Chincoteague, VA

2100 EST

The Grimaldi Group security mop-up team and local law enforcement showed up as Cade was finishing up his interrogation of one of the men. The man hadn’t given up a shred of information they could use. He suspected it was because of the way that Diavolos operated. They’d seen it firsthand with Ramona.

He left Linc watching over the geek squad. Kaylee was still working on her laptop. She’d put in her earbuds and he had watched her disappear into the cyber world. Her fingers flying over the keyboard, leaning in close to read the screen.

“What’s next?” Cade asked, coming over to him.

“I’m going to check in with the director. I think we should be ready to move. I want to get them securely to headquarters and then we can go after this bastard,” Mick said.

“Agreed,” Cade said. “I swear, I’ve never known a criminal to inspire such loyalty in his people.”

“I think it’s fear. We saw how he manipulated Ramona. I think his foot soldiers are probably motivated the same way.”

“What a lowlife,” Cade said. “I’m seriously thinking that we should skip taking them back to headquarters and just go and find this Diavolos instead.”

“Me too. But we have orders,” Mick said.

“Orders are only enforceable if we let them be,” Cade said. “I’m willing to go undercover in this group if you need me to.”

“Not yet. You don’t have the kind of leverage that you’d need to appeal to Diavolos,” Mick said, knowing that Cade wouldn’t give up his family to get close to Diavolos. “And I don’t want to risk your family.”

“I won’t. And I do have skills that Diavolos could use. I mean these yahoos are seriously the bottom of the barrel. Maybe he needs to look at his hiring practices.”

“We don’t even know who he is,” Mick said, already liking the way that Cade was thinking. If they had a guy on the inside, they could shut him down.

“Does anyone know who he is?” Cade asked.

“No. Kaylee just found this location and the information we got from the servers tonight will be brought back to headquarters so it can be analyzed.”

“I don’t like it,” Cade said.

“I don’t either. We’ve seen how easily he can get to someone in Grimaldi Global.”

“So?”

“Keep an eye on everything here while I go contact Sam. I’ll offer both of our options and see what he comes back with,” Mick said.

Cade rolled his shoulders, loosening them. “Good. I want this guy.”

“Not as bad as I do.”

“We can fight about it after he’s in jail or dead,” Cade called over his shoulder as he walked over to where Kaylee was sitting and dropped down in one of the empty chairs.

She didn’t even look up. He knew he was seeing another side of her—one that she probably wouldn’t want to admit she had. But her laser focus showed him that she was very serious when she fixated on something.

Also, he could feel the rage coming off her. There was more going on than she wanted to admit. He left the room and went to find Cory.

He had the tiny credit card device in front of him and had disassembled the earpieces and microphones they’d taken off the men who’d attacked them.

“Anything?”

“Not yet,” Cory said. “What’s up?”

“I need to contact Sam.”

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll get you set up,” Cory said. “I think the room upstairs where they had their servers would be the best location for the call. It’s immune to infrared cameras.”

“Good idea. Phone?” Mick asked.

“Use this one,” Cory said, going to his pack and getting the secure satellite phone and tossing it to Mick, who caught it one-handed. “I could use another set of eyes on this. Is it okay to consult with the geek squad?”

“Use Jeff,” Mick said. “I’m not sure that Ramona is in any state to help.”

“Poor kid,” Cory said. “Any idea when we’re leaving?”

“Not until I talk to the director,” Mick said. “I’ll send Jeff in.”

“Thanks,” Cory said.

Mick sent Jeff to Cory before going upstairs to the server room. It was very quiet, which suited him. He dialed in on the secured line and waited.

“Director Truehart.”

“Ares Team leader here. We’ve had a few hiccups,” Mick said.

“I’ve been advised of the trail of suspects you’ve apprehended. What’s the new wrinkle?”

“One of the geek squad—Ramona—is being blackmailed into helping Diavolos. He has her kid brother in one of his sex operations. Kaylee is determined to find the kid and track how the compromise happened. My men are mad. They came at us hard,” Mick said. “Also, one of my team wants to infiltrate Diavolos’s operation ASAP.”

“I like that idea,” Sam said. “But for now, I need you all back here.”

Sam was being very persistent. Normally, he understood that in the field Mick had a better grasp on the situation than the director could get in the office. In fact, the way he kept ordering them to return wasn’t like him. “Sam? Are you alone?”

“No,” Sam said. “I think you know the situation.”

“Do you think headquarters has been compromised?” Mick asked.

“That’s a possibility,” Sam said.

Mick took a second to run through options. “Should we go after Diavolos?”

“Yes,” Sam said. “Contact me when you’re back at headquarters.”

