Chapter 3
Taylor paced the living room for what was probably the one hundredth time. There had to be something that she could do. She was going to go crazy if she didn't get out of this. She ran through one more time what she knew about the case.
Someone with computer skills hacked into the Senator's computer and stole classified plans.
Senator Schulz had suspected someone on his staff to be a traitor, but he wasn't sure who.
That was her job. To infiltrate the staff, earn trust, and find the traitor.
A job that she failed. James on the PR team gave her the creeps, but she didn't think he had the computer skills to pull this off.
She was scrolling through her notes when Davin appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. "What are you doing?"
"I'm helping. I need to do something." Taylor huffed and sank back into the couch.
"Hollands took you off of this case, and I agree with him. Let us handle this."
"Easy for you to say. I'm looking at felony charges."
Davin walked into the room and sat on the opposite side of the couch. "I know this is hard, but you can trust us. We won't let you go down for this."
Taylor blew out a short breath. She trusted both Davin and Paul. They were both like older brothers. Protective. Loyal.
"I know." She leaned back into the couch. "It doesn't make it any easier to sit here and do nothing."
"What about McNite?"
Taylor sat up. "You think he has something to do with this?"
Davin shook his head. "I don't think he did it. The guy was downstairs with you right before the lights went out. There is no way he could have gotten to the tenth floor. And he doesn't match the build of the unknown."
"Wait. You have footage of the guy who broke into the Senator's room?"
Davin winced. "Off the case, remember?"
Taylor rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Of course."
"Just because he didn't do it doesn't mean he doesn't know more about it than we do. He's not technically connected to the case. Yet. And given your suspicions about him, I thought your skills could be put to good use looking into him."
Hope surged in her. Finally, something she could do. "I'll get on it right away, sir."
"Ertz, if you find any connection to this case, you have to promise me to stop and turn it over." Davin stared at her until she wanted to squirm.
"Of course. I want this person put away more than anyone."
Taylor grabbed her computer off the coffee table and headed toward the dining room. "Did you have Paul bring the monitor extenders?"
Davin pointed to the bag on the chair at the head of the table. "He'll be here in the morning."
"I don't need both of you to babysit me."
"I don't want to trust anyone outside of our team right now and Officer Peters." Davin studied her. "Before you ask, he volunteered to stand watch outside while not on duty."
"My life isn't in danger." Only her freedom. Peters was a great guy. One that would make someone very happy one day, but her heart belonged to a dead man. Maybe a dead man. How had her life gotten so complicated?
"I'm not taking that chance. It's just as easy to pin treason on a dead man. Or in this case, woman."
Taylor swallowed. She could feel the walls of the room getting closer. What if she died before getting answers about Kam? Real answers. Not the PR version the government gave her.
"Look, Ertz, Paul and I, and Hollands too, won't stop until we clear your name. Look into McNite. If anyone can find him, it's you."
Taylor gave him a half smile, then cracked her knuckles. "I've got a ghost to find."
A take-out container landed beside her, and Taylor jumped in her seat. She looked at her watch, then up at Davin. How had seven hours passed? Her stomach grumbled, and Davin laughed.
"Looks like Peters was just in time." Davin put his hand up. "He ordered it before he left. Did you find anything?"
Taylor opened the container, and the tangy scent of BBQ tickled her nose. She might just owe him another favor. "On the surface, McNite looks clean. Wealthy millionaire who donated to the senator's campaign." She took a bite and savored the flavors.
"How did he make his millions?" Davin had a container in front of him and dug in.
"He developed a Smart Grid technology which allows municipalities to control things like natural gas shut-offs, dimming street lights, and monitoring carbon emissions, all to improve their ecological footprint.
He made millions and reinvested them into other technologies.
Now he runs a multi-million dollar company called Argotech that supports the development of other green technologies. "
"In other words, the perfect donor for Senator Schulz." There was an edge to Davin's voice. Taylor didn't understand the relationship Davin had with his father. All she knew was that it was complicated.
"Before his discovery, there isn't much." Taylor took a sip of the sweet tea Davin set next to her.
