The only thing that had saved his own computer from sending its location was that he’d been connected via Ethernet, and—as always—used a VPN, which defeated both mechanisms. Once he detected the malware, he disconnected the laptop from the Internet. The computer had already been stripped of all network communication capabilities other than the Ethernet port, as well as the speakers and microphones, to prevent communication to nearby devices via high-frequency audio data.
And he’d still left his condo, just in case he’d missed something during his bug sweep. Now, tucked into the back corner of the pizza joint, with a view of both exits, he kept an eye on the interior and exterior cameras at his condo while parsing through the offending code and the portion of the files he’d received.
The code had been written carefully, so as not to trigger a routine virus scan. High-level shit. Someone had paid big money.
His stomach churned. Had Emma and Jason been found again? Were they alive?
Not knowing was killing him, but he couldn’t blame Emma for not getting in touch. Even if she was safe, she couldn’t know if Dallas—or his computer—was behind the leak.
The only thing he could do now was search for any information on the attackers and try to determine the identity of the hacker who’d created the virus. To that end, he had feelers out and programs running. All his notifications were turned on.
He’d also emailed and texted a link to everyone in the organization directing them to to run a full bug sweep, watch their backs, and to download the latest version of his custom antivirus software. This one was slightly different because it gave him full access to their systems to check for malicious code or malicious activity.
It was absolutely an invasion of their privacy and doing it to his teammates made him feel a little sick, but lives were at stake, and every one of them had signed an agreement to allow it as part of their employment. To avoid seeing too much personal data, he let his programs do most of the poking around, only looking at flagged items.
Before leaving home, he’d also run diagnostics on his own phone and computers, and swept his body, apartment, and car for bugs. What he probably needed was to give his eyes a break and go for a run. Or maybe a bike ride. Those were the only activities that slowed the constant stream of thoughts running through his brain.
Well, good sex worked, but it’d been a while since he’d had any. Good or otherwise.
His thoughts predictably turned to Nolan, and he barely resisted the urge to beat his head against the wall. Just like everyone else, the man’s phone and computer files had raised no red flags, and Dallas had found no spyware other than his own.Thank God.That ruled out an unintentional leak, but if someone was knowingly putting the Night Herons at risk, they’d be smart enough to use a burner and back channels, just as he and Emma had been doing.
Maybe he just didn’t want to believe anyone on his team would sell them out, but he felt pretty confident that it was the virus on Viktor’s drive that had pinpointed Emma and Nat’s location. How the attackers had arrived so quickly was still a mystery, but if Viktor was working with them, they could’ve followed anyone who came in contact with him. It was difficult to spot a tail if the surveillance team was big enough to switch out personnel frequently.
That took a fair amount of resources, but Renfro Warner could easily swing it. He was a millionaire a thousand times over, and Nolan had determined that Warner had diverted funds into offshore accounts to avoid taxes for himself and his top employees.
As if he’d summoned the object of his desire with his thoughts, his phone vibrated with a text message.
Nolan: Everything okay?
Dallas scoffed. Hell no. Nat was dead, Emma was on the run, he’d had to hack his own teammates, lie to his boss…
He was worried. Paranoid. Devastated by Nat’s death. Trying not to panic. But he couldn’t say any of that. He’d told Gretchen that his building’s maintenance lady had called because water was seeping out from under his front door. At some point he’d have to admit his deceit and hope she and everyone else forgave him.
Dallas: It was a false alarm. They called the wrong tenant. Sucks for my neighbor, but good for me.
Nolan: Want to celebrate with a drink? I’m heading to Parley in Venice. We can toast Nat. :-(
Dallas stared at the message, heart pin-balling around in his chest. Nolan had always been friendly, frequently inviting him to get coffee or snacks, but he’d never asked Dallas to meet him outside the boundaries of work before. Not that this was anything more than a friendly offer. It sounded like he was planning to go whether Dallas joined him or not. Still, the timing—and location—pinged his paranoia. Which it shouldn’t. Nolan lived in Marina del Rey, so the popular bar wasn’t far from his home either.
Fuck, he was bad at this. Maybe if he wasn’t so infatuated with Nolan, Dallas would be able to read the man better. Until this morning, he’d trusted his entire team without reservation. Now, he was questioning everything and everyone.
But he couldn’t ignore Nolan’s message.
Dallas: You’re leaving the office already?! The apocalypse is nigh.
He was mostly kidding, since it was after six, but both of them had been putting in long hours lately.
Nolan: Work’s not the same without you here to annoy.
Dallas swallowed hard. In his head, Nolan’s words sounded flirty. Ridiculous how much he ached for that. Straight up foolish. Half of him was terrified to go to Parley. The other half was salivating to spend time with Nolan off the clock. At least at a bar, the Nolan Scramble wouldn’t affect anything besides his ego.
And he really did need a break.
Dallas: See you at 7.
Body pulsing to the beat of the nightclub’s deafeningly loud music, Emma clung to Jason, still recovering from their kiss on the dance floor. She’d only intended to convince the women eyeballing Jason, and a man who’d bumped her suggestively a few times, to steer clear.
Now, a handsome white man with freckles and dark red hair materialized from the crowd and pulled Jason in for one of those half-hug things that guys did. Todd was nearly as tall and muscular as Jason, and the two of them together was going to make it even harder for them to blend in with the crowd.
