Page 32 of The Last Promise You Made

“Like the famous magician?”

“Amongst technophiles, there’s a myth about a box or a code that can be created to break into any system, run any program, and leave no trace behind. Like magic. Can you imagine one set of code being able to communicate with and get into and out of any system in the world?”

“I can imagine how dangerous that would be. There have been many books and movies written about it because it’s scary enough to cause mass panic,” I said. “You think Anna was working on something like this?”

“I think Anna and the cartel have been using something like it for a while. Perfecting it. Tweaking it. Not only because of the way they got into the bank in the Caymans but also the way they seem one step ahead of every agency that comes at them. They could be in the U.S. Customs system, which would allow them to approve shipments in and out of the country without a hiccup. And the identity theft scheme they ran? They broke into records all over the place.”

Even though I’d hinted at the idea of them having a worm in our computer systems to Maddox and Ryder, I’d hoped it wasn’t true. What Rory was suggesting was even worse. Scary as fuck to think of a cartel being able to get into any system in the world. “You think it’s why they killed Anna now? She was done with the code? She completed it?”

“I don’t know. But if she did finish it, killing her was a mistake. She would have had some crazy-ass encryption on it. They wouldn’t be able to use it without knowing the key, some kind of cipher she would have developed to keep it out of the wrong hands.”

“She was working for the wrong hands.”

“But she controlled it.”

“You’re trying to make her into some Robin Hood sitting in the middle of an evil cartel.”

“That’s because I think she was,” Rory said. “I’ve been poking into some of the leads the task force got last year and her coding that was dropped here and there that we thought we lucked into. I’m almost certain she gave it up on purpose. If she had an actual working Houdini box, G, they could have already dismantled the entire world’s infrastructure. Military systems. Banking. Internet. Primary services. Emergency services. But they haven’t.”

“Because she wouldn’t let them?”

“Or she hadn’t told them she’d created the final piece. Maybe the cartel got suspicious or simply got tired of waiting. Maybe they thought they could find someone else to finish it for them. I don’t have an answer to those questions.”

“In Ravyn’s letter, she talks about an insurance policy she left with Addy.” Goosebumps popped up along my skin.

“I know.”

Damn. If that was the case, and if the Lovatos got even a hint at Addy being alive, they’d send everything they had after her. Suddenly, coming to Willow Creek and handing her over to Ryder felt like a huge mistake. It put everyone here at risk in addition to the little girl. I’d wanted Addy to feel safe so she’d tell us what she knew, but maybe I’d done the opposite.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” I said on a long exhale.

“We have no reason to suspect they know about Addy. And all of this is just wild conjecture on my part. We need to find proof before we leap off the deep end.”

“You need to present your idea to the task force.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. It’s your theory. They’ll have questions I won’t be able to answer.” Noise from down the hall in the kitchen brought me back to where I was. My hand went to my Glock tucked beneath my shirt at the back, and then I heard the deep timbre of Ryder’s voice. “I gotta go. I have to make sure a certain growly rancher truly understands how quiet we need to keep this.”

Rory made a noise that sounded like she was trying to hold back a laugh. “Good luck with that.”

We hung up, and I stared at the tangle of limbs and leaves outside the window. Exhaustion wound through me. With sleep out of the question at the moment, I needed food and a gallon of caffeine to tide me over.

I went into the bathroom and cringed at the image in the mirror. This was what running for almost two days straight looked like. The walk-in shower with cream tile flecked with gold called to me, but even if I washed off the sweat and dust of the last forty-eight hours, I had no clean clothes in my go bag. I needed to do laundry or get some new things. So, instead of stepping into the luxurious shower, I splashed water on my face, straightened my ponytail, and added another layer of deodorant to the pile I’d already applied.

I’d gone longer than this without showering or changing clothes. Venezuela had been the worst. I’d been stuck for almost a week in the middle of guerilla territory with Gary, who had been pretending to be my cameraman, and a SEAL team. The lack of a shower and clean clothes hadn’t seemed important when we were in the middle of the jungle, following a tracker I’d placed on a stolen rifle. But here, in the middle of the spotless elegance of Ryder’s home, with his neatness and control on display, my days-old clothes and unwashed body made me feel like I stood out like an ant on vanilla ice cream. But I had bigger things to worry about than what Ryder Hatley thought of my run-down appearance.

I made my way out of the bedroom and into the main living area to see Ryder leaning up against the counter with his phone to his ear. My pulse spiked, worry cresting that he was already telling people about Addy. I wanted to strangle him, even if I understood his reasoning. He’d just had his world turned upside down, and he would rely on his family to help him through it. I just wasn’t sure his daughter could afford it.

His voice cracked as I heard him say, “I don’t know anything about raising a child. I don’t know how…”

My body froze, knowing he’d hate me hearing his torn admission. He’d hate me seeing his moment of weakness, and yet, I wished he hadn’t trailed off. I wished he’d finished the sentence so I could see beneath the grumpy veneer once again to the tantalizing truth of the man under it.

I snapped myself out of that chain of thought as quickly as I entered it. What I didn’t have time for was to be tantalized and tempted. I had a little girl to protect and a cartel to take down. The only thing that was important was making sure everyone he told was on board with the seriousness of the situation.

I made my way through the living area on quiet feet as he finished up his discussion and flipped what looked like grilled cheese sandwiches onto three waiting plates.

“I really wish you hadn’t done that,” I said.

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