“So you’re having me tag along with you just to check me out for Victoria?”

  “And to keep you from getting into the kind of trouble we can’t get you out of.” She shrugged. “With the added bonus that I get a break from Sal and all that ‘cupcake’ stuff.”

  Josh smiled.

  “Are you two gonna stand out there all day,” the doctor called out from the examination room, “or will you actually come in at some point?”

  He turned the corner and stepped in. “Hey.”

  Doctor Stevens glanced between them. “Did you two figure it out yet?”

  He said, “Figure what out?” Dakota glanced at him, but he shrugged.

  “This thing happening between you.” Doctor Stevens motioned between them with her finger. Gloved, and smeared with dark blood.

  Dakota said, “Nothing’s happening between us.”

  Josh nodded. “Right.”

  He couldn’t let anything happen. Not if they really were interviewing him for the open position on their team. Even just dangling that possibility in front of him gave Josh an additional level of pressure he hadn’t needed. But he was glad Dakota told him—or at least she’d inferred it was on the table.

  If he could get a job with the Northwest Counter Terrorism Task Force, that ruled out the possibility of something happening between the two of them. Fraternization wasn’t against the rules, but it also wasn’t encouraged. Agents with relationships got distracted. Emotions affected choices. In the heat of a tense situation, people diverted from training and regulations because someone they cared about was at risk.

  It definitely made things sticky.

  The doc said, “If you say so.” And turned back to her body, shaking her head. “Shame.”

  “Mrs. Johnson?” Dakota wandered over to look at whatever Stevens was looking at.

  Josh didn’t particularly want to stare into a dead woman’s chest cavity. “What did you find about the substance that killed her?”

  “I was right about the vet helping,” Stevens said. “He was able to run the test much faster, and we’ve already confirmed what he discovered. It’s a form of the chemical weapon, VX gas.”

  Dakota gasped. “What?”

  The doctor nodded. “This is different, and likely they ingested it. But from the test results we have, someone took VX gas and did something with it. Tweaked it.”

  “You know all that, already?” Dakota asked.

  Stevens’s eyes darkened. “I worked with the Red Cross in Bosnia and Sarajevo. Saw some awful things used on people. This is very similar, though it’s far more sophisticated now compared with what has been used previously.”

  “But not a gas?” Josh asked.

  “No.” She shook her head. “Not anymore. Someone who knows what they’re doing worked with it. The end result is similar, but it’s not airborne. Deaths are targeted with this, because you have to inject the person directly. Or get them to ingest it in some other way.”

  Josh said, “And the dog?”

  “Must have come into contact with it.” Doctor Stevens motioned to Mrs. Johnson, then beyond her to the table where Mr. Johnson lay. “Because these two were injected.”

  “What about Austin?” Dakota said.

  “Who?”

  “The teen upstairs who got infected. He’s being treated.”

  “He’s alive?”

  Dakota nodded. Doctor Stevens said, “I’ll speak with his doctor. See if there are any injection marks.”

  “I figured he got exposed when they were working with it. That can happen, right?”

  The doc shrugged. “Possible. With VX, clothes are contaminated for a time. The two of you are watching for symptoms?”

  Josh nodded.

  “I’ll find out how Austin got sick.” Dakota shook her head and blew out a breath. “I just assumed he was exposed to the same thing, since he looked pale and clammy.”

  Josh said, “It’s the most likely scenario.” Thinking about the set up at the lab they’d found in the compound. An amber-colored liquid, purchased by Clare Norton to do serious damage. But who did she buy it from?

  The doctor said, “I can help whoever is treating this Austin person, and they can potentially shed some light on it for me.” Stevens pulled off her gloves. “But at least we know it’s not an airborne contagion.”

  Josh nodded. If it had been, he and Dakota would likely be dead by now.

  “And if Clare has a way to make it into one?” Dakota glanced at both of them in turn.

