He knew with everything that was in him that Dakota had changed her name and separated herself from who she had been, and what she’d seen, as the next step of her survival.

  He realized the room had gone silent. Josh looked at each of them.

  It was Victoria who said, “You told him?”

  Dakota lifted her chin. “You didn’t really give me a choice. I don’t want to talk about him, or to him. Not even if it’s one of you.”

  “I thought—”

  “I know,” Dakota cut in. “And I want to say thank you, because you care about me. You want me to face it and move on, but that’s not going to happen. I know you mean well.” She shook her head. “I’m not even at the place where I can appreciate the fact you had good intentions.”

  Victoria pressed her lips together. Like she wanted to apologize, or cry.

  Okay, maybe not tears.

  The depth of respect between them, forged through years of working together, was plain for Josh to see. They did care. Even if they went about things entirely differently and had completely different personalities. They’d made a friendship work. But professionally, they were a family.

  All the people in this room were.

  The family Dakota had never had for herself.

  And Josh had never wanted more than to be part of it.

  Conversation wound down. Sal and Niall headed back to the compound. Victoria headed to her room to continue working. He checked on Neema, made a few calls from the classifieds online—asking around about a truck. Nothing much came of it, except he had a guy who was going to text him photos of an F150.

  He knocked on their door again, but it was ajar.

  Inside, Talia paced in front of Dakota’s computer. “Anything yet?”

  She shook her head. “All quiet, except the layers of security that keep coming up. And when I get through one, there’s nothing behind it. Literally nothing. Not even a trace of something that used to be there.”

  Behind her on the bed, Dakota was curled up. Fast asleep.

  “So weird.”

  Shoes clipped the concrete walk outside. He spun around just as Victoria trotted in, out of breath. “The prison.”

  “What is it?” Should he wake up Dakota? Was this going to make her mad again?

  Victoria squeezed her phone tight enough her knuckles went white.

  Talia came over, pulling off her wireless headset. “What is it?”

  “There was an incident at the federal prison thirty minutes ago. People foaming at the mouth, seizing and then collapsing.”

  Josh said, “The VX?”

  She nodded. “Can’t be sure, but it’s too similar to be a coincidence.” She took a breath. “Guards. Prisoners. It’s chaos, and communication is spotty. But there’s been a breakout. Some of the inmates escaped, and a contingent of guards took off.”

  Josh knew why she’d come in like this. He opened his mouth to ask but not before a voice behind said, “Harlem?”

  He spun to see Dakota sit up. Hair mussed, and with a crease down the side of her face.

  Victoria said, “The whole place is a mess. Total chaos.”

  “Tell me.”

  “They have no idea where your father is.”

  Chapter 19

  Dakota couldn’t stand. There was no strength in her legs. “Are you kidding me?”

  He was loose? Fear slithered through her like frost creeping across a window.

  “That was my reaction.” Victoria ran slender fingers down her hair. A nervous gesture. Not sure how Dakota was going to react.

  Dakota shifted on the bed and tried to shove away the fatigue in her muscles. She could practically see her boss’s thoughts race. Focusing on that enabled her to still enough to suck in a full breath.

  Josh’s attention was on her, unlike Talia who was fully focused on her computer. Dakota didn’t want to look at him, though. She didn’t need to process this one aloud. It was her deal, and no one else’s. What Harlem had done wasn’t anyone’s problem.

  It was hers, and she didn’t share. Besides, she’d dealt with it. This was just an understandable hiccup in the process of getting on with the rest of her life.

  There was just one other hiccup she had to deal with first.

  She pinned Victoria with a look. “Did you do this?”

  Her boss seemed surprised more than guilty, but she had been planning on sending Josh to talk to Harlem. Wasn’t it logical for Dakota to wonder if Victoria had planned this?

  What if Josh had “happened” to be there, right when a prison break took place? Dakota would never put something like that past her boss. Victoria did whatever it took to get a result on a case. And everyone knew it.

  Josh said, “Seriously?”

  Dakota made a face like, What? She turned back to her boss. “Victoria, did you plan for Harlem to be loose in order to gain his assistance on the case?”

  Her boss pressed her lips together and blew a breath out her nose. “Special Agent Pierce—”

  “Answer the question, Victoria.”

  “This is going in your file.”

  “If I do it right,” Dakota said, “It’ll go in yours too. And I wonder which of us can’t afford to get written up about something else.”

  Victoria sighed. “I did not plan for a modified version of VX to be released at the federal prison. I have nothing to do with these militia people.”

  “And Harlem?”

  “I didn’t take steps to get him released, or to somehow break him out,” Victoria said. “And anyway, we don’t even know if he escaped. Right now he’s just missing.”

  “He escaped.”

  “Perhaps we should go and find that out for certain before we continue jumping to conclusions.”

  Dakota reached for her boots. “Fine.”

  “Marshal Alvarez is headed to the prison already. He’ll be spearheading the hunt for whoever is missing.”

  She stood and grabbed her jacket.

  “Hold up.” Talia held up one finger but didn’t look away from her computer screen. “Seriously?”

  Victoria had one hand on the door handle already. “What is it?”

