Chapter 10
The malware signature stared back at me from three different screens. I'd been chasing the same digital ghost for forty-eight hours straight, and the bastard kept slipping through my fingers like smoke.
My phone buzzed. Jase.
"Nash is here. Conference room. Now."
I saved my work and headed upstairs. Nash Rivers stood by the window, arms crossed, holding a mug of coffee.
"Code." Nash nodded once. "Good. Maybe you need to hear this too."
I grabbed coffee from the pot and sat. The mug warmed my hands. I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten something that wasn't delivered in a cardboard box. My dinner with Katherine seemed like a hundred years ago.
"Pearl called me." Nash pulled out his phone and scrolled through notes. A smile tugged at his lips. "You know how she gets when someone new shows up in town."
"Protective," Simon said.
"That's putting it mildly." Nash shook his head with obvious affection. "She said a stranger came in for breakfast at the diner yesterday morning. Ate again at her place for dinner. Showed up for lunch at her restaurant again today and she decided enough was enough."
"Uh-oh. What'd she do?" Roan leaned back in his chair.
Nash read from his notes. "First question was 'You visiting family?
' He said no. Then she asked 'Business in town?
' He said he was thinking about buying a house.
" Nash looked up. "That's when Pearl's radar went off.
She knows everyone who's selling property in three counties.
So, she asked him what he was looking for. Victorian? Ranch? How much land?"
"Let me guess," I said. "He couldn't give specifics."
"Exactly. Said he was just getting a feel for the area.
Wanted to see if Jasper Creek was the kind of place he could see himself settling down.
" Nash's expression turned amused. "Pearl excused herself to the kitchen and called both Realtors.
Shauna Simmons and Rich Crawford. Neither one had talked to anyone matching his description.
Neither one had any appointments with potential buyers this week. "
Simon's lips twitched. "She actually called both Realtors during his lunch?"
"Within five minutes. Then she came back out and asked him directly which realtor he'd been working with.
" Nash couldn't quite suppress his grin.
"The guy stammered something about wanting to look around on his own first. Pearl told him that's not how it works in small towns, that Realtors show properties, and if he wanted to buy a house in Jasper Creek he'd better call one of them because she wasn't going to serve lunch to someone who was lying to her face. "
Roan laughed. "She kicked him out?"
"Not quite. But she made it clear his money wasn't welcome if he wasn't being straight with her." Nash sobered. "That's when she called me. Said something felt wrong about him. The way he looked around, cataloged exits, watched people."
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. That professional instinct, honed over twenty years of hunting threats, recognized a pattern.
"What kind of questions?" I asked.
Nash consulted his notes again. "Who owned the coffee shop. Who ran the Inn. If the same families had been in Jasper Creek for generations or if new people moved in often. Pearl said it felt like he was mapping the town."
"Description?" I asked.
"White male, late thirties, maybe early forties.
Six feet tall, athletic build. Short red hair, clean shaven.
Wearing jeans and a black jacket both days.
Paid cash." Nash set his phone on the table.
"Pearl's instincts are usually solid. If she says something's off, something's off. We’re in luck; her parking lot security camera got an image of him. Here he is.”
Nash turned his phone around; we all took a look and memorized his face and build.
"Could be former military," Simon said.
"Could be a lot of things." Nash's attention shifted between us.
"But Pearl getting protective means she thinks someone in this town is in danger.
Therefore I'm feeling protective, which is actually my job.
" Nash's jaw tightened. "So, I'm here asking what you know.
Why would someone be watching Jasper Creek? "
Simon and Roan exchanged glances. Some silent conversation passed between them.
"We have a client staying at Whispering Pines," Simon said carefully. "High-profile. Potential security concerns."
Nash's eyes narrowed. "How high-profile are we talking?"
"Katherine Lord," I said. "The actress."
"Jesus Christ." Nash stood and paced to the window. "That sure as hell is high-profile. Connected to Angelica?" Nash asked Jase.
"Yep," Jase nodded.
"And you think this stranger is connected to her?"
"We don't know." I pulled up the network logs on my laptop.