  Josh said, “You think she has mass casualties in mind?”

  “Buying something like this is overkill if you’re just looking to murder a couple of people. She might’ve killed these two to tie up a loose end, but in the process also exposed what substance they have and plan to use. And we know they’ve got something planned. It’s just a question of figuring out what it is.”

  “So they tipped their hand.” Josh shrugged one shoulder. “So what?”

  “Just seems dumb is all.”

  He was inclined to agree with that. People were people, some were smarter than others, and criminals weren’t that different. Still, he’d expect a little forward planning. He said, “Could be a measure of how smart they aren’t.”

  “I’m not betting on that.”

  “Or an indicator of something else.” What, he didn’t know.

  Dakota shook the doctor’s hand, and Josh did the same. “Austin needs to tell us what he knows.” She shifted and pulled out her phone. The screen lit with an incoming call. “Or maybe his phone already has.”

  She answered the call. “Yeah, Talia.” After a few seconds of quiet, her gaze flicked up to his. “We’ll be right there.”

  Chapter 18

  Dakota led the way inside her and Talia’s motel room, where the whole team had gathered. Josh shut the door behind them. Dakota had zero energy. It was way past the point where she could pretend otherwise.

  She walked to her bed, sat down and flopped back with a moan.

  Sal’s horchata-smooth voice said, “Rough day at work, dear?”

  “To be honest, it’s been a rough couple of decades.” She smiled but didn’t open her eyes. Not that there was much to smile about. She might not have been willing to share with Josh, but that didn’t mean she’d quit thinking about it. Sal and the others knew some. Not all of it.

  Only Victoria knew everything. And yet, the director had her father transferred to the local federal prison, and she’d been about to send Josh to speak to him.

  “Whatcha got for us, Tal?”

  “For real?” her friend said. “Don’t call me that. Ever.”

  Dakota cracked one eye open. Across the room Talia stood with her hand on her hip, looking down her nose. Josh covered his laughter with a cough.

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s official,” Talia said. “You’ve lost your marbles.” Her eyes glinted behind her tiny designer glasses. How they were even functional, Dakota didn’t know.

  She rolled over, grabbed a pillow and pulled it down the bed to stuff under her head. “You learned something from Austin’s phone?”

  “Don’t I always?”

  Niall opened the bathroom door and stepped out. “What’d I miss?”

  “Nothing,” Dakota said. “She didn’t start yet.”

  “Do you want me to drain your retirement accounts and change the password to access your bank account online?”

  Dakota grinned. “Again?”

  “Last time was just a taste.” Talia linked her fingers, then stretched her arms in front of her and cracked her knuckles. “You have no idea what I can do.”

  “I don’t wanna know.”

  The motel room door lock clicked, and Victoria entered.

  Sal muttered, “Attention on deck.”

  Dakota glanced at him, already halfway to sitting, before she realized what she was doing. Josh had snapped straight and looked at Sal as well.

  Victoria shot him a look. “Funny.” She took off her coat and laid it on the back of a chair. “Talia?”

  The NSA agent spun to the TV, which she’d linked by a cable to her computer. “From Austin’s phone, we were able to get all of their numbers. Email addresses. We even got into Terrence Crampton’s bank account, since the brothers’ accounts are linked.”

  Several images flashed across the screen, too fast for Dakota to read anything but a blur of numbers. Josh had been standing by the TV. He wandered over and plopped down on the bed with a good amount of space between them but not too much it was weird. One of several things she’d found worth appreciating about him.

  Talia continued, “From there we got a warrant to get into Clare Norton’s email. It was pretty sparse. As in she’s barely ever used it even though she signed up, like, ten years ago. From the contents of her junk mail, I’d say either Terrence or Austin—or both—use it to access all kinds of um…entertainment. On the internet.” She glanced around. “And I don’t mean Netflix.”

  Sal said, “We get it.”