"As in he didn't leave a footprint, or didn't exist?"
"From what I can tell, the whole thing is a fake. A deep fake, but a fake nonetheless. I want to keep digging to confirm my gut feeling."
They ate in silence for a while until Davin tossed his empty container in the trash. "Were you able to run a facial analysis of McNite and King?"
"What if it is a match?" Taylor pushed her leftovers to the side.
"Then it would answer some questions that you have."
"And create so many more," she whispered.
Davin cleared his throat. "I can't imagine what a discovery like this could do to anyone, but wouldn't it be better to know if McNite is King?"
Taylor's eyes stung as hope tried to overwhelm her senses. She blinked back the tears. "If this is Kam, why did he stay away?" Why did he not love me enough to come home?
"He might not have had a choice. Run the facial recognition. It will give you a lead to run down one way or the other."
Taylor pulled the computer back in front of her. "If it is Kam, then I have confirmation he never died. If it isn't, then this McNite person, whoever he is, knew Kam and will have answers for me."
She brought up the software and uploaded the two pictures.
The one from the security feed at the hotel was not the clearest, but it would have to suffice.
Taylor held her breath as the program ran its analysis.
The computer dinged, and words simply left her mind.
She had found Kam. Or better yet, he had found her.
His kiss on her hand flashed through her mind.
She had felt the jolt all the way to her heart.
Even when her mind hadn't known it was him, her body remembered his touch.
The first night they met played in her memories like a sweet dream of someone long forgotten.
They had sat on the beach watching the sunset turn the sky shades of pink and orange.
They talked about everything. She felt connected to him stronger than anyone else.
Her chin quivered, and she wiped away the moisture from her eyes.
She had cried too many tears already over Kam King.
Now that she knew he was alive, she would make it her mission to track him down and what?
Give him a piece of her mind? She was angry.
Angry for the anguish that he put his family and her through.
Angry that she spent the last three years searching, hitting red tape every which way she turned, and then out of nowhere, he just walks right back into her life.
Taylor fisted her hands on the table. Could Davin be right? Did Kam choose to walk away from everything? Or was the choice made for him?
Now she was starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist.
She rubbed her forehead and called Davin over.
"Take a look." She pointed to the results still staring at her on the screen.
"That would explain some things," Davin mumbled.
"Explain what things?" Ertz pushed her chair back and turned to face Schulz.
"The only clear shot we got of McNite, I mean, King, is when he chased after you in the hallway. It was like he didn't care who saw him. He only wanted to get to you."
Davin's words hit her hard. "What are you saying?" Taylor couldn't quite bring herself to believe that Kam had feelings for her still. She still wasn't over the fact that she was right and he was alive.
"King broke character all so that he could warn you. In his line of work, that could get a man killed or burned."
Taylor stared at Davin. "Are you saying that my Army Ranger fiancé is some kind of spy?"
"Do you have a better reason why he disappeared for the last three years?"
Exhaustion weighed down Taylor. She needed time to think, but she also needed rest. "I'm going to catch a few hours of sleep. Then I've got more digging to do. I've got to know what happened to Kam."
Davin stopped her. "Be careful. If someone was powerful enough to make an Army Ranger disappear, then there isn't much stopping them from making you do the same."
Davin's words clung to her as she trudged back down the hall. She would rest, then she'd find answers. No matter what it cost her.
Kam glanced around the tree about thirty yards away from the safe house. After catching a ride on a cargo plane to Anchorage, then the train to Seward, he had plenty of time to plan what he was going to say.
Knowing Taylor, she probably looked into McNite's background and realized it was fake. Would she want to work with him to clear her name and set him free? Or would she tell him to go to a place where the sun never shines and stay there?
He deserved that. Even though it wasn't his fault. At first, they threatened her to get him to stay; now he had no choice but to save her this time. Whether the world thought he was dead or not, he needed a miracle to get them both out of this.
Kam scanned the house. All of the curtains were drawn. Standard operating procedure for protecting an asset. He'd need to get closer or wait until Schulz made his rounds.