Molly chose to remain in the shadows as they passed from house to house via back alleys to within view of the diner. If someone else was after the laptop, she wanted to see them, not the other way around. If they managed to get to the laptop first, she didn’t want anyone tracing it back to her and Kujo. That would put them at risk until they learned whether or not there was any information worth hacking off the machine.

The fire department had long since rolled up their hoses and driven away. A sheriff’s deputy’s patrol car stood guard on the street in front of the diner. The state crime lab would be there the next day to sift through the rubble to determine the source of the explosion, even though the fire chief had given his findings. The state crime lab folks might be able to trace the parts and pieces back to the source. Molly doubted it.

“I don’t see a Jeep. Daisy said she put his laptop in her Jeep.”

“If it suffered any damage, the sheriff could have had it towed to an impound lot.”

“In this small of a town?” Molly shook her head. “I would think everything would have to remain in place until the crime lab arrives. Let’s check her apartment.”

They slipped away, traveling through a back alley the two blocks away from the diner to the apartment complex Mrs. K had indicated. In the parking lot was an older-model Jeep with a daisy flower decal on the back windshield.

Kujo chuckled. “Could she have made it easier to identify?”

Six sat at Kujo’s feet, looking up at him, waiting for a command.

They stood near bushes. The moon shone down from overhead, casting a bright glow over the parking lot and Daisy’s Jeep. They’d have to step out into the open to reach the vehicle.

“I’ll go.” Molly pulled her stocking cap down over her face and tucked her hair beneath it.

“No, I should go,” Kujo insisted.

“Is your gun loaded?” Molly asked.

“Yes, of course, it is.”

“Then stay here and provide cover.”

He shook his head. “I should go, and you should provide cover.”

“Six responds to you. If you go, he might follow.”

“Six will do as I tell him.” Kujo’s jaw firmed in the limited lighting.

“Look, this is my job. Let me do it.”

“I don’t know where in the FBI training manual it says breaking into a vehicle is part of your job description.”

She pulled what appeared to be a long flat file out of her sleeve and held it up. “I won’t be breaking anything. But I know how to use it, and you don’t.” Molly grinned. “Now, stay with Six while I do what we came here for.”

Kujo didn’t appear to like it, but he stood stoically in the shadows and drew his weapon from the holster beneath his jacket. “Okay, but don’t be long. If you don’t get it open on the first couple of tries, come back.”

“I’ll get in,” she promised.

Just as Molly was about to step out of the shadows into the light, a hand caught her arm and yanked her back hard against a wall of muscles.

“What the—” she started.

Kujo’s hand clamped over her mouth, and he whispered in her ear. “Shh. Watch.” He dropped his hand from her mouth and motioned to the dog.

Molly held perfectly still and scanned the parking lot and apartment building. A movement alerted her to the fact they were not alone.

A dark figure detached itself from the shrubbery on the far end of the lot and hurried toward the apartment building and up the stairs to one of the doors. A light shined down on the figure. Like Molly and Kujo, the figure was covered in dark clothing, with the addition of a ski mask. He tried the door, but it wouldn’t open. Then he cocked his leg and kicked the door. The sound echoed against the walls of the other units, but no one came out to investigate.

Again, the burglar kicked the door. The sharp crack of wood splitting could be heard all the way out to where Molly and Kujo hunkered in the shadows.

“We have to get to the Jeep before he discovers the laptop isn’t in the apartment,” Molly whispered.

The intruder disappeared into Daisy’s unit.

“What if he has a sidekick covering his back?” Kujo asked.

Molly shook her head. “It’s a risk we have to take. “I’ll stay low and use the Jeep for cover.” She didn’t wait for his response. Molly ducked low and ran for the Jeep. She didn’t slow until she reached the passenger door, where she paused to catch her breath and will her pulse to slow.

When she had her heart rate under control, she raised her hand, slipped the flat file between the window and the door and slid it down inside the panel. Moving it closer to the door lock, she raised it slowly, searching for the mechanism. She engaged nothing but air. Pushing the file back down, she moved it over a little and tried again. As she pulled it up, she glanced toward Daisy’s apartment door.

The file engaged with metal. As she dragged it upward, the lock disengaged. Her heartbeat speeding, she glanced up again to reassure herself no one was coming down the stairs.

Then She lifted the handle on the door and opened it. As soon as she did, the overhead light blinked on.

Damn. She’d forgotten about the automatic lights. Too late, she didn’t have time to find the switch to turn it off. Molly checked the front seat and floorboard, without finding a computer or case.

She hit the lock mechanism, unlocking all the doors and closed the front door softly. The overhead light blinked out. Molly glanced at the apartment. Again, no one had emerged. Moving to the back door, she eased it open. Again, the light clicked on.