"She's being blackmailed. Someone created a deepfake video demanding she withdraw from her next film.
The surveillance started four months ago.
Whoever did this has been patient, methodical.
Sending someone to Jasper Creek to check on her is new. "
Nash turned back to face us. "What do you need from me?"
"Eyes on the stranger." Simon leaned forward. "If he shows up again, we need to know where he goes, who he talks to, what he's doing."
"I can handle that. What about Ms. Lord's security?"
"That's what we need to figure out." Roan checked his watch. "I've got a case in DC that's going to take me out of town for at least a week. Can't postpone it. I'll be coordinating with Hart on the technical investigation, so he's out."
"I'm in." Simon's voice was emphatic.
"What about the other guys?" Jase's voice came from the doorway. I hadn't heard him come up. "We've got men in this town with military backgrounds. Kai and Beau should be available. And when the hell is Nolan getting back from Hawaii? Jesus, Simon, how much leave did you give the man?"
"He never got a honeymoon. This is it. He'll be back next week. And I'd rather keep this tight. The fewer people who know about Katherine, the better."
"Angelica's at the Inn too," I pointed out. "She's been captured on camera forty-seven times. If this threat expands beyond Katherine, Angelica's the most likely next target."
Jase's expression hardened. "All the more reason to keep her away from my house. I'm not bringing this anywhere near Bonnie and the twins."
"Agreed," Simon said. "Which means we need someone at the Inn full-time."
"I can work from there." The decision made itself before I'd fully thought it through. "Set up my equipment, continue the investigation while maintaining close proximity to both Katherine and Angelica."
All three men turned to look at me.
"That's a lot of hours in close quarters with a client," Nash said. His expression suggested he saw right through my tactical justification.
"It's the most efficient solution. I can protect both of them while continuing to hunt the threat."
Simon studied me for a long moment. He'd commanded SEAL teams for decades. He recognized bullshit when he heard it.
"All right. Code takes point on close protection and continues the digital investigation. I'll coordinate with Hart and handle any external threats. Jase, you stay available but keep your family out of it. Nash, you track this stranger and report anything suspicious."
Nash stood. "I'll head back out. See if our friend shows up for dinner. If he does, I'll get photos, try to get a plate number if he's driving."
He left. Simon and Roan followed him out, discussing logistics. The room emptied, leaving just me and Jase.
I started disconnecting one of the monitors to pack up.
"Code." Jase gestured to the smaller conference room. "Got a minute?"
I set down the cable and followed him in. He closed the door.
Here it came. The protective cousin routine. I'd been expecting it since that almost-kiss two days ago.
"You like her." Not a question.
"She's a client."
"That's not an answer."
I leaned against the wall. Exhaustion pulled at every muscle. When had I last slept? Really slept, not just passed out on the office sofa?
"What do you want me to say, Jase?"
"The truth." He sat on the edge of the table. "You're volunteering to spend twenty-four seven with Kit Lord. Either you're incredibly dedicated to this case or there's something else going on."
"Can't it be both?"
"It can. But I need to know which one is driving the decision." He rubbed his jaw. "Look, I can't throw stones. Bonnie and I got involved during a case. I know how it happens. The intensity, the shared danger, the connection that forms when someone trusts you with their safety."
"Then why are we having this conversation?"
"Because you just retired three months ago after twenty years of service.
You're still figuring out who you are without the uniform.
" His eyes held genuine concern. "The last thing I want is for you to have a brief thing with Kit, then it ends badly and creates problems between you and Angelica.
Or worse, you get hurt because you're not ready for something real. "
My hands clenched into fists. The first instinct was to tell him to stay out of it. Mind his own business. I was thirty-nine years old, not some kid who needed relationship advice.
But Jase had a point.
I'd spent two decades with relationships that never went anywhere.
Deployments killed them before they could develop.
The few women who'd tried to wait had eventually given up when I couldn't give them a timeline, couldn't promise I'd come back, couldn't offer anything beyond stolen moments between operations.
Katherine deserved better than a man still figuring out his civilian identity.
"I'll think about it," I said finally.