Page 65 of Hunted

“I know I’m supposed to be at the hotel waiting for White, but I’ve got to see Lexi.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Darren didn’t tell you?” At Stryker’s blank stare, he went on. “I assumed he’d have brought you in on things now that he has the formula.”

Every drop of color left Stryker’s face. “Tell me you’re not talking about the Stoltz case.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Look, I know you still hold me responsible for Wendy’s death. I don’t blame you. Hell, I wouldn’t have done this for Darren at all, if the chance to get White hadn’t been a part of it. But it’s over. I got the damned formula and turned it in. I did my part. Now I’ve changed my mind about the protective custody for Lexi. I want her back.”

“Protective custody? For Lexia Stoltz?”

Connor nodded. “I think I finally understand why you hate my guts so much. If you felt a tenth for Wendy what I feel for Lexi … it’s a wonder you didn’t put a bullet between my eyes a long time ago.”

Stryker gaped, then drew a breath. “I did worse than that to you.”

“What?”

He shook his head. “Not now. Look, Romano, you’re telling me you went after Stoltz’s formula at Darren Wade’s request. You turned it over to him, and then you let him take the Dr. Lexia Stoltz into custody?”

“Yeah. For her own protection. I was planning …” Connor swallowed hard. “I was planning to take White out tonight.”

Stryker lowered his head into his hands and swore.

A lead ball formed in Connor’s stomach. “What the hell is going on?”

“Darren Wade doesn’t work for us anymore. For more than a year now, I’ve suspected him of selling information. I’ve been watching him but haven’t been able to get anything solid on him. Not yet anyway.”

“Selling information … to whom?”

“To White.”

The word hit Connor like a blow to the solar plexus.

“I thought you were working with him, Romano. Dammit, you two were best friends. Darren’s the one who recruited you. So when it looked like he was involved in the bombing that killed Wendy, I assumed you were in on it, too. Especially since the device was so well made … and so much like White’s work. Only you knew his methods that well. And only you had the skill to duplicate them.”

Connor swore, but Stryker kept talking.

“I figured Wendy knew something, stumbled onto some information she shouldn’t have …” He trailed off, shaking his head.

But Connor wasn’t hearing him anymore. He was replaying that last conversation he’d had with his wife. It caught like a scratched LP, skipping back to the same phrase over and over again. Saw your boss today. Saw your boss today. Saw your boss today.

“No.”

He closed his eyes, gave it a mental kick to make it play out and die away. And then he heard the rest. He was talking to the oddest looking—oh, hey, Justin’s hanging upside down from the monkey bars and hollering at me to come out and see. Gotta go. See you when you get here.

Only she hadn’t. Instead, she’d been killed right before his eyes. Killed because White had planted one of his trademark devices in the house. When he shouldn’t even have known where the house was. When he shouldn’t have known anything about Connor’s family.

So how had he known?

He was talking to the oddest looking …

“It was Darren,” Connor muttered. “Good God, it was Darren all along. Wendy saw him that day, she and the kids ran into him. They said he was with someone odd looking. Had to be White. He and Darren both knew all it would take was one mention of what that stranger looked like for me to put it together …” His head fell until his chin touched his chest. “Those bastards killed my little boys.” He snapped his head up. “Those bastards have Lexi!”

“They also have a virus capable of wiping out entire nations, Romano. We’ll get them.” Stryker was already pulling out his phone, tapping keys.

Connor was reeling, his mind spinning out of control. “I made her go with him. Dammit, she didn’t want to.”

“We’ll have every resource at our disposal on this within ten minutes,” Stryker said. “We’ll get the formula, and we’ll get Lexia Stoltz.” He headed through the doors that led to the street, Connor on his heels. “Park yourself somewhere, Romano. I’ll get in touch as soon as we know anything.”

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