” Grayson said. “Haden Rollins came through with a name.”

“The New York person?”

Grayson explained how the man confessed to what he’d done for an oil and gas trader by the name of Iris Ryan and that she’d hired a hacker to give her access. “We’re looking for her.”

“The BOLO thing?”

“Yes, ma’am. He indicated feelings for Kinsley Stevens. She’s his biggest concern.”

“Good.” Taryn whispered a prayer of thanks. Soon they’d all have answers. “Why did she have the airport bombed?”

Grayson gripped the steering wheel. “Haden doubts she initiated the bombing.”

The hope from moments before died in her throat.

2:13 A.M. FRIDAY

I sit on my bed in the hotel room and call my attorney ex-husband. He hates being wakened in the middle of the night, but that’s why he’s paid far more than he’s worth.

“I’m not asleep, Iris,” he says. “The FBI issued a subpoena for your office, and they’re going through every inch of your hard copy and online files.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“What good would that have done? I know you don’t have anything incriminating there.”

“I’m not surprised by their search. Always a step behind the masterminds of this country.”

“Iris, you weren’t honest about your involvement with Gated Labs or LNG.”

He speaks to me like I’m an insolent child. “Excuse me?” My voice rises.

“Haden Rollins talked to the FBI. Named you as the prime mover behind the attempts to steal software from Gated Labs. There’s a warrant for your arrest, and you’re suspected of kidnapping a child.”

Rollins would pay for his loose lips. “Build a case against him. I’ll give you all you need.”

“I’m not in the mood to take orders. What have you done?”

“Just business. I’m tough, but I follow the rules.”

“What about the law? You’re also being linked to the airport bombing in Houston.”

“Your job is to represent me.”

“You pulled that off? Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

“Right. I called you, remember? I’m not surfacing until you go to the FBI and work out a deal. I’ll name the CEO, Brad Patterson, as the originator and Rollins as his accomplice. Formier ordered killings and the confiscation of top-secret files at Gated Labs. I’ll claim I was sleeping with Rollins, and he confessed his part to me. I was afraid for my life and ran.”

“Sure you don’t want to implicate Taryn Young?” His dry tone didn’t deter me.

“I’ll take care of her myself.”

“So that’s why you’re in Houston?”

“None of your business where I am or why. Call me when you have this messy thing handled.” I end the call and pour myself a drink. Finishing it, I flip on the TV for the latest news. The first image I see is my photo, actually two. One is my professional shot and the other is with the blonde wig I’m wearing now. I brought a third disguise, a pixie wig with purple streaks. It looked great with green contacts and black-framed sunglasses. Each look has a different set of clothes, and those outfits are with me.

A reward’s been offered for information.

I pour another drink. He hasn’t called, and that’s dangerous. I know he’s here, so what’s he doing? I pull my gun from my purse and wrap my fingers around the cold metal. It’s ready for when he makes his appearance.

I call Save to make sure his work is on schedule.

Young designed a false entrance into the software, and it shut down his computer. He’s behind on his commitment. Timing is everything.

3:25 A.M. FRIDAY

Taryn walked with Grayson and Joe from the treatment center of the hospital ER much sooner than she’d expected. There were perks to being escorted by the FBI. Her arm rested in a cast that extended to her fingers, and she cringed at the thought of maneuvering a keyboard. Oh, but it throbbed. When hadn’t she hurt somewhere over the past four days? She’d refused an injection for pain and instead requested some non-drowsy pain medication. She hated existing on pills and injections that blocked out the real world
 
—not her style of living.

Joe whipped out a pen from his shirt pocket. “I need something permanent to write with. Your arm is a canvas.” He turned to a young woman at the receptionist desk. “Excuse me, miss. Do you have a marker?” He followed up with a smile that must have won him every female within miles when he was younger. She gave him black, green, and red markers.

Taryn offered her casted arm. “Make it good.”

Joe winked and wouldn’t let her see his masterpiece. She grinned at Grayson, but the look on his face shook her. They were there, his feelings for her, and he wasn’t hiding them. Her face grew warm, her own vulnerability seeping through the pores of her skin.

“There you are.” Joe beamed like a little boy.

Taryn took a peek and laughed. He’d written the words in green and added a touch of red.
To the girl who hacked her way into my heart.

“That’s cheesy,” Grayson said. “My turn, and don’t look. The artist is at work. I need the red and green markers.”

“You two are incorrigible.” She sealed the light moments to memory.

“Yeah, and I taught him everything he knows,” Joe said. “His charm and good looks come from me.”

Grayson seemed to take forever before he capped the markers and handed them to Joe. “My words will go down in infamy.”

“Read it aloud, Taryn, for the full effect,” Joe said.

Taryn drew in a sharp breath to keep the tears buried. “‘To my new partner, who’s never let me down.’ You two are going to make me cry.”

“Won’t be the first time.” Joe wrapped his arm around her waist. “Last time I had the honors.”

She shook her head to dispel the wave of emotion. “When this is over, I’m taking both of you to dinner.”

“When this is over, I plan to tackle a lot of things.” Grayson opened the ER door to the parking lot. It had rained, and the parking lot was a mess of puddles, as though the world were cleansed and the end was in sight.

Joe laughed. “When this is over, I’ll shower our lady with fine pearls.”

