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“Good.” Cannon reached the ER and nodded to the patrol officer stationed at the entrance. The blast of heat when the automatic doors opened nearly shoved Cannon back. He glanced behind him at the trees, where the sniper who’d shot Julia had sat, and swore that he’d make Malgor pay for terrorizing his town.
FIFTEEN
Rosalie pushed her laptop away. “What the hell is Malgor waiting for?”
Her colleague, Jimmy, didn’t look up from his screen. “He should have sent a second ransom email by now. That’s usually the consequence for not paying up.”
“There’s nothing usual about any of this.” She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.
Last night, she’d spent hours with her boss, Paul, and Jimmy searching for Malgor via cyberspace. She had barely been able to keep her eyes open when Paul had driven her to her family’s rental to get her things. After checking into their respective rooms at the Mountainview Inn, she’d caught a couple hours of sleep until a nightmare left her shaking under the covers and wishing she could turn back time.
This morning, she’d also wished for Cannon’s arms around her.
Since that wouldn’t help catch Malgor, she’d squashed that desire and shown Logan’s photo to the staff on the mountain. The parking lot attendant recalled a brief conversation they’d shared about Shredder boards. He’d also remembered that a man had approached Logan as he’d walked across the lot.
The man, who the attendant could only report had been tall, lean, and dressed in dark-gray ski pants and a jacket, had chatted with Logan for a few minutes, then had given him an envelope. Surveillance feeds had confirmed the exchange but hadn’t revealed any useful details.
She’d spent the rest of her day scouring more videos for the man in gray ski gear, to no avail. Even Devon’s search into the floral delivery van had been a dead end.
Now, her eyes drifted to the door. She cursed herself for hoping Cannon would walk through. This mooning over him wouldn’t help her get her job done.
Standing, she stalked to the window and rested her head against the cool glass. If she could figure out why Malgor had changed his game, it might help her find him. Was he growing cockier now that he’d broken away from his terrorist organization? Maybe desperate?
But desperate for what?
“Agent Zenner.”
Karl’s voice jackknifed her thoughts as he crowded so close she could smell the coffee on his breath. And was that a hint of alcohol?
She stepped back. “How’s data recovery going?”
“You know how frustrating chasing a cybercriminal can be. My staff is spent. I keep telling them it’s time to go home, but they won’t leave.”
She glanced around at the tired yet determined bunch bent over their screens. “Looks like they could use a boost. How about some food? It’s almost nine and way past dinner.” She hadn’t eaten since sandwiches had appeared for lunch.
“Pizza is on the way.” He brushed his hands down his silver-gray jacket. “Maybe that will help lift their spirits. We only have a fraction of the data restored for the drug trial that’s supposedto start in a few weeks. Dr. Ford is going to be livid that we haven’t made more progress.”
His eyes sparked with frustration. Or was that annoyance?
“Saving lives and bringing money and publicity to a small-town hospital is a good reason for Dr. Ford to be anxious about the progress.”
“Yes, those are excellent reasons, but Dr. Ford has a personal investment.”
“Are you talking about the personal agenda you mentioned last night?”
Karl darted his gaze around the room before he spoke. “Dr. Ford’s interest in making sure the trial is a go is big enough for him to have been willing to front a large portion of the ransom money.”
She jerked her head away from Karl’s breath and his hefty news. “How much of the ransom?”
“Half.”
Cannon had been willing to pay one million dollars? A smile quirked at her lips. Of course he had. Although she hadn’t known him long, it didn’t surprise her that he’d been willing to sacrifice what he’d likely earned through hard work and wise investments to protect the people he loved.
Bella’s ringtone sounded in her pocket. Rosalie whipped out her phone and pressed it to her ear. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” The strained edge to Bella’s voice said otherwise.
“Give me a minute to find someplace private.” Rosalie slid past Karl and into the lobby. Wulf stood by the elevators like a bodyguard. She nodded to him as she strode toward the stairwell and wondered if he was as handsome as she suspected underneath his untamed beard. “Okay. I can talk now. What’s up?”
