Page 65 of Death Wish

“Are you working on something else?”

“Trying to find your ex-boyfriend.”

She grimaced. “Good luck. He knows how to hide.”

Jesse grabbed his phone and sent a text. He received a reply seconds later. “Zane will work on cleaning up the image of the driver, then run a comparison to Trevor’s photo.”

“Think he’ll be able to do it?”

“It’s a long shot.”

If Zane cleaned up the image enough to identify the driver, she and Jesse might have an idea who was targeting them.

When she finished reading the information on Allison, Simone switched to Beckett Francen. Single, no ties to family, all about gaming. A genius according to his friends, coworkers, and former employers.

Huh. Sounds like he would have been a good one to tap for the program Simone was targeting. Had she been wrong? Perhaps Beckett was the one writing the program, not Allison.

No criminal activity in Beckett’s official background check. Time to check the dark web for the unofficial check. Five minutes in, her eyebrows rose. So, Beckett had hacker tendencies even back in high school. She shook her head, recognizing the same tricks she’d used at that age. The interesting thing was Beckett didn’t change his own grades. He changed the grade of his girlfriend so she could graduate on time with him.

No, Beckett hadn’t needed to change his own grades. The man had made straight A’s from the time he started school at age five.

She rolled her eyes. Must be nice. She’d earned every A the hard way, through hours and hours of study. The only thing she’d been good at was computers. Knowing she needed scholarships to afford college, Simone had applied herself to her studies and her part-time job while her friends were out partying. No surprise that she’d lost touch with all but two of them.

Beckett had skated by with a one-week suspension and a reprimand from his principal for the grade-changing incident, but he’d been allowed to graduate, anyway. A week later, he left for college and never looked back.

Three of the best tech companies in the world hired him, and he’d resigned the last job to take on his present role in Dragon Alley.

As she continued to read, Simone caught hints of some unrequited love for Allison while she dated Bastien. When she wised up and dumped him, she turned to Beckett who broke out of the friend zone. If he was a good guy, good for them.

According to the dark web scuttlebutt, Beckett was the go-to guy for unique projects at Dragon Alley.

Simone’s gut twisted. Did that mean he was the programmer she and Jesse were looking for? And if so, did Allison know about the project? Would they have discussed the details, making her a loose end to snip off because she was skittish?

She sat back, studying the screen. Looked like she needed to talk to Allison as soon as possible. “Have you looked into Bastien’s background?”

Jesse glanced at her. “Not yet. He’s next on my list. I’m still looking into Sophie Westlake’s background.”

“I’ll do a preliminary run on Bastien while you finish your check on Sophie.”

Twenty minutes later, Jesse’s cell phone signaled an incoming message. He checked the screen and surged to his feet. “We’ve got company.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

JESSE TURNED OUT the lights in the kitchen and went to the back door, easing aside the curtain over the window and peering into the darkness.

Who could be here at this time of night? For that matter, who knew where they were living? He’d been careful not to tell anyone where they were staying. No sign of movement out in the backyard.

“Who’s here?”

“Iona couldn’t tell anything except that it’s a man. He’s wearing a baseball cap pulled low over his forehead. Monitor the backyard.”

Simone closed her computer lid and took Jesse’s place.

“Don’t open the door for anyone, sweetheart. If someone shows up back here, let me know but stay out of sight.”

He walked to the living room and tugged aside the curtain just enough to see out. Their visitor was walking up the walkway to the front door, cap pulled low enough so his face was in shadow. His walk, though, was familiar.

With a scowl, Jesse unlocked the door and opened it. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

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