He faced Harris. “I want in on the investigation.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “Excuse me?”
“I want to bring the RED team in on this. We have resources beyond your wildest dreams. And it’s clear Addy thought she needed Cam’s help. So, let me get the team here, and once we’re up to speed on the investigation, we can partner with you to figure out who wants Addy dead.”
Addy sat up in her bed. “I don’t—”
“Your team has a reputation of hijacking investigations.”Harris planted her hands on her hips. “I won’t allow that. Iwillremain in charge. If I agree to your help, that is.”
“No worries. You call the shots. We’d just be here to support you in any way we can.” Mack hoped he’d be able to follow through on that, but truth be told, if he thought something needed doing to keep Addy safe and find the man who wanted to kill her, then Mack would do that something whether Harris wanted him to or not.
“Give me some time to think about it.”
Mack frowned. “We don’t have time to waste. Not with this guy planning something big. Time is of the essence.”
“Hey.” Addy met his gaze. “I have a say in this too. And I’m not sure it’s a good idea for us to work together.”
“I have to do this, Addy. I just have to. Please understand. I can’t let anything bad happen to you.” He sounded desperate, and he was. His chest was tight with pain, his stomach convulsing. He loved this woman. More than life itself, and if she wouldn’t let him stay at her side until the man wanting to end her life was caught, he’d have to covertly watch her, which had all kinds of creeper vibes. No matter, though. He would do it.
Addy gnawed on her lip. “I don’t know.”
“No need to decide just yet,” Harris said. “I’m not sure I’ll allow it anyway.”
Mack wanted to snap out a snarky reply. To say something, anything, to make this woman do the right thing here. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and clamped down on his lips before he made things worse.
“Go ahead and make sure you can log in.” Harris shifted to face Addy. “And then I’ll get out of here so you can rest.”
Addy ran her finger over her trackpad and frowned. “My files. They’re not here. They’re gone.”
“What do you meangone?” Harris asked.
“Everything in my account.” Addy stared at her supervisor. “There are no files. No folders. Nothing.”
Harris blinked, long lashes fluttering. “Did you delete them?”
“No ... I mean, I don’t think so.” Addy bit her lip. “Why would I?”
“That’s the question of the hour,” Mack said, letting the latest development settle in. “Do you think the people you’re investigating could’ve hacked the system and deleted them?”
“Impossible.” Harris glared at him. “We have strong security in place.”
“Actually,” Mack said, trying to sound calm and in control when he was anything but, “some of the smaller federal offices aren’t as protected as they could be. And you do manage one of the smaller offices. Plus if he cracked Addy’s phone password...” Mack shrugged as the rest was obvious.
“Yes, but...” Harris shook her head. “I’ll head straight back to the office and have Fitz look into it.”
Mack didn’t like that they might’ve been hacked, but he could use it to his advantage. “If your server has been compromised, our team is just the group you need to assess the risk and put measures into place to stop it from happening again. We have years of both private and agency experience as well as advanced IT degrees. You won’t find anyone more qualified to work this IT piece.”
She looked up at him and suddenly gave a sharp nod. “I don’t want to let any more time pass, leaving us vulnerable. Call them in, and let’s see if the rumors are true and your team really does respond in record time.”
Chapter 8
MACKWASTED NO TIMEbut headed straight to the lounge to call Eisenhower. Thankfully, Harris had invited them to partner in the investigation, saving the team from any jurisdiction or authority issues.
He lifted his phone and explained the situation to his supervisor. “I hate to ask for the team to join me when we’re finally getting somewhere on the Montgomery Three Investigation, but—”
“Don’t even think about it,” Eisenhower said. “Addy has to come first right now, and we have to stop this gunrunner in his tracks. We can’t let such dangerous guns get into the wrong hands.”
“But the girls...”
