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Her father didn’t seem to think so. Neither did Tai, or the rest of the team.
She’d happily lean into their superior judgment on the matter, but she couldn’t quite convince herself to relax.
In the kitchen, the team bantered lightheartedly as they whipped up a late lunch. But she was too preoccupied to eat, her stomach in knots.
She paced the living room, frustrated by their lack of progress. This limbo of not knowing what came next was almost worse than the stalking itself.
At the dining table, Paige sat hunched over her computer, brow furrowed in concentration. “I’m in. Checking out Svetlana’s hard drive now.” She whistled. “It’s all laid out. There’s enough here to nail her on the threats to Tenaya. The murder, too.” She shook her head, sending a cascade of dark hair in front of her eyes. “When will people learn there’s nothing they can’t hide? Once we turn this over to my intelligence contacts, the Red Hand won’t be operating in SoCal anymore. Neither will Svetlana.”
Tai paused, sandwich halfway to his mouth. “She better hope none of her superiors figure out she lost her laptop. That murder charge’ll be the least of her problems.”
Lost in her research, Paige failed to respond. “Wowza!” She sat bolt upright, mouth open. “Got something big here. Tai, you were right. Svetlana had inside help stalking Tenaya.”
She met Tenaya’s gaze, eyes wide with shock, and a horrid sympathy. “Her contact is Jarrod Vogler.”
Tenaya froze mid-step, pulse crashing in her ears. Jarrod? Impossible. She swayed unsteadily, the revelation too enormous to grasp.
Tai locked eyes with her. He shook his head, as if he’d just come up for air.
She sank onto the couch, mind reeling as Paige detailed Jarrod’s betrayal. Surveillance photos showed him meeting with Svetlana’s men. Encrypted messages proving he fed Svetlana intimate details about Tenaya’s life and schedule.
“After you rejected his advances, Jarrod became obsessed,” Paige explained gently. “Svetlana exploited that. She used his insider knowledge to make it appear her brother was still stalking you.”
Tenaya wrapped her arms around herself, feeling sick. She remembered confiding in Jarrod about the terror of Zhezhnov’s harassment. And he’d twisted it all to aid Svetlana’s cruel games.
Tai sat beside her, radiating quiet strength. His steady presence helped temper her swirling emotions. Anger, hurt, disbelief that Jarrod could violate her trust so profoundly.
“Why?” she whispered. “I thought we were friends.”
Paige sighed. “Judging from Svetlana’s communications with her lieutenants, Jarrod was furious you refused to go out with him.”
“Between that, and the guy’s ego, turning him wouldn’t have been hard,” Bridger added.
Hands on his hips, Tai growled.
Tenaya slammed her eyes shut, replaying every conversation with Jarrod, every joke and coffee break. Had it all been an act, a way for him to get close? She shuddered, feeling contaminated by his deception.
Clearly rocked by the news, Tai stalked from the living room to the kitchen and back. He snatched a handheld scanner off the table next to Paige, hefting it in his big hands. “You couldn’t have known,” he said gently. “But now we have the truth. And we’ll make it right.”
She clung to that hope. No way she’d let Jarrod or Svetlana steal her spirit. With her friends’ support, she would reclaim her strength.
What could Jarrod have possibly gained from aiding Svetlana? Money? Prestige? Or simply a twisted desire to gain power over her? None of the potential motives made sense.
Her father caught her eye. “His reasons don’t matter now. What’s important is making sure you’re safe, and someone is held accountable for that woman’s murder.”
Tenaya nodded numbly. Jarrod would face justice for the role he played. As would Svetlana and her thugs. She wouldn’t let this break her.
The scanner in Tai’s hands beeped. His jaw dropped.
Graham and Bridger flew to his side, faces grim. Tai held up the scanner display. “Signal’s coming from over here.”
He waved the sensor over the room with a puzzled frown. As it neared Tenaya’s purse, the beeping spiked urgently. With efficient motions, he upended the purse, sifting through the contents. He held up an everyday ballpoint pen, expression thunderous. “Tracker. A good one.”
He met Tenaya’s shocked gaze. “It was in your bag the whole time.”
The entire team froze. Bridger’s mouth dropped open. “How did we miss that?”
Her father’s expression was grave. “We didn’t. Not as of the morning sweep, anyway. It’s been planted since we left the house.”
