Page 73 of Dairy and Deadly

“My ex isn’t back at work. His law firm is in the process of severing his employment.”

Johnny raised his head. “Interesting.”

“Oh, that’s far from the most interesting part,” she sighed. “Remember how Blaire and Darla made it sound like they go way back with Martin?”

“Yep.”

“Well, they do go way back. They’re connection, of all things is?—”

“XAX,” he declared darkly. It was the only thing that made sense.

“Bingo.” It broke her heart that her father had inadvertently gotten himself caught up in this mess. “As it turns out, the X on either side of XAX stands for targeting Americans. They want to stamp us out of existence. Every last one of us. Though I don’t understand their twisted reasons, it has something to do with us being the melting pot of the world — a string of bloodlines they consider so impure that we don’t deserve to exist.”

“Ouch!” She was right about the twisted part.

“They’re a well-organized group that got their start with a federal grant to study the natural selection process. Martin, Darla, and Blaire were on the ground floor of the college research team — Martin and Blaire as students and Darla as one of the professors. It’s unclear at what point the group renamed themselves to XAX and degenerated into what it is today.”

“Well, that’s ironic.” He wasn’t sure what to make of it. “A government funding the seed money for the group trying to stamp them out of existence.”

“It’s like something straight from a horror movie, I know.” Ashley’s lips turned down dismally. “Using a genetically modified bioweapon to influence the process of natural selection is a contradiction unto itself.”

“Couldn’t have said it better. Good thing I married a smart woman.” His chest swelled with pride.

“One more thing before I kiss you for saying that.” A breathy chuckle eased out of her. “One XAX operative in particular has been elevated to the FBI’s most wanted list. They’re gathering resources as we speak to lop the head off the beast.”

“Glad to hear it.” He tapped his mouth. “Now lay one on me.”

Their idyllic evening was soon interrupted by another update on the case —one that required Johnny to drop everything and jet back to work. It involved another outbreak of salmonella in a town about a hundred miles south of them.

Ashley locked herself inside the farmhouse, waiting for the next update. The XAX operation was starting to feel bigger than her, bigger than all of them. If the head of the beast didn’t get lopped off soon, the beast might grow into something too big to stop.

Chapter 13: Radio Silence

May

“It’s been two months, Caro! Two whole months since there’s been so much as a comma added to our case files.” Ashley’s frustration level was at an all-time high.

After Martin’s cryptic gift of flowers, he’d disappeared into thin air. She should’ve known his last words to her were yet another empty promise. Whatever he was up to these days, he certainly wasn’t busy making anything right. Contaminated milk was still popping up all over Central Texas and beginning to spread outward to other areas. The efforts of the XAX terrorist operation were picking up momentum, while the FBI was standing still and doing nothing.

“I know it feels that way,” Caro sighed, “but there’s a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes.”

“Like what?” Ashley desperately wanted to believe it, but she was tired of vague promises. She needed something to sink her teeth into.

“Data analysis mostly. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but trust me,” Caro’s voice was firm, “it’s the best way to track the movements of a group like XAX.”

They were at the farmhouse, comparing notes on the case like they did most evenings before dinner. Ashley hated the fact that she had nothing new to report on her end, other than her sudden uptick in headaches and nausea. As much as she wanted to blame it on the case, it was more likely she was coming down with something.

She lifted her water glass to take a sip and nearly threw up.Ugh!She set the glass back on the table, swallowing hard.

Caro gave her a searching look. “Are you okay?”

Ashley stuck her tongue out. “I will be when this case is closed.”

“Cranky.” Caro looked like a supermodel in a designer pantsuit that was a luscious shade of hot pink. She was wearing matching stiletto pumps, probably from Modello’s, the only upscale clothing boutique in town.

The color made Ashley think of watermelons, which had the unfortunate side effect of making her stomach pitch and roll again. She didn’t want to think about food right now. Or how much sawdust was still hanging in the air from the new bookshelves Johnny had been building in the living room. As much as she appreciated the many projects he was forever juggling, she could practically taste the sawdust.

She coughed to clear her sinuses and took another sip of water, a tinier sip this time. Afterward, she raised the cool glass to her forehead and rested it against her feverish skin. “I think I’m getting sick.”

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