  Dakota made a face, because that was gross no matter who was watching it. She’d seen the ugly side of the sex industry and could rarely watch movies anymore because there was so much nudity in them. It wasn’t about taking the moral high ground. It was about not wanting to be reminded of things she would never be able to unsee.

  “Anyway,” Talia said, “There was an email a few months back that piqued my interest. A link. The address is for an online file server on the dark web. You log in with the credentials provided, and you can access whatever is there.”

  Dakota said, “Like read whatever message they left you?”

  Talia nodded. “Easier to control than a message board just anyone can see, because they’re alerted whenever someone logs in. And they don’t have to speak in code. Whoever set it up knows who accesses it, when, and from where.”

  “Can you get into it?” Josh asked.

  Niall tipped his head to the side. “And is it worth revealing your IP address just on the off chance it’s related, and not something that has nothing to do with all this.”

  Talia clasped her hands to her chest. “Did you just say, ‘IP address’?” She wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of her eye. “My baby. He’s all grown up.”

  Dakota snorted. Everyone looked at her. She cleared her throat. “How do you know if it’s related? Could be they bought the contagion online, and this server thing has nothing to do with it.”

  Talia said, “I would put money on the fact it’s whoever they bought the VX from.” She turned back to the TV and clicked on her wireless mouse. “The email address the link came from is too good. It’s a ghost. Doesn’t even exist as a domain now.”

  “And that makes sense to you?” When Talia nodded Dakota said, “What about the login?”

  “All I can say is that Clare Norton didn’t receive the credentials by email. The phones are all unregistered, and we can’t access anyone’s but Austin’s. How she got the username and password for the server, I can’t say with certainty at this present moment.”

  Which meant that later was an option. Talia was severely hampered being this far from their office in Portland and away from her good toys. The mobile version of her system that she’d—in her words—pared down and packed into the laptop she traveled with was, “woefully understated.” Whatever that meant. Seemed to Dakota she always managed just fine.

  Victoria said, “As soon as you access, or even attempt to access the file server, you’ll be detected?”

  Talia nodded. “Past a certain point, yes. I could maybe mask my penetration from the office a little better, but even that would buy me…maybe a few minutes. However I do it, the person who set it up will get an alert that someone is trying to get in.”

  Victoria lifted her hand and ran her index finger across her top lip. Supposedly it was her, “thinking” face, but since she never ate until the afternoon, mostly Dakota figured she was deciding what to eat later.

  Finally, Victoria said, “Okay, go ahead.”

  Talia’s eyes widened. “Hack the server?”

  Victoria nodded. “Use Dakota’s computer.”

  Dakota said, “Hey—”

  “Actually, that’s a great idea. It essentially has no personality. It’s perfect.”

  She turned to Talia. “What—”

  “The added anonymity will give me more time.” Talia paced the small space between TV and bed, tapping a pen on the palm of her hand. “I can create a persona that he’ll discover first. Until he realizes it’s a smoke screen. After that…” Her words drifted off into silence as she thought some more.

  Victoria picked up where she’d left off. “Figure out a way to track him the moment he starts to track you. Turn the tables. Find out who it is and what that server is.”

  Talia nodded slowly. “Okay.” Still nodding—her version of a thinking face. “Give me an hour to get set up.”

  “Good.” Victoria turned to Sal. “What have you got?”

  Conversation continued around her while Dakota put the pieces together in her own head. An online, dark web server. A chemical form of VX gas that had already been used to kill. Militia—anarchists. Not the usual kind of people to deploy a chemical weapon.

  The target? She had no idea. Could be anything.

  The one thing she knew for sure was that this was far from over.

  Beside her, Josh pulled out his phone. He typed on the screen and then bent it so she could read. His notes app.

  Could Harlem Roberts help us?

  . . .

  She covered her reaction well, but something was clear enough to him. Once again, Josh had pushed her too far. Enough to where she hit that place where she shut down. Kicked him out of the car. Screamed in his face. Walked away.

