Page 137 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
After yanking the USB out of Hunter’s laptop, I store it in the breast pocket of my jacket. “Who has access to these images?”
Hunter shrugs. “This kind of device requires them to be downloaded from the apparatus. I’m hoping since the pictures weren’t wiped, it means they weren’t downloaded yet.”
“Who do you think it is, Col or IA?”
He winces. “It’s hard to say. Whoever it is, they're smart. They placed the camera high enough it gave them a bird’s-eye view of the apartment.” His eyes glance down to the original device housing the microscopic USB. “But this equipment is basic. You can pick it up at any spy shop.” He grabs a second drive from his toolbox on his right. “This one, on the other hand, is more complicated. This is a government-issued device.”
I snatch the plastic bag out of his hand. It looks like a small storage device you’d use in a digital camera. “Do they have to download this device as well?”
“No.” Hunter shakes his head. “But if it were stored in Izzy's cell, every call or message she made would have been transcribed and sent to the owner’s computer mainframe.”
My heart beats at an unnatural rhythm. “What about private conversations while the phone is in the area?”
Hunter nods. “Any conversations, music, radio, etc. would have been transcribed.”
Fuck!So, Isabelle was telling the truth. She wasn’t the one who told the Bureau about my call that morning.
I stop reprimanding myself when Hunter discloses, “The good news is that device has a serial number attached to it.”
“Have you traced it?”
He smiles a slick grin. “It’s running through my system now. Since I had to enter a few backdoors, it’ll take a few hours to finalize.”
“Be sure to inform me the instant you discover anything.” My gaze shifts back to his laptop. “Can you adjust the perimeter of my google alert to include Isabelle? If those photos surface on the net—”
“I’ll set it up. If they surface, they’ll be immediately removed. I’ll also corrupt their system with a few nasty viruses in return.” His voice rattles with nerves when he suggests, “If you give me the USB from the camera, I can run it through a program to see when it was last accessed.”
My nostrils flare as a growl rumbles in my chest.
“It’s the only way we’ll know if anyone else has viewed those images.” He seeks my gaze. “I won’t need to open the files to run the search, but I can’t execute the program if I don’t have the USB.”
“Can you run it on any computer?”
He nods.
“Good. Then meet me at my office tonight. You can run it through my system there.”
He glares at me. “If you don’t trust me, Isaac, what the fuck am I doing working for you?”
“This isn’t about trust, Hunter. It’s about Isabelle and protecting her from having her naked body plastered around the country because someone has a vendetta against me that they're unleashing on her. You said my security servers are the best in the country, so it's the only system I trust to ensure these images remain private.”
Hunter scrubs his hand across his hairy chin. “It’s the best system… because I designed it. I’ll drop by your office tonight.”
The knot in my stomach relinquishes its firm hold. It doesn’t last long. “There’s something else…”
Hunter is interrupted by my ringing phone. After lifting my index finger, I pull it out of my pocket. The wild beating of my heart dampens when I discover the vibration is coming from my standard cell phone, not my emergency one.
My eyes float up from my phone to Hunter. “It’s my brother, can this wait a minute?”
Hunter nods. “Yeah, I’ll make it look like we’ve never been here before heading out.”
An appreciative smirk etches onto my mouth. “Thanks. I’ll meet you at my office tonight.” As I stride to the entryway of Isabelle’s apartment, I push my phone to my ear. “Nicholas, calm down, Nick… What? I’ll be right there.”
CHAPTER19
ISABELLE
Hugo’s eyes dart to me, his scrunched-up face revealing his confusion. My lips curve into an uneasy grin before my gaze flicks to Brandon. He’s sitting in the back seat of his car, his brows pulling together more the longer he peers outside. If I had to describe Megan’s family home with one word, it would be ‘ramshackle.’
