Page 119 of Maddox

“In a way we are. You do realize you were threatened.”

“Warned,” I corrected.

“There is no real difference, Charmaine. If you push their buttons, they will eventually push back. Only they may not do so in a way I can control.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.”

“That I can’t handle the situation?” He handed me the phone and returned to the chair in front of the computer. We’d studied the information on the jump drive as he’d done several times. While there were additional files, there’s been no way of determining the data. Everything had been encrypted.

His smile was strained.

“No, Maddox. I know you can handle anything. I almost feel sorry for anyone who steps foot on your property. You just might break their necks. I thought about what you said. We need to bring this to a conclusion.”

“Yeah, we do, but we do it my way. You’re not going to ride roughshod on this. We’ll handle this carefully. You’re also not going to write a scathing article. The target will be drawn on your back in permanent ink next time. The question is, what in the hell am I going to do with you?”

I glanced out the window, accepting that receiving a second text was a long shot, but we had little recourse at the moment. At least there hadn’t been a notification the message was unable to reach the recipient. Maybe that was something.

“Maybe I just believe there’s no end to this. Or that the people truly responsible for what happened will continue to get away with their crimes. My story could have forced the bastards into the open. Did you know there was an explosion on a private yacht two days ago?”

He snorted. “I don’t keep up with the news. We ranchers are hard-working men.”

“You mean hardheaded. The owner was on vacation with his family in the Mediterranean. He was some big pharmaceutical mogul. While the news sources were sketchy, they’re aware arson was involved, but can’t figure out how since the boat was very secure.”

I walked closer, nodding when he tipped his head in my direction.

“You’re thinking Mercury Fulminate.”

“Yes. What if Alfaro’s plan was to invade the major pharmaceutical companies? Fentanyl. Oxycodone. Designer drugs. Maybe that’s the ‘in’ he wanted.”

“You’re not writing the article.”

“What if it’s targeted to a particular audience?”

His sigh was heavy. “No. That’s final.”

“If Alfaro is in the process of infiltrating the pharmaceutical companies, maybe I can give a little push.”

“You heard me. We can’t do anything about it. Correction. Neither you nor I are going to do anything off the wall.”

“Why not?” I winked then laughed seeing the serious look on his face. “We make a great team, you know.”

“Uh-huh. You’re just trying to get into more trouble.” He glanced at the computer screen, switching windows several times, highlighting both information that had already been opened and the strange message found in one. “You know what bothers me?” he asked a few seconds later.

“What?”

“The information Damon managed to decipher has a rhythm to it.”

“A rhythm.”

“Yes. I don’t know how to explain it other than it reminds me of Morse code.”

Laughing, I leaned over the desk, staring at the screen. “I knew you were old, but you evidently hide your age well.”

His huff was adorable. “We were trained in Morse code early in our careers. As our training officer reminded us, we would never know when our communications systems would be down, we’d be locked out, or the system would be hacked. We needed a way of communicating rarely used. It stuck with me.”

“Fascinating. Can you decipher anything?”

“I’m not sure. Take a glance at this file. This is the single one that appears as if unencrypted on purpose. Maybe I’m making too much out of it.” He sat back, rubbing his eyes.

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