Page 97 of Counter Attack

He sighed. “I’ve always got your six and you know that,” he said softly as Dylan reentered the room.

A warmth spread through her chest that she couldn’t haveexplained if she wanted to. Still basking in the feeling, she turned to Dylan and told him what she wanted.

Once Dylan was at Phame’s site, he searched for a place to leave comments. “It’s not an option.”

“So how do you suggest that we contact Phame?”

The crime scene tech hesitated. “I’ve seen that name in a game forum. Not sure it’s the same Phame we have here, but I can check.”

Alexis crossed her arms. “Do it, and make a copy of the link to the site for me and text it to me.”

A few clicks later, they were in what looked like a chat room. Dylan entered Phame into the search box, and messages started popping up. Alex and Nathan leaned in closer to read them. The overriding theme was the game and cryptocurrency.

“When did Phame post his last message?”

Dylan scrolled through the messages that were not in order. “Two days ago.”

“So, he checks this site regularly,” Alex said. “Can we respond to one of his messages?”

“Yeah—it’s like any other chat room. Except here you don’t have to give your ID, but you do have to check back for any responses.”

“Okay,” Alexis said. “Write this: ‘You’re not as smart as you think you are, and I’m hot on your trail. You’re making mistakes, or I wouldn’t be on this forum leaving you a message. I will say this for you—I’ve met a lot of cowards, but you top the list, hiding behind a silly name like Phame.’ Sign it ‘Alex Stone.’”

51

Once Dylan hit enter, Nathan’s stomach clenched. This was a mistake. He felt it in his bones, but Alexis wasn’t listening to him. She was so determined to catch this killer that she was willing to risk her own life.

And he understood that. If the roles were reversed, Nathan would do the same thing. He wished he could make that happen—get the killer to come after him. But he wasn’t the target. Alexis was. He’d just have to do like he’d promised—watch her back.

“Thanks, Dylan,” Alexis said. “I owe you one.”

“I don’t know. I’m with Nathan—not sure this is a good idea.”

“It’ll do until we come up with a better one.”

He stood. “Do you need me for anything else?”

“No,” they both said at the same time and then laughed.

“Oh, wait,” Alexis said. “Leave me the bootup for Tor—I want to see if Phame responds to the message.”

“Let me copy it to another USB drive.” Dylan sat down again and made a copy of the Tor drive. “You remember how to get in?”

Her eyes narrowed and a thin smile played around her lips. “I do know a little bit about computers.”

Dylan palmed his hands. “No offense intended.”

“None taken, but I’m not as clueless as I look.”

When Dylan closed the door behind him, Nathan turned to her. “What time are you leaving?” He warmed under her questioning look. “I’m following you home,” he said.

“You don’t—”

“Yes, I do. So don’t argue with me.”

“Then how about now?”

“Perfect.” He jingled his keys while he waited for her to slip her computer into a bag, then he opened her door and followed her out.

---