Page 69 of Protecting his Secrets

Nick and Malachi settled at two computers, side by side, working through their own research areas to see what they could dig up. Nick read the police report, which, as usual, was scarce and had little to offer. What they did have, though, was something unexpected. Video footage. A witness had been recording on her phone at the time and had caught the shooting in the background. They had been a short distance away, and parked cars hid some of it, but Nick could see the impact of thebullet as it hit Rye and sent him sprawling to the ground. A lump made a home in his throat, but Malachi squeezed his shoulder, helping to dislodge it.

“We’ll find them.”

He spent the next few hours scouring everything he could find, rubbing his eyes more than once when things got bleary. When Malachi cleared his throat, Nick expected a reprimand. Instead, he got words he hadn’t expected.

“Nick, I think this was staged.”

His head shot up. “What do you mean?”

“He sent that email an hour before I read it. But the shot didn’t happen until you were talking to Rye. He wanted you to hear it. He purposefully waited. How did he hear you? Was Rye’s phone bugged? Yours? Mine? Did he have some satellite…whatever to let him hear your conversation with Rye?”

“It’s not an impossibility,” Felix interjected. “They’re more common than most people believe. And easy to make if you know how and don’t want anyone to know you have one.”

Malachi and Nick shared a look. “Military,” they chorused.

Felix nodded. “Some would know how to do it. Some are trained to know how to mock things together in case of emergency, like their radio breaking or something.”

Nick frowned. “So, is he listening tous? Or just sometimes?”

“Let me check for any abnormalities in our frequencies. I might be able to tell if anyone is piggybacking off our signals, but it might not be so if they are using something else.” Felix had moved to his computer and already started typing before he finished his words.

Nick rubbed at his eyes and then his temples, unable to stop a yawn.

“After this, we’re going to bed,” Malachi said. “You won’t be any good to anyone without a brain rest.”

Nick wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. “Okay.”

Malachi opened his mouth as if to counter Nick’s argument and paused when there wasn’t one. He narrowed his eyes. “Am I going to have to sleep on top of you to make sure you don’t sneak off in the middle of the night?”

Nick chuckled. “Maybe. Would that be such a hardship?”

“I never said it would be. I was just wondering.” Malachi smirked.

“You’re always welcome to sleep on top of me.”

Malachi’s cheeks heated, but he didn’t reply.

Abruptly dropping into his chair, Felix cursed. “Fuck me.”

Nick rose and went to him. “What is it?”

“I should’ve checked. I thought we were clear…” His voice trailed off, his face paling. He turned wide eyes to Nick. “They’ve been piggybacking off our radios. They’re likely to have heard everything.”

“Have you stopped it?”

Felix nodded slowly. “I should’ve checked. It never occurred to me.”

Nick squeezed his shoulder. “You can’t do everything, Felix. And we’ve found it now. So where does that leave us?”

“Up shit creek,” Brett said, his mouth a grim line. “I’ve just got off the phone from Commissioner Thomas. Tarrant Milton is dead.”

Nick stared at him. “I thought we had him being watched?”

“We did.”

“I’m starting to worry about any potential witnesses.”

“You’re not the only one.”

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