Page 35 of Devil
Devil leaned back against her pillows and closed her eyes, looking for some peace. She believed Cyn’s apology and knew it was sincere, but she didn’t have it in her to constantly try to deflect her friends’ comments.
“No, you shouldn’t have pushed,” Devil said. “But I accept your apology. Even so, I think I need some time alone. As I said, I’m going to work out, and then I plan to spend the evening brushing up on my smallpox research.”
“Devil—” Cyn started, but Nora cut her off.
“That sounds like a good idea. Let us know if you find anything or need any help,” she said.
“If I hear any more about Nadia and Sonia or the Lam sisters, I’ll text,” Six said.
A beat passed, then Cyn exhaled and chimed in. “And if I find out anything about Joe Merrick, I’ll text as well.”
They said their goodbyes, and even though Devil knew Cyn wanted to say more, she was grateful when her friend held back. In the quiet of her room, she dropped her hand to the bed and let her phone fall onto the comforter beside her.
She really did need to work out, but even more, she needed a run, a good, long, mind-numbing run. She considered checking in with Darius but found she didn’t have it in her. She wasn’t avoiding him, but she also wasn’t in the right headspace to be doing anything thatmattered. And even in her mental fatigue, she acknowledged that he mattered.
With a sigh, she pushed off her bed and walked into her closet. A few minutes later, she was dressed and ready for her run. Slipping in her earbuds as she jogged down the stairs, she then pulled up her favorite running playlist. A few warm-up stretches later, she pressed Play and hit the road.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
“The websitethe Lam sisters visited at the internet café is called Dragonwatch,” Six said. She and Gavin were on their way to dinner in town and had stopped by to give her the update.
“Stella was able to track that down?” Devil asked, leaning on the rake she held. She’d had more energy to burn after her run and had decided a little autumn yard cleanup was in order.
Gavin nodded in response to her question. “They hacked into the store’s servers and found the credit card receipt Tina Lam signed. It had both the time she signed in and the terminal she used. From there they were able to get into the specific device and find the browser history.”
Devil frowned. “Why avoid using your own phone to visit the site but use a credit card to pay for the use of the computer at an internet café?” she pondered, trying to keep her voice low while still being heard. She hadn’t changed out of her workout clothes and was maintaining a reasonable distance from her friends. There was no way she smelled anything other than rank.
Gavin shrugged. “Maybe they thought that if anyone really looked, there’d be plausible deniability? That they could argue they were at the café, but so were dozens of other people?”
Both Devil and Six made a face. “Hardly anyone goes to internet cafés anymore,” Six said. “Not since nearly everyone has internet on their phone. It would be hard to argue there weredozensof people that could have used the same terminal she used.”
Devil shook her head. “It also doesn’t make sense because she’d have to know her times were clocked and the device she used. It’s what she paid for. Did she do anything other than surf the site?”
“She posted a message on the message board stating she was excited the Chinese president was coming to visit and that DC was preparing for his arrival,” Gavin answered.
Devil’s gaze flickered to Six, then drifted to the maple tree at the end of her street. The leaves were tipped with yellow and orange. “That’s one of those comments that sounds either harmless or super creepy depending on the scenario.”
Both Gavin and Six chuckled.
“When’s he coming? I haven’t paid attention to that news,” she asked.
“He arrives in time for a White House dinner on Tuesday night. Then trade talks on Wednesday and a dinner hosted by the Chinese Embassy on Wednesday night. He leaves Thursday morning,” Gavin answered.
Devil’s mind whirred and churned with possibilities. Were the Lam sisters planning something involving the president? If so, had Dr. Jennifer Pritchard provided them the means to stage an attack? How were Nadia and Sonia involved?
She let out a huff. “To stay on the safe side, I’m going to presume there’s an ominous subtext to her message. That means it’s likely Tina and her sister are planning some sort of assault on the president. If I’m wrong, and I hope I am, then no harm in looking into it. But if I’m right, I have two days to figure out what that plan is and how to stop it.”
“Wehave two days,” Six clarified. “I know we’re not high on the list of people you want to spend a lot of time with right now,” she said, referring to the club, “and that’s both understandable and fine. But that doesn’t mean you’re on your own.”
Devil studied her friend, then slowly nodded. No matter what, the four of them would never abandon one another. They’d been through too much, knew one another too well, and more to the point, loved one another like sisters. They weren’t blood, but they were family.
“Go on and enjoy your dinner,” Devil said. “I’ll give it more thought, and maybe we can meet tomorrow after work.”
Six nodded, then walked over and brushed a kiss on Devil’s cheek. Drawing back, she wrinkled her nose. “Good god, woman, what have you been doing?”
Devil laughed. “A twelve-mile run, an hour with the weights, and I’ve been raking for about an hour. Why do you think I stayed so far away?”
Six had backed away and now stood beside Gavin again. “I figured you’d stayed away so you weren’t tempted to wring my neck.”