There, on the back floorboard was a black case the size that would fit a laptop. She lifted it. It was heavy enough to be a laptop. Taking the time to check, she looked over the top of the back seat into the back of the vehicle. It was empty, as was the rest of the back seat.

Molly slipped out of the vehicle and carefully closed the door. The light blinked out. A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Someone emerged from Daisy’s apartment and ran down the stairs.

Sure the intruder hadn’t spotted her in the moon shadow of the Jeep, Molly lay flat and rolled beneath the vehicle, clutching the laptop to her chest. She lay still, holding her breath. Footsteps sounded across the gravel and stopped beside her, within two feet of where she lay.

She prayed Kujo didn’t get trigger-happy and start shooting. If the person were looking for the laptop in Daisy’s Jeep, he’d have easy access with the doors unlocked. He wouldn’t find anything inside, and he would go away, none the wiser of the woman who hid beneath the chassis.

The moon had risen higher in the sky, beaming down on the gravel parking lot. It glinted off something shiny near to where Molly hid.

Damn! Her heart stopped and shuddered, and then beat a thousand beats a second. The file she’d used to trigger the lock lay within inches of her face. If the intruder bothered to look down, he’d see it. If he bent to pick it up, he’d see her lying beneath the vehicle.

A vehicle drove by the apartment building. The man turned toward it, his feet pointing away from the Jeep and the file.

Molly reached out, grabbed the file and pulled it to her chest. The file bumped against the under carriage making a clanking sound. Molly froze.

The feet spun toward her again.

A light shone into the parking lot. Her intruder ducked down low enough, Molly could see his knees. She closed her eyelids to keep him from seeing the whites of her eyes and waited for the next move. A scuffle of gravel indicated someone was moving away.

Molly opened her eyes and watched the intruder running for the bushes close to where Kujo and Six waited for her.

Holy hell. Molly slid the laptop and file off her chest, pulled the H&K pistol from the holster beneath her jacket and aimed at the man’s back. If he tried to hurt Kujo or Six, she’d take him down without hesitation.

The bushes parted, and the man disappeared.

A woman and a man got out of a car nearby, talking about their visit to his mother’s house and plans for the following day. They entered one of the ground-floor apartments, and the world returned to silence.

Molly lay for a long moment, waiting for the reassuring sound of crickets chirping.

When she was certain no one else was moving about, she started to roll from beneath the Jeep only to find a nose poking beneath the side, sniffing.

Six.

Behind him, Kujo squatted beside the vehicle. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Are you?” Molly handed him the file and the case with the laptop, and rolled clear of the Jeep. “I was afraid you’d shoot that man,” Molly said, her voice shaking slightly.

“I almost did. I was afraid he was going to shoot you. He had a gun in his hand.”

Molly shook her head. “I couldn’t see that, or I might have shot him when he ran toward you.”

Kujo pulled her into his arms. “We’re a pair. It’s a good thing we didn’t pull the triggers.”

She leaned into him for a moment, enjoying his strength and outdoorsy scent. Finally, she pulled away. “We have to see what’s in this.”

“You know we’re tampering with evidence, don’t you?”

“Yes, but if we get in and figure out what’s on there, we can get it back into her car before anyone knows it was ever missing.”

“Let’s get it to Hank.” Kujo grinned. “He’s got people.”

“We can also get Daisy’s permission to enter her vehicle, if she’s conscious. After being blown up, I’m positive she’ll give it.” Molly led the way back to the B&B where Kujo had parked his truck earlier that day.

Six jumped into the back seat.

Kujo drove, and Molly sat back in the passenger seat, thinking through all that had happened in less than twenty-four hours and all that could happen in the next twenty-four.

Hopefully, the laptop would give them the information they needed to locate the ringleader of the ISIS training camp.

Kujo phoned Hank as soon as he got into the truck, giving him the heads-up about the apartment break-in and the computer they’d confiscated. “We’ll need a computer guru, ASAP.”

“Got it,” Hank said. “And I’ll let the sheriff know about the break-in.”

“Good,” Kujo said. “Have you heard from Taz? Is Daisy conscious?”

“I have, and she was. She’s given her statement to the sheriff, but it won’t help. She didn’t see anything. Al, the owner, is in critical condition. He suffered a heart attack along with the injuries due to the explosion.”

Kujo’s lips pressed together. “Text Taz’s number to me. We need to talk to Daisy.”

“Texting now.”

“Thanks.” Kujo ended the call as a ping sounded on his cell phone. He slowed near the edge of town and pulled to the side of the road to read the message.

“What’s going on?” Molly asked.

“Daisy’s awake.”

“Do we need to drive to Bozeman to interview her?”

“I think Taz can handle it.” He placed the call.

Taz answered on the first ring. “Yeah.”

