Page 39 of Death Wish

She swallowed hard. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “I’ll set up my bots to scan the dark web for mentions of the special projects division members, then look for Trevor.”

“Be my guest. In the meantime, I’ll run your special projects team through the DA database and see what they have in the system.”

“Wait a minute. Won’t they know you’re the one running the names?”

“Of course. I have to log in under my identification code. I’ve been systematically going through every employee’s file in my downtime at work, and I already told my supervisor I was running the names so I could get to know each employee and their backgrounds. He won’t be surprised to see my ID code in the system attached to the runs.”

“Make sure you run other people’s names, too, Jesse. I don’t want them looking too closely at the list of names. If you only run the special division names tonight, they might become suspicious.” Perhaps she could go into the system and fix it so Jesse’s search wouldn’t show up. No, she decided. That wouldn’t work. The computer geeks would know someone had hacked into the system. Better to let Jesse’s story about getting to know each employee better stand.

“I will. Need more coffee?” When she nodded, Jesse refilled her mug, then prepped another pot.

Smart man. Their after-hours work would probably last long into the night. Caffeine was a priority.

Simone set her bots to search the dark web and turned her attention to locating Trevor.

An hour later, she sat back, stunned. How could this be? Was she mistaken?

“What’s wrong, Simone?” Jesse asked.

“I found Trevor.”

“Where?”

She drew a deep breath, dread swamping her. “He’s in Sayulita.”

CHAPTER NINE

SIMONE STARED AT her computer screen, hoping she was mistaken. She wasn’t. The information was right in front of her. Her ex-boyfriend was renting a house outside of Sayulita. Oddly enough, he was staying a couple of blocks from Joy. Was that a coincidence?

“Are you sure?” Jesse asked.

“Positive. He’s renting a house near Joy’s place.”

He frowned. “Find a traffic or security camera near his home. Let’s see if he was anywhere near Joy’s place today.”

As Simone turned her attention back to her computer, she shuddered at the thought of Trevor being in the same town. Why was he here? Might he have legitimate business in Sayulita?

She conceded the chances of that being true were little to none. He always needed money. How would he afford to come to Mexico?

If he didn’t have a legitimate business interest in town, that left only one reason he’d come to a foreign country and rent a place in the same town.

Simone.

Another shudder wracked her body. Simone placed her fingers on her keyboard, shocked to see her fingers trembling.

Jesse walked around the table to crouch by her side. “Look at me, sweetheart.” When she did, he reached for her hands and sandwiched them between his own. “Everything will be all right. I promise.”

“You can’t guarantee it.”

“He won’t touch you again, baby.”

She blinked. Baby? Sweetheart? Why did those sweet names turn her insides to mush? She’d never allowed Trevor to call her anything except Simone. Jesse doing it didn’t bother her in the least. “You don’t know him, Jesse. He’s tenacious and downright mean. He’ll find a way to get to me.”

Would she have to run again? She didn’t want to leave. Didn’t she deserve a life away from her past?

“Simone.”

She focused on the medic. “Sorry. I zoned out for a minute.”

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