“I’m not coming back to headquarters,” Mick said, just to confirm that the director wanted them going after Diavolos.

“Glad to hear it,” Sam said, disconnecting the line.

Damn. This wasn’t the first time that he’d had been out in the cold with his team, and he trusted his guys and knew they would get the job done. He was worried about bringing the geek squad along with him, but he knew they weren’t going to want to stay behind.

* * *

Kaylee ran into the same firewalls and encryption that Ramona had when she tried to crack her brother’s location. Kaylee used the algorithm she’d used to find Diavolos’s location and as it started running the trace, she glanced up. Mick had left the room and Cade sat near her at the table, but his eyes were closed.

She had told herself she wasn’t going to reach out to her dad again, or even check the board where she’d left her note for him, but he’d crossed a line. If he was working for Diavolos and he was helping to protect the people who’d taken Manny…well, she’d known for a while what Diavolos was capable of. But this was personal.

She started to go back to the board to reach out to her dad, but instead she remembered Ella and reached out to her friend instead. They both had alias social media accounts that they used to talk to each other under the radar of government phishing schemes.

She logged into ConnectU as her alias and noticed that Ella’s alias was connected as well. She sent her one of the custom emoji’s that she used when she needed Ella to get in touch quickly.

Ella: Call me in five.

She sent back a thumb’s up.

She left her laptop running the code and stood up.

“Where’s Mick?” she asked Cade.

“I’m here,” Mick answered, coming back into the room. “What do you need? Did you find Manny?”

“Not yet. I have to make a secure call,” she said.

“Okay. To who?” he asked, coming over to her. She noticed that the blood on his cheek had dried and the bruise on his cheekbone had darkened. He had dried blood on his neck and shirt.

The thing that really got to her was the fact that he didn’t seem to notice it at all. He was used to bruises and scabs and blood. A part of her ached that he was.

“A contact who might be able to help find Manny,” Kaylee said. Ella was very guarded about her identity and her past. While Kaylee knew that Ella would use those connections to help find a child who was being used the way she had been, she also didn’t think she’d be happy if Kaylee told anyone else about her past.

“Who?”

“I can’t tell you,” she said. “Please trust me.”

He took her hand and drew her out of the room and into the hallway where they were alone. “Is it your dad?”

“What? No. I told you I’m not talking to him,” Kaylee said.

“I need more,” Mick said.

She sighed and she knew she was tired because she didn’t even get angry. Well…not too angry that he wouldn’t trust her. She’d seen for herself how easily someone had betrayed them, and she didn’t want that to happen again.

“She was once inside Diavolos’s network of child sex workers. I will not tell you her name, but she still has connections from when she got out, and she might be able to give us a lead on where to look,” Kaylee said. “I’m also running an algorithm to track where the photo was sent from. All smartphones and digital cameras have an automatic GPS stamp.”

“Okay. You can use this phone, but I’m going to stay right here,” Mick said.

“She’s not going to betray me,” Kaylee said.

“I know,” Mick said, surprising her.

“You do?”

“Yes. You told me yourself you don’t have many close friends, so this one must be important to you. And if she can help us, then I’m all for it.”

“Okay, so why can’t I talk to her alone?” she asked.

“Because I said so.”

She arched both eyebrows at him. “That’s not going to fly.”

“I like the sound of your voice. And I want to just stand here and listen to it for a few minutes,” he admitted. “Is that fine with you?”

He liked her voice… Yes, that was definitely okay with her. She smiled at him and took the phone he held out to her. She dialed Ella’s number and waited for her to answer.

“Hey. I can’t talk long,” Ella said. “What’s going on?”

As quickly as she could, she gave Ella the facts about Manny. “I’m running a trace, but I thought you might have a quicker way to find him. I don’t need to tell you time is of the essence.”

“Damn. Every time I think my hatred for him can’t get any stronger, he proves me wrong. I have two contacts, but I’m not sure how quickly they’ll be able to get back to me. I’ll reach out and ping you on ConnectU when I have the information.”

“Thanks. Also, the other stuff I sent—do you still have it safe?”

“Yes. Do I need to release it?”

“Not yet,” Kaylee said.

“Talk soon,” Ella said, disconnecting the call.

Mick stood up from where he’d been leaning against the wall. “What did you send her?”

“Some of Diavolos’s aliases and another potential server location. They were on the server along with several files that I haven’t had time to decrypt. She’ll leak them to the world if I something happens to us,” Kaylee said. “This information is too important to be buried.”

“I agree. Grimaldi Global might be compromised,” Mick said. “Let’s get everyone together and I’ll explain to you what we’re going to do.”