“This is Kujo, one of Hank’s new guys.”

“Oh, hi. Welcome to the team. What can I do for you?”

“Is Daisy awake?” he asked. “I need to ask her some questions.”

“The sheriff’s been in and questioned her, but she didn’t see anything.”

“I know. I have some different questions to ask her.”

“I’ll check.” Taz paused. A few moments later, he came back online. “She’s awake. I have you on speaker.”

Kujo handed the phone to Molly.

“Hi, Daisy, it’s Molly from this morning. How are you feeling?” Molly asked.

“I’ve been better,” she said, her voice sounding small. “The doctor says I can go home tomorrow.”

“You might want to stay with family until you’re back to one-hundred percent,” Molly warned her.

“I will,” Daisy agreed.

“Daisy, I work with the FBI.”

“Seriously? You’re being here…was it a coincidence?”

“No, Daisy. I’ve been conducting an investigation. I’m really sorry you got caught up in all of this. I had no idea where my investigation was leading.”

“It’s not your fault. My ex…” she paused to take a deep breath,” what he did… I still can’t believe it. My poor boss…” She cleared her throat. “How can I help?”

“Daisy, you said you had Tanner’s computer in your Jeep. We think we might get information off of it that can help us find any others who might have helped him with the explosives. Will you give me permission to get that computer out of your vehicle?”

“Sure. Help yourself. From what they told me, Tanner’s on the run from the law. He won’t be using it.” Daisy’s voice shook as she finished the statement.

“I’m sorry about what happened with Tanner.” Molly said. “I’m sure it must hurt.”

“I shouldn’t be sad. The man tried to kill me.” Daisy sniffed and began to cry. “And to think, I would have married him, if everything hadn’t gone to hell.”

“I understand.” Molly waited for the sobs to slow. “Daisy, one other thing. Do you know the password for Tanner’s computer?”

“I don’t…wait…I think it’s my birthday.” She gave Molly the month, day and year. “If you need anything else, just ask. I hate to think someone else helped him. Al’s in the ICU, and they say he might not make it.”

“I’ll keep Al in my prayers. Now you worry about getting well. We’ll let you know what we find, if we do find anything.” Molly handed the phone to Kujo.

“Hi, Daisy. Let me speak with Taz.” He waited a moment and then asked, “Taz, everything going okay there?”

“All’s well. I won’t let anyone get past me to Daisy.”

Kujo ended the call and put the truck in motion. Minutes later, they pulled up to Hank’s house on the ranch.

Hank stepped out on the porch, wearing a T-shirt and sweats. “Swede’s my tech guru. He’s on his way. He and Allie were at the Blue Moose Tavern when I called. They should be here momentarily.” He grinned and nodded his head toward the drive.

Kujo turned to see lights coming toward them.

“That will be them.”

A truck pulled up beside Kujo’s, and the tall blond man Kujo had met before stepped out and rounded to help an auburn-haired woman down, but she’d beat him to it and let herself out, dropping to the ground. She took Swede’s hand and joined Hank, Kujo and Molly.

“Hi, I’m Allie, Hanks’s sister.” She smiled and held out her hand.

Molly shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Molly.”

“Joe Kuntz.” Kujo held out his hand. “Call me Kujo.”

Allie shook it, her brows raised. “Should I be afraid of your bite?”

Hank laughed. “Kuntz…Joe. Ku…Jo.”

Allie nodded. “I get it. Nice to meet you. And this is?” She went down on her haunches to pet Six.

“Six,” Kujo said.

She looked up. “That’s his name?”

“It’s the last number on his tattoo,” Kujo explained and turned to Swede. “Need your help hacking into this.” He held up the computer case.

“Let’s do this inside.” Hank held open the door.

Swede took the laptop case and followed Hank inside.

Molly gave him Daisy’s birthdate. While Swede opened the computer and entered several combinations of Daisy’s birthday numbers, Molly and Kujo filled Hank in on the details of what had happened at Daisy’s apartment.

“Apparently, someone is worried about the information on Tanner Birge’s laptop,” Kujo said.

“Daisy said Tanner’s been working out at Pinion Ranch,” Molly said. “Can you show me where that is on a map?”

Hank’s brows furrowed. “Pinion Ranch butts up against the National Forest and the Crazy Mountains.”

He led them into another part of the house and a large office with a huge mahogany desk in the middle. In the far corner of the office was a storage cabinet with wide, shallow drawers. Hank pulled one out, pushed it back in and slid out another. He lifted a huge square map from the drawer. “I got copies of all the survey maps available in the area around Oak Creek Ranch, my current home, and Bear Creek Ranch, my family’s home. The Pinion Ranch borders Bear Creek on the southern border.”