Taryn startled and stopped in the parking lot. “Pearls.”

“What?” Grayson said.

They knew her every move. Murford had planted a tracking device . . . but what? Not her wedding ring . . . She touched her ears. “Claire gave me a pair of pearl earrings for my wedding day. When Murford saw them, he suggested I not take them off until after the honeymoon.”

She yanked out one and then the other. “I think their GPS is here.” She tossed them into a puddle of water. “Now try to find me.”

As they picked their way through the parking lot, Joe updated them on what was happening. Cameron Wallace had slipped under the radar and was suspected to be on foot. But his exploits around the globe had proven him highly skillful in avoiding law enforcement types. Why had he kidnapped her when his specialty was pulling the trigger? So many questions while the clock ticked closer to the 11:00 a.m. export launch of LNG. No threats had been made to the companies. No anticipated delays. Just a group of shrouded people who were intent on stopping the export with a series of bodies to prove their point.

Earlier, after Taryn had been at the convenience store, Grayson retrieved her purse and phone from the trash. A plus in the havoc of the night. She checked her cell for a message from Save. He’d texted her.

“Guys, I need to call Save.” She pressed in his number, and he answered on the first ring. “Got your text. What’s up?”

He cursed. “Problems and more problems. The developer has nested more layers in this program than I have time to penetrate.”

“I thought you were in and testing it. I’ve had the flu and haven’t done a thing.”

“False front. When I tested the software, a virus shut me down and froze my computer. Now I’m on another laptop and working my way through this labyrinth.”

“Send me what you have, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Make it fast. The boss is all over me. Wants the access now.”

“What did you tell her?” Taryn said.

“That I’m a hacker, a professional who needs space to think through each calculated move. Don’t ask her response.”

“How far are you into the system?”

“Depends on what I find. I want to be sure before I hose this laptop. I’ll text you the details.” Save ended the call.

Taryn ordered herself to stop trembling. “The virus worked, and now he’s trying to reverse-engineer things. Wants my help.”

“This will be okay,” Grayson said. “Can you toss him a bone?”

“Sure. I’ll wait a few minutes and text him. His boss is impatient.”

Grayson opened the pickup door for her. “Iris Ryan is anything but tolerant. Joe, do we have an update on what’s going on with her?”

Joe entered the passenger side and searched through his BlackBerry. “Agents report her ex-husband had nothing to state and has no idea where she is. I don’t believe that for a minute. He claims she’s been framed, and he’s working on a statement. Nothing found in her office, but a sweep is being done of her entire building.” He held up a finger. “A search warrant has also been issued for her residence.”

“Anything on the other investigations?” Grayson pulled out of the hospital parking lot. One more time she was en route to the FBI office in Houston and not alone.

“Authorities are still looking for Zoey. People from Claire Levin’s church are going door to door in the Huntsville State Park area, and a motorcycle club has volunteered in the search.”

Taryn swallowed the sobs threatening to steal her composure. “I still think she’s in the area. Murford mentioned more than once his love for fishing and a cabin there. I know the cabin was empty, and the fingerprint sweep revealed no one in your database. But I think whoever has Zoey took her to a similar site.” If only the answers were a few keystrokes away. She was fishing too.

God, help us before it’s too late.

“Dear lady,” Joe began, “the search teams are combing every inch of that park and surrounding homes.”

“Am I a fool to think when we find Zoey, we’ll unlock this whole mess?”

Neither man responded.

“I’m going to think back over every conversation with Murford. No man is smart enough to guard every word.”

“Maybe I can rattle something loose,” Grayson said. “Unusual phone calls? Private conversations with George Breckon?”

She concentrated on the man and his moods. “I remember a phone call in which he mentioned ‘some walls were thicker than others.’ Now I see he meant Nehemiah’s firewall, or my refusal to sleep with him, or my reluctance to leave my techno gadgets alone with him. If he and his buds broke into my condo while I was in the hospital, why didn’t he go that route before?”

“Fear of getting caught. And he thought he had the situation under control,” Grayson said. “Control ranks at the top of his motivation. Along with a heavy dose of narcissism.”

Taryn studied the clock on Grayson’s truck. Even with all the agents and law enforcement agencies working on the bombing, the prospect of compromised software, and a missing child, how could it all be resolved before 11:00 a.m.?

“Hey, we have company,” Grayson said.

Taryn whirled around. An SUV rapidly approached from the rear. “Wallace,” she whispered. The highway ahead lay void of traffic . . . the perfect spot to be intercepted.

Both agents pulled their weapons.

“Taryn, get down in the seat.” Grayson stepped on the gas.

“He must have watched us leave the hospital,” she said. When would this be over?

She bent over in the cramped space, favoring her left arm. The SUV crashed into their rear. Stifling a scream, she jostled and banged her head against the steering wheel. A rush of wind and sound met her, and she assumed Joe had lowered his window. An exchange of fire left her trembling and wishing she had her own gun.

“It’s me they’re after,” she said. “I’ll go with them.” No one else needed to be hurt or killed.

“Fat chance,” Grayson said. But his words might get him killed.

A pop sounded, and a rear tire sank to the concrete. The Dodge bounced, swerved, and leaned to the right on two wheels. She rose to see Grayson steering wildly to keep the truck on the road. She braced herself as the vehicle flipped.