  “Nothing.” Talia blew out a breath and sat back in the chair. She shifted to face them. “Okay, so this is weird. I got in there, right? But there was nothing. So I look around. More layers, more logins. Every time I think I’ve broken into the server, on the other side there’s nothing.”

  Dakota didn’t know what that meant. “So they’re hiding the information.”

  “It’s more like a Russian nesting doll…with nothing in the middle. Like I’m being strung along.”

  Josh was the one who said, “Are they onto you?”

  “Possibly.” Talia thumbed her lip with a gold-tipped nail. “I’ll have to look around. See if I can find a trace of whoever is giving me the runaround.”

  “Like a distraction?” Dakota asked before she’d even really thought it through. “Which is interesting, considering it all broke loose at the prison around the same time.”

  Victoria nodded. “Very interesting timing.”

  “So they’re connected?” Josh asked. “Because I can’t really see a militia being all up on technology.”

  “Maybe they have a guy…or know a guy.”

  Talia said, “Or it’s the person they got the VX from. Someone smart enough to modify a chemical weapon.”

  Josh nodded. “The server was connected to where they got the drug from.” He looked at each of them. “So it stands to reason that whoever’s behind what they’re doing is the one giving Talia the runaround.”

  “No one is controlling them.” Dakota shook her head. “At the most, it’s a partnership but even that is going to be loose. They don’t get into bed with anyone. Its family, or you’re not a part of them.”

  “So they bought it and whoever they got it from is covering their tracks,” Josh said. His eyes were a little too knowing. It wasn’t a secret now. She’d shown him the article. He knew that Harlem had killed his girlfriend, the woman who would have been her step-mother in a few weeks.

  The flash of light erupted across the screen of her mind. A single gunshot, the sound so loud it was like a firework she could still hear even after all these years. Dakota’s body flinched. She couldn’t control the reaction. For a second she shut her eyes, but that only made the images more prominent.

  She hadn’t even liked Imelda. The woman had never said anything nice and when Dakota’s dad wasn’t around, she had slapped her frequently. Not that he’d have cared if he had been there to see it. Harlem’s parenting style wasn’t all that different.

  The foster family she’d been sent to had been the opposite—they’d never touched her at all. Dakota had spent most of her time alone, while the family went out to dinner or to the movies. She’d been shuffled through families and homes and by the favor of God hadn’t gotten caught up in anything she couldn’t control. She knew the horror stories, but the worst she’d suffered was the gaping loneliness.

  Something she still felt, but had learned how to manage.

  He said, “They’re making it so Talia can’t access their stuff?” His voice a whole lot more gentle, as though he didn’t want to disturb her from her thoughts. He was looking at her like he had in the doctor’s office—his face close. Soft.

  “Yet.” Talia shifted in her chair. Her fingers flew over the keyboard.

  “Let’s go.” Victoria led the way outside.

  Dakota zipped up her jacket as she moved through the door.

  Josh said, “Got your key?”

  She nodded and called out, “Bye Talia!”

  In reply she got a distracted, “Yep.”

  Josh pulled the door shut. “You okay?”

  She opened her mouth to dismiss him, but what was the point? “No. I’m not okay, not really.”

  Josh made a sound, deep in his throat. Like a pained moan. He grasped her elbows and pulled her into his chest. “C’mere.”

  Dakota frowned. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She lifted hers and wound them around his waist. She supposed she probably did look like she could use a hug. Who couldn’t? Hugs were nice. But maybe that was just Josh.

  Victoria honked the horn.

  Dakota pulled away and turned to stare down her boss. Behind her, Josh made a choking sound that came across a whole lot like laughter. She turned back to him, “I’m learning your noises.”

  “My what?”

  “You don’t need words sometimes. You make noises, and you’re very expressive.” She studied him. “I’m figuring you out.”

  “Then I’ll have to endeavor to be a whole lot more mysterious.”

  She snickered. “Please don’t. I’m not sure I can handle it.”

  He grinned, and she realized he’d successfully pulled her out of her head. She’d been in a funk. He had brought her out of it. And he knew it, judging by the gleam in his eyes.

  Then reality crashed back in, just as relentless as ever.

  Dakota headed for the car. “Get your dog and let’s go.”

  . . .

  Victoria had been right that the prison was in chaos. Sal stood at the center of a circle of people, all with those silver star badges of the US Marshals hung from chains around their necks.

  Dakota opened the rear door of Victoria’s SUV. She pulled off her jacket and strapped on a vest that said POLICE, with the letters HSI underneath. Homeland Security Investigations. She handed him one. “Put this on.”

  He looked at the front—just POLICE written across it. “Thanks.”

  Victoria strode over to Sal and his group, her trench coat billowing around her hips.

  Dakota nodded towards Victoria. “Watch what happens.”

  Josh frowned at her, then glanced at the men and women with Sal. Most of the men had their mouths hanging open. The women stared, too. Not Dakota. Her brow had furrowed, her lips pursed. Jealous at her colleague’s reactions?

  “She has that effect on people.”

  “Huh. I guess. If she’s your type.” Josh turned to Dakota.

  That was it? He wasn’t going to give her some kind of reassurance?

