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Mackenzie and Alex left her sister in her bedroom and shut the door. She turned to him. “I need to get back on Knights Alliance and see if Julian could have left a message there. You were right—this is about war. That’s why Julian picked the game we used to play. It all connects and makes sense. And in fact, maybe there was no hidden message, but he expected the QR code to send me back to the game instead.” She pressed her hand to her forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“You’re exhausted. That’s why. Have you gotten a decent night’s rest since this started?”
Mackenzie shook her head.
“Okay, just listen. Don’t react. But what if Nebulous 2.0 is Julian, and thanks for that by the way. You never actually told me his name.”
“And I didn’t mean to this time. And no. There’s no way. The FBI would have figured that out if he was. Julian is dead.”
“Or he faked his death, Mackenzie. This cybercriminal has the ability to change up records. You haven’t physically seen a body, so you can’t know.”
What? No. Julian was dead, and he hadn’t faked his death. He couldn’t be Nebulous 2.0. “I’m exhausted, and I can’t think straight.”
Mackenzie stepped forward, getting closer than she should have. But this guy ... Alex. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you for what you’ve done. Helping me. Protecting Nora and me.” Why would he risk his own safety and career for her? Regardless of the reasons, she was grateful he had. “I knew I could trust you.”
Alex’s gaze—the intensity of his gray eyes—held her in place. What was he thinking? Then ... pain flickered before it was shuttered away. He cleared his throat and gestured to his room. “You need to grab a few hours of shut-eye.”
His abruptness startled her, though what had she expected? And she was so drained, she should sleep before she said something she regretted on a more . . . personal level. “Right. Okay. See you in the morning.”
She headed for the bedroom and admired the beautiful handmade quilt on the bed. She’d already changed into sweats earlier that evening. Her duffel was in the room with Nora. So she simply pulled back the covers and climbed into the crisp sheets.
A soft knock came at the door, and she sat up. Nora couldn’t sleep? “Come in.”
The door opened wide, but it wasn’t Nora. Alex’s broad-shouldered silhouette filled the doorway.
“What happened?” She started throwing the covers off, grateful she slept in sweats.
He stepped forward. “No, stay.”
“What’s wrong?”
He approached the bed. “The timing is just ... all wrong. I’m sorry, Mackenzie. But I can’t wait any longer. I need to tell you.”
She touched her feet to the area rug. “You’re scaring me.”
He sat next to her on the bed. “I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but I couldn’t talk to you in front of Nora. I didn’t want her to overhear either.”
“Just spit it out.” A million terrible scenarios ran through her mind.
“I told you I would help you, Mackenzie. But at some point, you had to know that I couldn’t keep this to myself.”
She stood and skewered him with an accusing glare. “You betrayed me?”
“No ... no, no.” He stood too and shook his head, stepping forward.
He’d pinned her between the bed and the wall. Light spilled from the main room into the bedroom, but his face was still in shadows. Even so, she felt those intense eyes on her. Imagined the stern set of his jaw. Her heart palpitated at his nearness.
“Betrayal is a strong word.” His voice sounded breathy. Desperate.
He could probably hear her pounding heart.
“It’s not like that,” he added.
Her breathing had kicked up, and emotions choked her throat, her words. She found them, though. “Then what is it like? Tell me who you told. What you did.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you what you already know. You’re in over your head. We’re in over our heads. We can’t keep it to ourselves when other lives could be in danger. This could be a matter of national security. I called my SSA to let him know what’s been happening. I’m pretty sure I crossed a line last night. Still, I’ve been given permission to continue while he makes his own calls.”
Pressing his hand against the wall, he leaned even closer, hung his head and sighed. “Me calling someone doesn’t mean I betrayed you. I’m with you until the end, no matter what. You know this guy like no one else, and no one . . . no one could have found him already. And you’re the person to stop him. I can...”
“Make it sound like we’re heroes. I know, Alex. You said that earlier tonight. Now I understand.” She stepped around him, leaving him to hold up the wall. “I trusted you, Alex.”
“And you can still trust me!” he said a little too loud and turned to face her. Anguish edged his tone.
Why was he pleading with her to trust him? He obviously didn’t care if she trusted him or not. Except the way her heart was beating at his nearness, the emotion pouring from him, she wanted him to care, and . . . she wanted to trust him. Still ... “We should have made that decision together. You don’t know what you’ve done, Alex. Now, please get out of my room. I mean ... your room. Whatever. Get out.”
Mackenzie maintained her composure as Alex turned and walked out. Then her entire body shook.
