He squeezed Raven’s hand and leaned forward, ignoring the ache that spiked behind his eyes. “Run them down. One by one. I’m sorry I can’t help.”
“Don’t, Liam. Take the time you need. I’ll work with Rafe. It’s my job.” Raven tugged on his hand.
“But you’re hurt too.”
“That may be true, but even with the bruises on my face, it’s not affecting my ability to research. You, on the other hand. There’s no way you can focus on a computer screen with that concussion. Not yet.” She shifted to face him. “I’m okay. I won’t overdo it. Don’t stop me from doing what I do best.”
“I’d never hold you back. I’m just worried about you.”
“And I appreciate that.” Raven cupped his cheek. “Get some rest. Let us haveyoursix for once.”
“She’s right, boss man,” Boone interjected.
Liam’s gaze drifted from Boone back to Raven. They were right. Time to give up control and trust his team to take care of business. “Okay. Go do your thing.”
Rafe’s low whistle grabbed Liam’s attention. “Got something.”
He leaned back and maintained his grip on Raven’s hand, hoping she’d stay with him a little while longer. “What’s that?”
“I traced the pathway on the sensors. It didn’t come from outside.”
Liam squinted, trying to make sense of Rafe’s words. “My head hurts too much to decipher what you’re saying. English, please.”
Rafe’s mouth twitched. “The code that flagged our location was pre-programmed code in the firmware. That’s not amateur hour. That’s high clearance.”
Boone muttered something under his breath from the recliner.
“Can you trace where the signal surfaced?” Raven asked.
“Three hops. The last hop was Denver. The one before, D.C. The origin…” Rafe tapped the screen and shook his head. “I haven’t found it yet. Give me time.”
“So, we can’t narrow it down.” Liam couldn’t help the disappointment in his tone.
“Not yet.” Rafe leaned back, folding his arms. “But it proves someone with some serious smarts and access is involved.”
Clarity hit Liam for a split second. “Did we stop the access in time, or do they have our location again?” He stared at Rafe. “Is Raven safe?”
CHAPTER 9
Shadow Pines, Tennessee – New Safe House
Friday – 1800 Hours
Code Name: Raven
Jade’s heart threatened to pound from her chest. Had the person chasing her tracked her down again? The new safe house should’ve offered sanctuary while they investigated. But now? Doubt clawed at her. To stop the insanity, they had to find the person responsible and shut him or her down—hard.
“From what we can tell, the tracker stays off until we activate the sensors. I haven’t found a remote access. But I’m still looking into that possibility.” Rafe dragged his fingers through his hair, leaving it standing on end. “You know we won’t leave any stone unturned.”
“I do. I’m just…frustrated.” The color had returned to Liam’s face, but the pain hadn’t left his eyes.
“Then it’s time for me to get busy.” Jade patted Liam’s thigh. “Rest for a bit longer. Rafe and I will narrow down the who.” She moved to the dining room table and woke up her computer.
She dove into each suspect they’d identified so far. Rafe ran a tracing program in the background to discover where the signal of the sensors originated while he joined her in the search for the person who’d started all of this.
Except for the clack of keys, quiet filled the space. Xander sat on the floor, continuing to take apart the equipment out of an abundance of caution, and Boone had excused himself to relieve Dax on patrol.
“You got anything on your end?” Rafe asked.