  Maybe he thought his lack of reaction said enough.

  He sat on the edge of the SUV to relace his boot. Neema hopped over the seat to lick his ear. “Hey.” He pushed her away, and she came back to try again. Josh chuckled.

  Dakota strapped on her weapon. She used a hairband to secure back her hair, then slipped her ponytail into a ball cap. Josh strapped up Neema so everyone would know she was working.

  “Bulletproof?”

  He nodded. “Didn’t help last time, but we don’t take chances. Plus it’s a mental thing, you know? If she’s wearing it, then she knows we’re working. Watch her. You’ll see the change.”

  “Business face?”

  He smiled. “Something like that.” And then got up. “Hier.”

  Neema hopped out and trotted to sit beside his leg. He gave the top of her head a scratch and checked his weapon while Dakota shut the back doors of the SUV.

  He pulled his DEA badge out and used the Velcro to strap it to his chest. “Let’s go find out what’s happening.”

  As they approached, Victoria began to shake her head. The other Marshals had broken off to look at a laptop someone had set up on the hood of a car. On the screen was a map.

  Sal saw them coming and said, “It’s been confirmed. The VX was in an aerosol can and released during visitation.” He must have anticipated their reactions, because he quickly said, “How they got it in there is anyone’s guess. I didn’t believe it when they told me that we had to wait out here until the poison dissipated.”

  Dakota paled. “And Harlem?”

  “Looks like in all the confusion, they purposely beelined to grab him,” Sal said. “I watched the footage myself. They took him specifically. Handed him a gas mask before the gas reached him. They got a transport bus that hadn’t left yet and fled the prison while the others were dealing with what they believed was the outbreak of a deadly virus.”

  Josh said, “How many dead?”

  “Eight inmates and three guards. More in the infirmary—or what’s left of it. They started a fire also. The whole place is in chaos.”

  Victoria sighed. “I feel like I played into their hands. Brought him right to them.”

  “You can’t know that.” Sal didn’t sound like he was placating her. “It isn’t like you served him up.”

  That they knew of. Seemed like it was possible that that was exactly what’d happened. But they didn’t know who Dakota was. Or, at least they hadn’t known she was Harlem’s daughter when they kidnapped her.

  Maybe, figuratively speaking, Victoria had left the door open. “You didn’t know they’d go in there and release the gas.”

  They hadn’t even known Clare had a canister. The Johnsons had been contaminated a different way.

  Dakota spoke up, “But it can’t be denied that someone took advantage of the opportunity to grab him.”

  “Maybe the prison was part of the plan,” Josh suggested. “After the orchard, maybe that was next on their hit list?”

  Sal shifted his weight. Like he was ready to get out of there and get on the hunt. “And Roberts was a bonus?”

  Josh shrugged. Dakota said, “What about Talia’s hack? Was that related?”

  “Seems like she’s being purposely distracted.” Josh took a minute to think it through all the way so the pieces coalesced in his mind. “And the same with us.”

  “One real, one virtual,” Victoria said, her voice distant. “Leaving them time to get set up with whatever they’re going to do with that contagion next.”

  So someone knew about Harlem Roberts and his connection to Dakota? And whoever it was had to have passed the information on to Clare.

  “You think there’s a larger plot yet?” Josh didn’t like that idea, even while he understood it was likely the reality. Maybe he already knew the answer to his question. But he still needed to ask it.

  “I do,” Dakota said.

  “Me too.” Victoria’s agreement didn’t seem to make either of them feel better.

  “Something else.” Sal’s comment drew all their attention. “Terrence and Clare were both on the footage. Gas masks over their faces, but they got in during the confusion. They’re the ones who took Roberts, along with three inmates who we believe were linked to them before they were sent here.”

  “So they got their people out also using the gas as a distraction?” Dakota asked. “We had no idea where they were before they exposed themselves here. Now we have a way to track them. And they’ve got extra people, which means it’s harder to stay under the radar because now they’ve got to control Roberts as well.”

  Did she have an idea what her father would want to do when he got out? Maybe that would help them figure out where he would go. Then again, if he was under Clare Norton’s thumb—because of duress, or cooperation—they were running her plays. And who knew what she was up to?

  “Austin.”

  He said the kid’s name before he even realized it.

  “You think he has an idea where they’re going,” Dakota said.

  “I think he might.” Josh shrugged. “Worth a follow up conversation?”

  She nodded. At least it put her elsewhere and not on her father’s trail. It seemed that Dakota might be a whole lot better able to deal with the source of her life’s pain running loose if she wasn’t anywhere near him. If she didn’t have to potentially face him.

  Josh considered everything. “So maybe they knew about Roberts, or someone told them to go and get him?”

  “Maybe Talia can find out how after she’s done with the server,” Victoria suggested. “In the meantime, Alvarez you go with the marshals. Track the transport vehicle. Find those inmates.”

  Two attacks.

  Josh tried to think it through while she continued to dole out assignments. But he couldn’t find a connection between a dark web server and a grass-roots militia apart from the sale itself. The two were completely different. There had to be a link between them—someone calling the shots. Not that he thought Clare Norton would take orders from anyone.