would start screaming and demanding my autograph, but I didn’t want to tempt fate.
“On my wages?” Harris laughed. “Not. We go to the library for all our fine computing needs. It’s around the corner here, a block down and to your left.”
He stopped so quickly I ran into his back. I bounced away, trying not to look silly. “He’s been talking to Dykovski from there. We don’t do cell phones or anything else. You think he’s there now?”
I nodded to the single police car passing us slowly, Officer Dave studiously ignoring us. The streets were quiet, and I hoped he’d been able to get the word out without panicking anyone. One pickup truck drove by at the far end of the street and meandered out of sight. The shops we passed either remained locked up or had never opened for business, the metal signs still flipped to the Closed side.
It wasn’t a clear victory, but it sure helped. The weight on my chest lifted a fraction, just enough to help me breathe easier.
“I think your apartment is going to be the major focus of attention right now with people wondering where the hole came from, if they didn’t see us brawl outright. He’s got to go somewhere to avoid questions about the apartment and about us. The library sounds as good a place as any to hide out until Dykovski arrives.”
Harris nodded. “Makes sense.”
The patrol car turned the corner, away from us. “Does he have his own computer account or does he use yours?”
Harris flushed a deep scarlet. “Always mine. We figured it’d be easier to avoid being found, him being an Alpha and all.”
“So he’s got your passwords and everything. Jessie?” I resisted the urge to look skyward to my techno-angel.
“Already on it.” He was all business, short, clipped tones. “Geez, Harris. Did you have to pick that as a password? Got it on the first try.”
Harris coughed as we rounded the corner. “Thank you for not saying it out loud.”
“Get my ass burned by two women, one of whom is sitting here beside me? No thanks.” Jessie chuckled. “Okay, Jo—Harris logged on about a half hour ago at the Kensington Grove Library, not too far from where you’re walking.”
“Can you backtrack who he’s chatting with? Do that mojo with the emails and find out where Dykovski’s sending his emails from?”
“Bet you five bucks he’s using a disposable cell phone with web access. I might be able to lock down the cell tower he’s using, but don’t count on a street address.”
I repressed the urge to scream. “Do the best you can.”
We stood on the corner. Harris pointed to his left. “Diner’s down there. We got time before Dykovski arrives.” His hand moved to the right. “Library’s that way.” A quaver worked its way into his words. “You sure you want to talk to him alone?”
“No option.” I took a single step to the right before pausing. “You need to be in that diner. I’ve got to give Kit a chance to fix things, put it right. So far no one’s gotten hurt yet.”
“Yet,” Harris repeated. “But if it comes to a throwdown, he’s okay with killing you. He was ready to do it.” A pained sound escaped the pudgy man. “He’s ready to sacrifice anyone for his revenge. You. Me. Bernie at the diner.” Harris glanced down the street. “I can’t let him hurt her. I can’t let him hurt you or anyone else.” He shook his head. “What happened to him? I mean, I knew he liked to drink and he was hitting the bottle pretty hard, but what happened to him? He was a hero.”
A scrap of paper blew across the empty street, skittering over our feet before continuing its lonely travels. “The Agency screwed with him. He’s damaged goods.” Like all of us , I added silently.
I patted Harris on the shoulder. “Just do what you do and we’ll make it all work.”
“I hate it when you go all Zen. You this annoying with Hunter?”
“Yes.” The reply came over our links.
“Shut up.” I stepped away, jamming my hands in
“On my wages?” Harris laughed. “Not. We go to the library for all our fine computing needs. It’s around the corner here, a block down and to your left.”
He stopped so quickly I ran into his back. I bounced away, trying not to look silly. “He’s been talking to Dykovski from there. We don’t do cell phones or anything else. You think he’s there now?”
I nodded to the single police car passing us slowly, Officer Dave studiously ignoring us. The streets were quiet, and I hoped he’d been able to get the word out without panicking anyone. One pickup truck drove by at the far end of the street and meandered out of sight. The shops we passed either remained locked up or had never opened for business, the metal signs still flipped to the Closed side.
It wasn’t a clear victory, but it sure helped. The weight on my chest lifted a fraction, just enough to help me breathe easier.
“I think your apartment is going to be the major focus of attention right now with people wondering where the hole came from, if they didn’t see us brawl outright. He’s got to go somewhere to avoid questions about the apartment and about us. The library sounds as good a place as any to hide out until Dykovski arrives.”
Harris nodded. “Makes sense.”
The patrol car turned the corner, away from us. “Does he have his own computer account or does he use yours?”
Harris flushed a deep scarlet. “Always mine. We figured it’d be easier to avoid being found, him being an Alpha and all.”
“So he’s got your passwords and everything. Jessie?” I resisted the urge to look skyward to my techno-angel.
“Already on it.” He was all business, short, clipped tones. “Geez, Harris. Did you have to pick that as a password? Got it on the first try.”
Harris coughed as we rounded the corner. “Thank you for not saying it out loud.”
“Get my ass burned by two women, one of whom is sitting here beside me? No thanks.” Jessie chuckled. “Okay, Jo—Harris logged on about a half hour ago at the Kensington Grove Library, not too far from where you’re walking.”
“Can you backtrack who he’s chatting with? Do that mojo with the emails and find out where Dykovski’s sending his emails from?”
“Bet you five bucks he’s using a disposable cell phone with web access. I might be able to lock down the cell tower he’s using, but don’t count on a street address.”
I repressed the urge to scream. “Do the best you can.”
We stood on the corner. Harris pointed to his left. “Diner’s down there. We got time before Dykovski arrives.” His hand moved to the right. “Library’s that way.” A quaver worked its way into his words. “You sure you want to talk to him alone?”
“No option.” I took a single step to the right before pausing. “You need to be in that diner. I’ve got to give Kit a chance to fix things, put it right. So far no one’s gotten hurt yet.”
“Yet,” Harris repeated. “But if it comes to a throwdown, he’s okay with killing you. He was ready to do it.” A pained sound escaped the pudgy man. “He’s ready to sacrifice anyone for his revenge. You. Me. Bernie at the diner.” Harris glanced down the street. “I can’t let him hurt her. I can’t let him hurt you or anyone else.” He shook his head. “What happened to him? I mean, I knew he liked to drink and he was hitting the bottle pretty hard, but what happened to him? He was a hero.”
A scrap of paper blew across the empty street, skittering over our feet before continuing its lonely travels. “The Agency screwed with him. He’s damaged goods.” Like all of us , I added silently.
I patted Harris on the shoulder. “Just do what you do and we’ll make it all work.”
“I hate it when you go all Zen. You this annoying with Hunter?”
“Yes.” The reply came over our links.
“Shut up.” I stepped away, jamming my hands in
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