Page 69 of Montana Rain

The line went dead, and my breath came in harsh gasps. “Oh god. Oh god.” Blinding terror gripped me, not letting me move or breathe. “Cole, they’re going to die. I did this, and they’re going to die.”

My mind spiraled down onto itself. Bad things happened to people who loved me. I’d thought it would be Cole, but it wasn’t. It was Mom and Ava. Again. I’d done this.

Tears spilled over. I couldn’t breathe. “I ruined her life, and now I’m going to be the reason she dies. I can’t live with that, Cole. I can’t live with it.”

His lips landed on mine, his hands holding my face, short-circuiting the panic. “Breathe, princess. They’re going to be okay. We’re going to get them back. They’ll be fine. You didn’t do this.”

“How can we do anything?” My voice echoed off the walls. “We—”

Covering my mouth with his hand, Cole pulled me out of the apartment and closed the door behind me. My heart beat so fast I thought I might pass out. We went down to the lobby, and only then did he circle me in his arms again. “They could be listening, and we can’t give anything away now, okay? Tell me. Tell me what you were going to say.”

“We don’t have the flash drive anymore,” I sobbed. “It’s not possible to get a copy from the Bureau. They’re going to kill them, and Mom and Ava— they don’t have anything to do with it.”

Cole crushed me to his chest. “I need you to breathe, Rayne. Everything you’re feeling is valid. This is scary. But we can’t help them like this.”

“We can’t help them at all.” I clung to him like the lifeline he was.

“That might not be true.” I felt him move and heard the click of his new phone unlocking. “I have an idea. More of a hunch. Let’s see if I’m right.”

The phone rang on speaker, and suddenly, Jude’s voice was loud in the echoey space. Cole moved us to a corner where we weren’t broadcasting to the world. “Phillips?”

“We have a situation,” Cole said.

A long silence extended on the other end of the line before Jude spoke again. “We’re encrypted now. Talk to me.”

“Rayne’s mother and sister have been taken.” Jude swore in the background, and I thought I heard the voices of the others too. “They’ve demanded the flash drive and no FBI involvement.”

“But they didn’t restrict other involvement?” Jude asked.

“They did not. Which is why I have to ask. Do you have a copy of the files? I saw you messing with the drive after the beacon, and I know damn well you have the skills to undo the flare and the virus. So, I’m asking now if you did it as a backup of a backup plan?”

Another long silence came from the phone. I found myself gripping Cole’s shirt while I waited for the answer.

“I do have a copy,” Jude said. “It didn’t work completely. By disabling the transmitter and the virus, I couldn’t save all the contents. But I have enough that a bait and switch might work.”

“Jude,” I said, aware of the tears in my voice. “Thank you.”

Cole pulled me closer. “What do you need from us?”

“If they’re watching you, you need to be careful. Is there a business center at the hotel?”

“Yes.”

“They can’t know you’re making a new copy,” Jude said. “Because if they realize you’ve already turned over the flash drive, all your leverage goes out the window.”

Cole nodded. “Right. We can’t guarantee they don’t have eyes inside the hotel.”

“No,” Daniel said, finally making his appearance known. “We can’t be sure of that, but we can take care of it.”

“How?”

A low discussion took place on the other end of the line. “Did they give you a deadline?”

“Five p.m. Today. I’m getting the idea that sooner is better.”

“Contact?”

“No.”

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