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“Yes, but you don’t have to lose yourself in the process.” Hex looked at the screens. “And getting you safe needs to be the first priority.” The hacker frowned. “Your stalker deactivated the cameras. He has bomb-making skills, and clearly some tech skills. He’s not just your average Joe.”
A shiver skated down Addie’s spine. “So, who is he?”
Hex gripped her arm. “We’ll find him. Don’t worry. Bram won’t give up.” She cocked her head. “His codename from his days in the Irish special forces was Excalibur. Because he was so honest and straightforward. Like King Arthur, who wielded the sword Excalibur. He protects, and he will always do what’s right. And for you, I think he’d do anything.” Hex paused. “He needs you, Addie. After so much pain, he deserves some softness. Some goodness.”
“Pain?” Addie clenched the arms of her chair harder. Bram wasn’t a talker, and she could tell he held a lot inside.
Hex pulled a face. “It’s not my story to tell.” She squeezed Addie’s arm. “I’m glad he’s got you. That he’s let you in. There’s a good guy under the grump.” Then she peered at the computer screen. “Look. Across the street from the gallery.”
“Yes, this was one of the images I wanted to show you,” Addie said.
“When was this?” Hex asked.
“About an hour before the bomb was planted.”
“The man’s hanging in the doorway of the building across the street. He’s watching the gallery.”
“Waiting.” Addie leaned forward, frustration hitting her. “He’s only partly in the shot, and wearing a ball cap. I can’t see him clearly.”
“Wait.” Hex’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “I’ll see if there are any cameras on the building where he’s standing.”
“How long will it take you to get access to that?”
“Oh, sweet Addie.” Hex smiled. “I’m not asking permission.”
“You’re hacking in?” Addie leaned forward.
“Aha.” The tech guru tapped a key with a flourish. “Sometimes you have to be a little bad to be good.”
“Do I even want to know?” Killian’s dry voice came from behind them.
Killian and Bram stood in the arched doorway. Addie’s gaze went straight to Bram, and she stared at his rugged face. She wondered again what pain he had from his past.
She wanted him to share, to open up to her, and trust her.
“Got him!” Hex cried. “Here is the sketchy dude staring at the gallery, just before the bomb was planted.”
Addie gasped.
“He’s a big guy,” Killian noted.
“Looks like he’s the same height and weight as the guy who broke into Addie’s apartment.” Bram crossed his arms.
Addie rose, staring at the man’s image on the big screen. She couldn’t see his face, just a bit of his jaw.Who was he?
“And we know he has bomb and tech skills,” Hex added.
“I spoke to Santi,” Bram said. “Parts of the bomb were stamped with Cyrillic letters.” He scowled. “I heard the guy curse under his breath when I was fighting him at Addie’s. I didn’t pick it up at the time, but I’m pretty sure he cursed in Russian.”
“Russian?” A wave of dizziness hit Addie.
She heard a commotion, and the room spun, then she was in Bram’s arms.
He lowered her to a chair. “Easy.”
Images from her abduction peppered her like rocks. She remembered being drugged, transported to that estate outside San Francisco. Saskia had been the main target of the wealthy, Russian businessman, and Addie had just been caught up in the chaos. In the wrong place at the wrong time. Story of her life.
She’d been terrified. She’d known her family wouldn’t know where she was, or even if she was missing. Even if they knew, they would never have found her.