He pointed to the map. On its eastern border is the highway, and the western edge backs up to the national forest.” Hank hurried back to a drafting table and returned with a crumpled contour map.

“I recognize that map.” Molly stepped forward and helped Hank flatten it. “This was the map I was using to search the surrounding areas.”

“You were really close to the Pinion Ranch when you were flying your drone.”

“Were you able to recover the footage on the drone’s camera?” Kujo asked.

“Sadly, no,” Hank shook his head. “The bullet hit the video storage device.”

Molly sighed. “I still have to explain that one to my supervisor.”

“Already have. He’s more worried about having sent you here without a partner. I assured him we’ve got you covered.”

Molly’s cheeks bloomed with color. “I appreciate that.”

Kujo’s body warmed at the words. She was covered all right. He wondered what his new boss would think about just how well-covered Molly was. He changed the subject. “Did you get anything from the nomenclature on the board?”

“I hadn’t before dinner. I sent it off to a friend of mine in procurement at the Pentagon earlier today.” Hank turned to a computer monitor on a desk against the wall and wiggled the mouse. The black screen flooded with color. He clicked a few keys and brought up his email.

After scrolling through a couple screens, he stopped. “Wait. He responded.” Hank leaned closer, his brows lowering. “Huh. Apparently, that box was a crate of M4A1 rifles that went missing from a warehouse near Ft. Drum, NY. They conducted an investigation of the warehouse employees. One went missing before they could interview him. He was found dead a couple days later.”

“So, we might be dealing with some illegally acquired military weapons appropriated by people who aren’t afraid to kill to keep anyone from spilling the beans,” Kujo summarized.

Hank stood and faced Kujo and Molly. “Based on the sniper activity around Tanner Birge’s arrest, I’d say the same type of people are at work here. Anxious to keep their secrets.”

Molly nodded. “What can we do now?”

“Until Swede finds more information on that computer, not much.”

“We need to look everywhere Tanner Birge has been. I want to get boots on the ground on Pinion Ranch,” Molly said. “I’d say let’s go tonight, but we wouldn’t see much in the dark.” Her gaze shot to Kujo. “Tomorrow? We can be there early in the morning.”

He shook his head. “If it’s truly a terrorist training camp, they will be on guard and watching for intruders. If they’re planning anything soon, security will be even tighter. Especially if one of their trainees has gone rogue.”

Hank nodded. “I can gather four or five members of the Brotherhood Protectors team, and we can stage a recon mission into the ranch.”

“How soon?” Kujo asked.

Hank glanced at his watch. “Tomorrow.” He held up his hand. “Depending on what we find on that computer, if anything.”

Kujo nodded. “I like the plan.”

Molly frowned. “You are including me on this mission onto the ranch, right?”

Hank glanced across Molly to Kujo.

Kujo tilted his head. “She’s the reason we’re even contemplating it. I say she’s in.”

“I’ll gather the equipment we’ll need,” Hank said. “Be here at O-five-hundred in the morning. We’ll need to brief the team regarding the communications devices and protocol for the mission.”

Kujo’s pulse hummed in anticipation. This was the kind of work he’d been trained for, the type of job he was good at. Though he’d included Molly, he wasn’t sure she had as much cover and concealment training and tactical experience as the rest of Hank’s team. Lack of training and experience got people killed. He’d talk to her on their way back to the B&B. Maybe he could talk her out of going.

Ha. Fat chance. The woman had a stubborn streak almost as long as his.

“In the meantime, you better get some rest.” Hank glanced around at Molly. “You two are welcome to stay here for the night since you’ll need to be here at the crack of dawn.”

Molly shook her head. “No, thanks. We can be here that early.” She didn’t meet Kujo’s gaze, and her face flushed pink.

Could it be she wanted to be alone with him through the night to pick up where they’d left off?

Kujo’s groin tightened. “We’ll be here at O-five-hundred. “If you find anything tonight, call. We’ll be available at a moment’s notice.”

Molly nodded.

They left Hank’s office and passed Swede banging away on the keyboard of the laptop. He didn’t even glance up when Kujo and Molly walked by.

Allie lay on the couch nearby, her feet tucked beneath a blanket. “Hope to see you two soon,” she said.

“Are you staying the night?” Molly asked.

“I haven’t decided. I might leave him here. I have animals to take care of on Bear Creek Ranch in the morning. Dad can’t do it all himself, anymore. We’d love it if you stopped by sometime. The gate’s always open to friends of Hank’s.”

Hank held the door for Molly and Kujo. Six trotted out and went straight to Kujo’s truck where he sat and waited for his master.

The trip back to the B&B passed in silence, Kujo thinking about what they’d learned, and the night ahead, potentially spent holding Molly in his arms. God, he hoped she was thinking along the same lines, or he’d spend a long time in a cold shower.