Page 49 of Counter Attack

He stared at her for a couple of seconds and then glanced at Kayla. “Can you stay with her a minute?”

“Sure.”

Nathan turned back to Alex. “I’ll be right back.”

She pulled his visor mirror down and watched as he jogged to her Tahoe and opened the driver door.

Kayla patted her hand. “You scared me to death. Are you sure you’re all right? Do you need to go to the ER?”

Alex forced her attention from the mirror to the young woman. “I’m not injured. No reason to go to the hospital.”

She glanced up at the mirror again. Nathan stomped toward them, his face steely and something white in his hand.

Alex stared at the small blue box he’d wrapped in his handkerchief. “What is it?”

“It’s a device that allows a computer to communicate with the operating system in the Tahoe.”

She stared wide-eyed at him. “Are you saying someone hacked into the vehicle? How?”

“I don’t know. I assumed you’d want someone to investigate ASAP so I called your CSI team.”

That’s exactly what she would have done, but why didn’t he wait? It was her call to make.

“I made the call because this happened in the Pearl Springs city limits. Technically, it’s my case, but your CSI agents are better equipped.”

Once again it was like he’d read her mind.

“Oh, wow!” Kayla said. “Can someone, like, really hack into a car?”

“Evidently,” Alex muttered. “I appreciate you stopping, but you don’t have to wait around with me. I’m sure you have things to do.”

Kayla blinked. “Not really, but if you don’t want me to hang around, I’ll leave.” She turned and started to her little car.

Alex felt a little guilty and called after her. “Kayla, listen, I really appreciate what you did in Chattanooga. But I can take care of myself.”

Kayla shot her a doubtful look, then she shrugged. “Okay. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will, I promise. And thanks again.” Alex had hurt the girl’s feelings, but she had things she wanted to discuss with Nathan in private. Once Kayla drove away, Alex turned to Nathan. “Don’t miss your chance to catch those drug dealers. The CSI team will be here soon—I’ll be fine.”

His jaw jutted. “Someone just tried to kill you. They hacked into your vehicle and took control of it. If you’d been on Highway 14 when this happened, it could’ve been an entirely different story.”

His words sent a cold chill over Alex. Highway 14 had two-hundred-foot drop-offs on the side of the road. Why was someone doing this to her? “Do you think it’s the killer?”

“Who else would it be?” he said, his voice grim.

“How did they get access to the SUV? It’s been sitting in my grandparents’ carport since ten o’clock this morning.”

“The carport is detached and not really close to the house. Anyone could have slipped through the woods that run along your grandparents’ property line and broken into it.”

“But it was locked.”

He held up the blue box. “Anyone who has something this sophisticated would not have any trouble getting past door locks. In the future, you have to check every electronic port to make sure you can’t be hacked.”

Alex didn’t know where to even look for an electronic device much less know where all the electronic ports were.

But she would learn.

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