AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll be back,boss,” Derek snarls.
The doctor’s gaze is heavy on me, as he’s silently urging me to follow him and visit Piper. But I can’t do it right now. Her face flashes in my mind, and my heart aches with a strong need to protect her. I clench my fist, wishing I could explain why I feel the way I do.
Do I want to take her in my arms and protect her?
Yes, and I loathe the urge of needing to be with a stranger. Because that’s what she is, just a woman I’ve chatted with a few times and who… whose music has helped me in the worst moments of my life.
And then, there’s Derek Farrow. The man who saved me and left me behind with the longing for more than a kiss. I have so many questions, but there’s no time to ask them. This isn’t the time to revisit the past. Once I’m done with the Los Zamudio Cruzes cartel I’ll figure out what’s happening to me.
To push away all the uncertainties and questions that threaten my sanity, I decide to work. I settle into one of the chairs in the waiting room and pull my laptop from the bag. If I’m lucky, I can figure out what’s been happening in Seattle and the reason why the Zs came out of hiding.
The dark web and mercenary forums usually hum with chatter of missions gone wrong and unexplained crimes. A bodyguard killed in downtown Seattle will carry a lot of buzz.
It doesn’t surprise me that the kid Piper introduced me to years ago is poking around the forum asking for information about the Zs. A niggling suspicion takes hold of me. What if he works for the company that operates in the northwest? Is he part of The Organization?
It doesn’t hurt to find out, and so I send him a direct message.
LoneWolf99: Busy?
Geek4life: Yes, what do you need, Gil?
LoneWolf99: Shouldn’t you be nicer to me? I just helped you so they wouldn’t track your client’s cell phone.
Geek4life: Sorry, but I have someone demanding answers. At the moment, I don’t have much time to help others.
LoneWolf99: Is that why you’re asking about the Zs?
Geek4life: Yeah, know something?
LoneWolf99: What’s happening?
Geek4life: They might have attacked someone on my turf.
LoneWolf99: Is that why you needed the software for the phone?
Geek4life: No, it was for a different reason, but… are you sure they couldn’t track my person?
They can’t, but now I wonder if I can use that to track his person. We get the feed from the phone, but who is this person?
Is that Seth’s phone? This could be a gift from above. I connect to the main computer at home to look into the software. I smile when I find all the data from said phone stored on one of my servers. I’m glad I didn’t delete it. With only two clicks I learn its current location—Seattle Memorial.
Isn’t that where Piper wanted to go? Seattle Memorial. If something happened to Theodora St. James, they probably took her there. Either Teddy or Seth owns the phone. I have the perfect way to follow these men. I just need to keep my eyes on their target—Seth Bradley and his wife.
LoneWolf99: No one can track them. If anyone is trying to follow that phone, they’ll have to fly to Asia.
The truth is I can track that phone. In theory, I’ve known where this phone and whoever owns it has been all along, but I didn’t care to pay attention when I first realized the phone was feeding my system their coordinates. When I search for the phone’s whereabouts from earlier I realize we were at the same place—the bookstore—during the attack.
I grin as I confirm it’s Teddy’s phone and, if she keeps it with her, I’ll have a way to track her.
LoneWolf99: What’s the deal with the Zs? Why are you poking around? It can be dangerous, kid.
Geek4life: The last time we heard, they were eliminated, but it seems like they’re back.
LoneWolf99: Those were the rumors, but if you go to the forums’ archives, you might find a thing or two about them. They’ve been attacked a few times to the point of almost destroying them.
LoneWolf99: When that happens, Ricardo Zamudio takes the people he has left and goes underground to regroup. They know how to hide well.
Geek4life: They’re probably out again.
