Chapter 12 #2
I thought about last night. Katherine kissing me, her hands in my hair, the way she'd seen straight through my defenses. I'd promised her we'd stop this. Promised her she was safe.
But Russell Dunlap was still out there. With the deepfake files. With the ability to destroy her career whenever he wanted.
And I had no idea where he was or how to find him.
Angelica's phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. "That's Millie. She's wondering when we're coming."
"You should go." I turned back to my monitors. "I need to keep digging."
"Code..." Katherine started.
"I'll keep digging," I said again, more firmly. I couldn't look at her. Couldn't see the hope in her eyes that I was failing to deliver on.
Jase caught my arm. "Take a break. Eat something.” He gestured at Katherine and Angelica eating breakfast at the table. “You're no good to anyone if you collapse." He pulled me over to the kitchenette, away from the women.
"I told you, I'm fine."
“No you’re not, but that’s not what I wanted to tell you,” Jase whispered. "Nash texted me twenty minutes ago," he said quietly. "The stranger didn't show up at the diner for breakfast this morning. First time since he appeared two days ago."
I processed that. The guy had been consistent—breakfast at the diner, lunch and dinner at Pearl's. Now no breakfast.
"Pattern break."
"Exactly." Jase leaned against the counter, eyeing the women. "Could mean nothing. Could mean he got what he came for."
"Or someone told him to lay low." I thought about Russell Dunlap running four days ago. Different timeline, but the stranger's sudden interest in Jasper Creek felt wrong. "You think they're connected? The stranger and Russell?"
"Don't know yet. But Nash has every business owner in town on alert. If this guy surfaces anywhere—gas station, hardware store, Java Jolt—we'll know." Jase's jaw tightened. "I don't like unknowns this close to my family."
"Me neither."
"We keep this from Katherine and Angelica for now," Jase said. "No point worrying them when we're just watching and waiting."
I nodded. One more threat to track while hunting Russell Dunlap.
"But Code?" He met my eyes. "You stay close to her. Until we know what we're dealing with."
"I wasn't planning to go anywhere."
“What are you two whispering about?” Bonnie asked.
“I was telling him he needed to eat,” Jase answered.
The bedroom door burst open. Lachlan emerged first. "Are we going now? Aunt Millie said there are pears too, and we can make pear butter, whatever that is!"
"Let's load up." Jase started herding his family toward the door. He paused beside me, voice low enough that only I could hear. "Keep her safe."
"I will."
They left with Angelica, the door clicking shut behind them. Silence settled over the suite.
Katherine and I stood there, alone, the weight of everything unsaid pressing down on us.
Last night she'd kissed me. Told me I was scared. Called me out for thinking I was being noble when really, I was just protecting myself.
She was right about all of it.
"Code." Her voice was soft.
I finally looked at her. Those blue eyes held worry, fear, but also something else. Trust. She trusted me to fix this. To find Russell. To stop him.
I didn't deserve that trust. Not when I'd just let our only lead slip away.
"I'm sorry." The words scraped out of my throat. "I thought I had him. I should have moved faster, should have—"
"Stop." She crossed the room and took my hands. "You found him in six days. That's incredible. The fact that he ran means you're close. You're scaring him."
"Or whoever hired him is."
"Either way, we're making progress." Her fingers tightened on mine. "You haven't failed me, Code. You're the only reason I have any hope at all."
The words settled into my chest, warm and solid.
"I'm going to find him, Katherine. I promise you that."
"I know." She smiled, small but genuine. "Now eat a brownie and some breakfast before Bonnie comes back and force-feeds you."
I grabbed one of the brownies. The chocolate was rich and fudgy. Bonnie's baking was dangerous.
Katherine pulled a chair next to mine, close enough that our shoulders touched. She picked up a brownie too.
"So where do we start?"
"We start by digging deeper into Russell Dunlap's life." I turned back to my screens. "Somewhere in his past is either a connection to you or a connection to whoever might have hired him. Bank records, phone records, credit cards. Everyone leaves a trail. We just have to find it."
My phone buzzed with a text and I smiled. Thompson had come through. “Sending you encrypted files. Might have something.”
I pulled up my secure email. Three attachments from Thompson. Financial records, communication logs, travel history for Russell Dunlap going back five years.
"What is it?" Katherine leaned closer.
"Maybe our break." I started opening files. "Maybe nothing. But it's more than we had an hour ago."
She settled in beside me, watching as I worked through the data. Her presence grounded me. Made the exhaustion less overwhelming.
We were going to find Russell Dunlap. We were going to stop him.
And then I was going to figure out what the hell to do about the fact that I was falling for Katherine Lord.
But first things first. Hunt the threat. Protect the woman.
The rest could wait.