Page 10 of Dirty Love

But if he’s going to have Secret Service protection, he’s got real credibility.

Something tells me this is bad fucking news.

I’m also running some bots in chat rooms. One of them is pretending to be a shy teenage girl. Another, a young man, early twenties, but willing to play younger than that for the right price. The artificial intelligence technology is changing daily, and I’m really pleased with how these bots are producing results. Some of the potential pedophiles catch on that something’s not quite right, but that data is useful, too. I can train the AI bot to not use that kind of response again, whatever triggered the end of the conversation.

“Morning.”

I glance sideways and nod at Cole. He’s in a suit today. “Morning. Heading out?”

“Got a whistleblower client meeting with some agents at the DOJ in a few hours. What are you working on?”

I wave at the screen where the girl bot is playing it coy enough to make the idiot talking to her say something stupid. “The usual.”

“Who is he?” Cole leans in and looks at the scrolling data. This is best and worst part of my job. While the bots are engaging, I’m tracing as much as I can from the digital footprint of the asshole on the other end. In this case, it’s a firefighter in Florida who doesn’t even know how to use a proxy server.

“A father of teenage boys. Twice divorced. Owns his house, but he’s got some debt. Has bounced through a couple of fire departments. At the rate he moves through jobs, he might not be fun to work with. Anger issues, maybe. He’s being aggressive with the bot. Pushing her.”

Cole clenches his fist until his knuckles turn white. “Fucking endless.”

“Yep. Get out of my office unless you want to see some shit you’ll never un-see.”

He steps back, but he doesn’t leave. “Why did you meet with Deacon Webb?”

“Last night?”

“How many times have you met with him?”

I type a command into the dialog box on my screen and a new search script begins, looking for irregular cash withdrawals. Has he hired any hookers in real life? “I see Webb from time to time when I’m in L.A. Why?”

“You haven’t mentioned that.”

“I didn’t realize I need to. How did you know we ran into each other last night?”

Cole doesn’t say anything. The night’s activities flash through my mind like a slideshow. I hadn’t seen him. I frown and spin around in my chair.

He’s rubbing his jaw, but he’s not avoiding my gaze. So it wasn’t him, and it wasn’t Tag, either. For one thing, Tag would have just come over. Stealth isn’t his style. And for another, he doesn’t always assume the worst of me. “Jason?”

Cole shrugs.

Sometimes we’re fucking assholes to each other. I give him a hard look. “I went to drop the first round of wires. Jason knew that, there’s no secret. I saw Webb at the bar, and stopped to have a drink with him. We talked about his work, mostly. Key question really is, why was Jason there—if he didn’t come over and talk to me—and why isn’t he having this conversation with me now?”

“He just mentioned it in passing.”

“And now I’m flipping it back to you—in passing. What’s Jason up to?”

Cole’s jaw flexes. He’s not entirely comfortable with the dark side of the moon our partner still sometimes drifts toward. Where we all started from, and most naturally operate.

I cross my arms. “Was I sent on a fool’s errand last night? A diversion?”

“No.” He frowns. “I’m more worried about you leaving. Forming your own firm with Webb.”

“Ah, shit, man. No. Not going to happen. He’s happy with the Secret Service. You know if anything I’d just try to get him here. I’m not looking to jump anywhere. Where is this coming from?”

He shifts back on his heels and crosses his arms, mirroring my pose. Except Cole’s a beast, with arms the size of a well-fed python, so he’s definitely the more intimidating of the two of us. Which makes it all the more disconcerting when he gives me a tentative smile. “I don’t want you to think I’ve gone soft.”

I shake my head. “Never. Not in the ways that matter.” Sure, Cole fell hard for a good girl, but Hailey also lights a fire under him to do the right thing—and fuck it, I can hack for good just as well as evil. “But my conversation with Webb actually was productive…he’s back in town to join the security detail designated for Victor Best.”

Cole’s smile disappears and his face turns dark. “Damn.”

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