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“Fuck. I’ll check traffic cams and get a license plate. It’s a long shot because he’s too smart to leave a trail, but he’s got to get sloppy sometime. Do you think he’ll come after your mom?”
“I’m not too worried. Malgor’s had two years to target her and hasn’t made a move.” The ransomware attack on her ex’s company hadn’t even been his work.
“Malgor’s probably afraid of your mother. I know I am.”
The thought of the big, bad terrorist cowering from her mother’s snide remarks prompted a snicker. “If they ever go toe to toe, I’d put my money on Mom. Still, I’ll request a security detail for her. She’s spending a week at a nearby spa. My mom makes me nuts, but God knows I love her.”
Rosalie ended the call, then hesitated before dialing headquarters. Cannon would likely never speak to her again, but she had no choice. Not with proof that Malgor had initiated the attack and planned on unleashing more. New game didn’t mean chess.
Slipping into the bathroom, she exchanged her dress for the spare black suit, white shirt, and comfortable boots she kept in her bag. As she slipped her gun into her hip holster, she prepared herself to tell Dr. You Can’t Call the Authorities that the FBI was on its way.
NINE
Cannon unlocked his office door with his key. Once again, the sight of Rosalie, this time in full special agent mode, reduced Cannon to Dr. Speechless. “You changed again.”
She tucked her gun into her belt holster and leaned against his desk. “I can’t work a case in a dress.”
Blood rushed into his ears. “You called the FBI?”
“I know who the attacker is. He’s bad news.” She glanced at the roses. “Really bad news. I didn’t have a choice.”
“You had no right.”
“I had every right. I’m a cybercrime FBI agent, for Christ’s sake.” She tugged on the hem of her suit jacket as she heaved in a breath. “A cybercrime has been committed by a criminal I’ve been chasing.”
“But you aren’t the special agent in charge of anything here. I am.” Fury rattled his teeth as he crossed the room. His anger didn’t seem to rattle Rosalie though, and that agitated him even more. “Contacting the FBI was my call.”
“You may save lives, Dr. Ford, but you don’t know how to deal with terrorists. I know this guy. He’s dangerous in more ways than anything you learned in your MBA case studies. He’s asick genius who’s committed ransomware attacks, identity theft, and financial crimes, and those are just his online activities.”
His head jerked back like he’d been struck. Financial crimes? Shit, the terroristdidknow how much he had in the bank. What else did the asshole know about his personal life? “You told me you weren’t going to call. Do you even have any proof this is the guy you’re after?”
“Yes.”
Her resolute answer made every hair on Cannon’s body rise.
She pulled the card from the bouquet out of her pocket and handed it to him. “This confirms it.”
He stared at the bright-red rose and the two words. “I don’t understand. What game?”
“The one he’s been playing with me for two years.” She jerked a flower out of the bouquet. A thorn remnant scraped her finger. “His calling card is always a single rose.”
“There’s more than one, Rosalie.”
“But onedeadone.” She dropped the flower and picked up a dried petal. “This is a message and not the get-well kind.”
The breath-stealing fear he’d experienced in this hospital far too many times seized his body. “What kind of message?” Should he call his executive assistant Irene and suggest she take the next few days off? Were his patients and staff in danger?
Rosalie’s fingertips hovered near her gun.
He held up both hands. “I’m not the enemy, you know.”
“I know. A terrorist we know as Malgor is.”
She swiveled her head and surveyed the exits as if she expected machine-gun-toting mercenaries to burst through at any moment. “Malgor is—or used to be—affiliated with an organization that has claimed responsibility for atrocities worldwide. The terrorists hail from several different countries, and they have cells all over Europe. Online crimes are simplemoneymakers for them, but they also play in the big leagues. Drug smuggling. Kidnapping. Human trafficking.”
His eyes popped open so wide tears formed in the corners. “You’re telling me an international terrorist who sells women and children attacked my hospital?” Shit, that sounded scary. And unreal. “Why Red Snow? Why not attack one of the big hospitals in Denver that actually makes a profit?”
“We’re not sure what kind of crimes he’s had his hands in lately, except for the cyberattacks he claims responsibility for. He’s seemingly gone rogue, but we do know he’s kidnapped and killed in the past.”