  Kidnapped his dog.

  Thankfully he’d left Neema in his room, sleeping off her morning outing in the car. Adventure was a dog’s life and his appreciated the best of them, so long as they featured sausage. And pancakes. She’d been snoring by the time he left the room.

  Now he had only one adventurous woman to contend with. And she was pulling away.

  Josh waved his hand, dismissing the idea, and stowed his phone. She didn’t need to worry about a mere suggestion. It wasn’t important if it was going to birth this kind of reaction in her. She could just forget he mentioned it in the first place.

  Only, there had to be a reason Victoria had gone so far as to have the guy transferred to a local federal prison and arrange for Josh to go see him. Visiting time had passed, but surely he could use his badge—and Victoria’s pull—to get in.

  Sal, Niall and Victoria were talking about what they’d found in the trash at the compound. A package had been delivered by courier. It could’ve been the VX, or not. A small vial of the amber liquid concentrate could have been easily transported. It was likely far easier to move the smaller it was, and maybe they had just sent it in the mail. Could even be carried on a person, in a small cylinder, like a travel mug. One vial could get to its intended destination basically anywhere—even through some airport screenings. A little doctoring and that small concentrate could turn into a huge batch of killing agent.

  Was it going to be converted into a gas and dispersed in a populated area? Or added to the city’s water treatment tanks?

  Either way meant multiple casualties.

  Josh leaned over to Dakota and spoke quietly. “Sorry, but Victoria planned enough to move him local. I just wanted to know if it’s an option.” He shrugged.

  “Don’t bring him up again.”

  Did it have something to do with what she’d survived? Clearly her past wasn’t on the table as far as topics of discussion. Dakota wasn’t interested in lowering her walls and letting him get to know her. Maybe he should take that as a sign. Even with the most traumatic of circumstances, trust was pretty crucial between two people. To be vulnerable with each other. The fact she wasn’t willing to do that should tell him what he needed to know.

  She wanted to keep things professional between them.

  Well, that was fine by him. They had enough to do today without either of them overcomplicating it with messy emotions and distractions.

  She pulled out her own phone, occupying herself while conversation continued to swirl around him.

  “I’m in,” Talia said. She hadn’t been sitting at Dakota’s laptop for ten minutes.

  “That was fast.” Josh felt his eyebrows rise.

  She winked at him. “What can I say? I’m good.”

  He opened his mouth to fire a quip back, but saw Dakota glance at him. Josh figured that wasn’t a good idea.

  Victoria said, “Let us know when you get something.” Then she turned back to Sal. “What about targets?”

  “Within a hundred miles? The usual soft targets like churches, shopping malls. Schools.” Everyone shuddered at the idea of a school being a target yet again. “Farther out you’ve got stadiums and concerts.”

  Niall picked up the thread. “Then you’ve got federal buildings. State facilities.”

  Like the federal prison Harlem Roberts had been taken to?

  Josh shook his head at his own idea. That was way too out there. Especially if Clare and her posse didn’t even know Roberts. Josh had no clue how the man fit, other than with Dakota.

  She shifted beside him and handed over her phone. He took it on a reflex, then said, “Wha—”

  “That.”

  He looked at the screen.

  Local man arrested for murder.

  Josh’s stomach flipped over, then settled far lower than it should’ve been. The victim was Imelda Packer, fifteen years younger and Roberts’ girlfriend. Shot in the chest and head. The only witness a seven-year-old girl.

  Roberts’ daughter, Katie.

  Josh looked up.

  “I changed my name.”

  Dakota Pierce was Katie Roberts. A little girl who had witnessed her father shoot his girlfriend.

  Josh took a breath, not even knowing what to say. She was a survivor…of one of the worst kinds of violence a person could do to another person. At seven years old she’d seen that, and it had shaped everything about her—as much as she’d tried to shove it down. Deny it. Forget about it.