Page 85 of My One and Only

Chapter 27

While Cam talked with the principal at Fiona’s school, Jo composed an email to Mel. She gave her a list of suspects, which included Don, all the foremen and building inspectors, as well as the people who had been fired after they’d been implicated in the scheme. She asked her boss to get as much information as possible about all of them. Especially financial information. She told Mel who to start with, and who to focus on second, third and so on. She explained about the bomb she’d found beneath Cam’s truck that morning and stressed that she needed the information ASAP.

Mel responded immediately. She told Jo that, depending on how many layers people had created that would shield their financial information on the dark web, Jo might expect some information later today.

Thanking her boss, Jo logged off and turned off her computer.

“You look like you’re really focused on something,” Cam said when Jo inhaled a deep breath, then blew it out.

“Yeah, I asked Mel to dig up some information for me. She’s an extraordinary researcher. I have no idea how she digs into the dark web and gathers information, but I’m damn glad she can.”

“Yeah?”Cam said, but he frowned. “Is that really ethical?”

Jo spun in her chair to stare at him. “Are you serious right now?”

“Of course I am. It doesn’t seem right for her to hack into people’s personal lives without permission.”

“She’s not hacking into anything. But she knows how to use the dark web, and you’d be surprised how many people with bad intentions use it. How much they brag about what they’ve done. They’reproudof what they’ve done.” She stared at him for a long moment.

“Was itrightfor someone to put a bomb beneath the truck that you, I and Fiona would be riding in?”she finally asked. “Is itrightto send someone to your house armed with guns and knives to kill you and Fiona? Was itrightfor someone to deliberately ram their truck into yours and put you in the hospital with a concussion?”

When she opened her mouth to say something else, Cam raised his hands. “Whoa,” he said. “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking of it that way.” He sighed. “If we can narrow the suspects down based on information your boss finds on the dark web, we need to do it.”

“Damn straight we do.” She held his gaze for a beat longer, then glanced down at the truck. No one even close to it. So she looked back at Cam. Stared down at her hands. “You’d be surprised how much people will reveal when they think it’s safe. If she’s lucky, Mel might have some results by this afternoon.”

“Okay,” Cam said wearily. “That’s good. I guess.”

“No ‘I guess’ about it,” Jo said, her voice sharp. “The dark web is like a trash can sitting at the curb. It’s perfectly legal to go through it. Search for Information. All our lives are on the line here, Cam. If Mel can find out who it is on the dark web, what’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing!”he said, scowling. “All I know about the dark web is that it’s a cesspool of the evil and dangerous. But if Mel can wade through it? More power to her.”

Jo scoffed. “Nicepeople don’t use the dark web,” she said. “And the person or persons targeting you are notnice. I can almost guarantee you that they’ve already looked there for information about you. Me, too, probably, since I’m always with you. We just don’t know who it is. What were they looking for? Not sure. But Iamsure they were looking for something to use against you. A wedge to get an advantage over you. Probably your financial information since that’s the currency of the dark web.”

“Fine.” He held up his hands. “We’ll wait and see what your boss finds. Go from there.”

“Thank you,” Jo said. She stood up and paced the room, keeping her eye on the truck she’d parked in the same place she’d parked the truck yesterday. She swiveled to face Cam. “Can we put the car into your parents’ garage tonight? To make it more difficult for someone to access it?”

He nodded. “Great idea. I’ll talk to my mom before we go home and see if we can use it. They only have one car, and it’s a two-car garage. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’ll rig up a temporary alarm so we’ll hear if someone tries to break into your parents’ garage. And, of course, I’ll check the car in the morning, just like I’ve been checking the truck.”

Cam nodded once, a jerk of his head, and went back to what he’d been doing. As Jo watched him, she rubbed her chest, trying to get rid of the ache. This was why people didn’t act as bodyguards for people they cared about. There was always at least one issue where the bodyguard and the protectee had a difference of opinion.

For Cam, it was apparently not tracking his enemy through the dark web, where financial information was bought and sold on a regular basis.

Jo stood near the window, staring at the car parked below them without really seeing it. She’d do whatever it took to protect Cam and Fiona. Like many protectees, Cam wouldn’t like her techniques. But neither Cam nor Fiona was going to die on her watch.

Tension swirled through the room, but Jo ignored it. She didn’t care if Cam didn’t like how she operated. Her goal was to keep them alive, and she’d do whatever it took

A knock rattled the door, and Cam called, “C’mon in.”

The door opened and Don walked in. He spotted Jo and nodded at her. “Hey, Jo.”

“Hi, Don,” she said, sitting down at the desk by the window and pretending to look at something on her computer.

Behind her, Don said to Cam, “I have some questions for you about those new hires that Jo recommended. You have a few minutes to come by my office and talk?”

Cam shook his head. “Sorry, Don. I have a meeting at Fiona’s school, and we have to leave in a few minutes. Can it wait until tomorrow?”

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