Page 96 of Counter Attack

“There’s no option for that other than to bail.”

“Keep going, then.” Not that she needed to see the image again. Alex would know the woman she’d mentored anywhere. The woman who was trying to get off the streets. The woman who had been the killer’s second victim. Rebecca Daniels.

A cloaked figure jumped out from behind a tall cedar. Alex’s reaction was automatic. “Fire!”

Another red message popped up.“Too slow. Minus a hundred points.”

What was wrong with her? Phame was playing with her mind. “Keep going.”

“It’s asking left or right.”

“Left again.” Her character turned left, and immediately fog filled the screen until the screen went black. A guitar blended in with the steady beat of drums, growing louder until Alex wanted to cover her ears. Suddenly, it stopped, and the screen jumped to life, revealing two doors.

“Which one?” Dylan asked.

“Right.” The door opened. “Bail!” Alex closed her eyes, but she couldn’t block the last image she had of Rebecca.

“No need,” Dylan said. “It’s asking for more cryptocurrency.”

“I don’t need to see more.” She pulled off the tie that held her ponytail and shook out her hair. Anything to get a semblance of normal in her mind. “What kind of person is this?”

Dylan swung the chair around to face them. “A crazy person.”

“Definitely a sociopath,” Nathan said.

A blessed silence filled the room after the reverberating drumbeat. Dylan cleared his throat. “If you don’t need me, I have work I need to finish.”

“Go.” Alex waved him toward the door, then after he left, she walked to the window that had been replaced, careful to stand to the side. Several people were using the walking trail. The sun hung low, sending golden beams through the trees. The scene was normal, the way things were supposed to be.

Not the dark world they’d just left. That world was satanic. Defeated wasn’t in her vocabulary, but this ... this person came close to adding it.Dear Lord. You have to help us.

There had to be a way to draw this person out, but for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine how. She felt Nathan’s presence behind her and leaned her head against his chest as his arms cradled her. Being held by him felt so right. Alex shook the thought away. She didn’t have time to fall in love. Except, time or not, Alex feared she already had.

“We’ll get him,” Nathan whispered against her hair. “He’s getting cocky, and he’ll make a mistake.”

“How do we flush him out? Up until now, he’s called all the shots.”

“If we had a way to challenge him...”

“Yeah,” she said softly. “He thinks he can’t be caught.”

Alex closed her eyes and mentally rehearsed every chess note, then pictured the website and video. And then the name. Phame. The killer had a huge ego. And that was the way to draw him out. She took out her phone and dialed Dylan. “Can you come back for a few minutes? I need your help.”

“What are you going to do?” Nathan didn’t sound at all happy.

“I want to send a message to Phame and let him know he’s not invincible. The best place to do that is either on that website or a forum where Phame hangs out. Dylan will know how to do that.”

“I don’t like it.” He paced in front of her. “I don’t like it at all. You’re poking the bear, trying to lure Phame into coming after you when you don’t have to—he’s been after you all along.”

“I’m tired of the killer calling the shots, attacking when and wherehewants to. Up to now, he’s faced no pressure, thinking no one knows anything about him. By leaving a message, I’m letting him know I found his website, and I’ll find him.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“Do you have a better idea?” She held his gaze. “I’m willing to listen if you do.”

He palmed his hands. “You know I don’t.”

“That’s the problem. This is the best idea we’ve come up with, and you’ll just have to have my back.”

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