She caught his hand as he turned away and looked at him for a minute, knowing she needed something he might not be able to give her. Something she craved for the first time in her life.

He sighed and pulled her into a bear hug. The world was burning down around them and things were going from one crazy situation to another even crazier one and the only thing that felt real and safe was this man.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and told herself that she wasn’t going to care for him, but she knew it was too late. Mick Halloran had somehow wormed his way into her affections.

* * *

He called the Ares Team into the main room, and Kaylee, Ramona—still looking shell-shocked—and Jeff assembled as well. His team looked ready to go as they always did, but he knew they needed a break, same as he did. And he respected them all, so he wanted their input. He took his earpiece out and placed it on the table.

“I spoke to the director, and I think he believes there might be a mole at headquarters—possibly at the highest level. I updated him on the situation here and we have the greenlight to follow the trail wherever it leads. Kaylee has another possible server location for us to check out.”

“’Bout damn time,” Cade said.

“Great, but our tech is shagged. I have a stash in the vehicle I drove down, but if you’re talking about a mole at HQ, I’m guessing we’re not going to be able to get anything else,” Cory said.

“I’d rather not, but I need options for transport. Frank?” Mick asked his logistics guy.

“I can find something, but where are we going? Who knows the location?” Frank asked. “We have funds to get new tech. Cory, if you tell me what we need, I’ll find it.”

Mick looked over at Kaylee. Even Sam didn’t know where Diavolos was, but she and her friend might be able to uncover him. “Location?”

“Maryland,” Kaylee said. “That was the last spot I was able to trace the server signal to, and it matches the GPS marker from the black web.”

“Are you sure?” Jeff asked.

“Yes, Jeff. It was bounced off a relay through China and then onto some island in the Pacific, then back to the US via a very complicated route.”

“Do you think my brother is there?” Ramona asked.

“One thing at a time,” Mick said to Ramona. “We’re working on finding him, but that is not our current focus.”

Ramona bit her lip and crossed her arms over her stomach. Kaylee gave her friend a sympathetic look. Kaylee felt positive that Ella would find Ramona’s brother.

“Where in Maryland?” Frank asked.

“I got two sets of coordinates,” she said. “So there could be two locations—which I think sort of explains why it was so hard to pinpoint. It’s like they use a relay to switch the source. The nearest town is Nanticoke.”

“Okay. Give both coordinates to me,” Frank said.

She went back to the laptop and looked at the script that was still running. She wasn’t getting any closer to unlocking the location of Ramona’s brother, she looked over at Mick and he nodded as though he understood what she didn’t want to say.

“Let’s narrow down the location of Diavolos, and then we can head out,” Mick said.

“I’ll be a moment,” Kaylee left the room and walked into the hallway, taking out her secure cellphone to check for a message from Ella. She turned to see Ramona standing there.

“Is my brother dead?” Ramona asked.

“No,” she said, clicking the button on the side of her phone to make the screen go black. “Why do you think that?”

“Well, you’re not really being forthcoming with whatever info you’ve found,” Ramona said.

“I’ve found nothing,” Kaylee admitted, going over to her friend and putting her arm around Ramona’s shoulder. “I’m still searching, but there hasn’t been enough time for the script to completely finish running.”

Ramona nodded and then glanced over her shoulder. “Can we talk?”

“I thought we were,” Kaylee said. It was clear to her that Ramona was still wigging out, and though she had no family to speak of but her dad, it didn’t take a genius to figure out she’d have been freaked too, if her sibling were caught in the hell that Diavolos ruled.

“I mean alone. Outside. I need a cigarette,” Ramona said.

“I…”

“Please, Kaylee. This is important to me.”

“Okay. One second.”

“Do you have to check with your boyfriend first?” Ramona asked, her tone sarcastic and the look in her eyes burned with something close to hatred.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Kaylee said. “And he is in charge of this group.”

“I just needed a friend to talk to,” Ramona said. “But I guess we aren’t that. Just coworkers, right?”

Where was this coming from? Her gut said that Ramona was up to something, and she wondered if she left now if she would lose the opportunity to figure out what Ramona’s end game really was. Plus, she knew that Mick would come looking for her, and if there was any trouble he’d be there.

God, she was getting paranoid. She didn’t like it. Maybe it was the connection she thought she’d found between her dad and Diavolos that was making her that way.

“Okay, fine. Let’s go. Do you even have a cigarette with you?” Kaylee asked.

“In my pocket,” Ramona said, looping her arm through Kaylee’s and leading the way down the hall to the back door. Ramona opened it, then gestured for Kaylee to go through first.

She noticed her friend was looking beyond Kaylee’s shoulder and turned just in time to see a fist coming down hard before she blacked out.