Raider kept his arm over her shoulder and herded her toward an office at the back of the house. Several prone men, some bleeding, lined the way, and she averted her eyes. She and Raider moved into the office, where the senator was sprawled on his desk, groaning. Wolfe slipped his shirt over Dana’s head, his vest flung over a chair.
Brigid ran to her, hugging her. “Are you okay?”
“I am.” The reporter hugged her back, but her arms were bleeding. “Nice job getting the word out.”
Brigid coughed and looked around. “What now?”
Angus surveyed the scene. “Anybody have a phone that still works?”
“Yeah.” Malcolm entered the room, a cut across his temple, his phone in his hand. “Who do you want me to call?”
Angus smiled at Dana. “Nobody. I want you to stream live. What do you say, Ms. Reporter? How would you like to break the biggest story of the year right now and right here?”
Dana blinked. “I’d love to.” A slow smile spread across her face. “Am I talking to you?”
Angus nodded.
“Wait,” Wolfe said. “I thought we wanted to stay under the radar.”
“Most of us do,” Angus agreed. “You guys remain out of the shot—I’m going public because it’s time. Lassiter needs to find me.” He reached over and hauled Senator Tyson off the desk. “And this guy is going public right now so whatever high-up buddies he has can’t bury this.”
The senator wavered on his feet, his eyes glassy and his nose bleeding.
Dana tugged Wolfe’s big shirt down to her thighs.
Wolfe took the phone from Malcolm, punched a few buttons, and pointed it at the trio.
Dana smiled for the camera. “This is Dana Mullberry, and I’m reporting to you live from Senator Scot Tyson’s house, where he kidnapped me and tried to torture me for information.” She gestured to Angus. “This is Homeland Defense Department Agent Angus Force, and you might recognize him as the FBI profiler who took down the famous serial killer Henry Wayne Lassiter.” She paused. “Boy, do we have a story for you.”
Raider drew Brigid out of the room. “This is going to take a while. We’re running out of time to find those girls. I have the flash drive from the main computer at Eddie Coonan’s. Do you think you can decrypt it here, or do you need your computers?”
“I need mine.”
Malcolm jogged out, avoiding the camera. “The HDD is on its way, as are a million other agencies and news outlets. If we’re gonna get out of here, we’d better do it right now.”
Raider took Brigid’s hand, whistled for the dog, and ran for the front door, which was surprisingly intact. “Our truck is just down the block. We’ll have to send somebody to pick Angus up later.”
“Angus is going to be busy,” Malcolm returned, running out into the night with the dog on his heels.
“Good point,” Raider said, keeping a strong hold on Brigid’s hand. They jogged down the street, and Malcolm jumped into the driver’s seat.
Raider paused and turned her to face him. “I love you. Wanted to say it in case we get blown up or something. Sorry it took this for me to realize it and say the words.” Without waiting for an answer, he picked her up and placed her in back of the truck with him. Roscoe leaped into the front and barked three times.
Loved her? As in really loved her? Everything inside her turned to Jell-O.
Mal drove the truck faster than he should, but Brigid didn’t complain. The sense of urgency hadn’t left her, and she wouldn’t be able to take a deep breath until she’d decrypted that flash drive. There was such a small window to save those girls, and she wasn’t sure she could make it. When was the last time she’d slept?
Malcolm looked at them in the mirror. “Did either of you see Josh go down?”
“No,” they said in unison. Had Josh the Bear survived?
She rested her head against Raider’s shoulder and let her eyes close. Within a second, he was carrying her out of the elevator at headquarters. “I slept,” she mumbled.
“Yep.” He carried her right into her computer room and handed over the flash drive. “Agent Frost was here, but she probably cleared out once the broadcast went live. I would have.”
“No kidding.” Brigid took the flash drive and went to work, smiling gratefully when Raider left and returned with freshly brewed coffee. Taking just a second, she downed the entire cup, and then repeated the steps she’d taken with the earlier flash drive, hoping the tech hadn’t added any bombs. There were a couple of different cyphers, but she went at them, while Raider checked on her once in a while with more coffee or just a hug.
Suddenly, the code flashed on the screen and then unraveled.
