Chapter 5
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“LOOKS GOOD,” XADEN said, eyeing the camera they’d secured to an inconspicuous spot, hidden by a light pole on the city street. “We’ll be able to monitor any unusual activity.”
“I brought several tracking devices as well,” Quinn said, pulling them from her bag of gear.
“I could hack into the system and follow the vehicle’s navigation that way, but this will guarantee we know where they are at all times.
Since the self-driving cars are still being tested here, the system is glitchy. ”
Cooper grinned. “That’s our Quinncess. Always thinking ahead.”
Quinn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but too bad I discovered the tip about the self-driving vehicles hours ago. We’ve been working this case for weeks.”
“Better late than never,” Xaden quipped.
“That was the break we needed, and you know it. We were practically flying blind before, hoping to find some terrorist assholes with explosives near U.S. landmarks. Sure, we had some of their names, but that wasn’t enough for a plot this big. We know the mode of delivery now.”
Quinn retrieved one of the tracking devices from her bag of gear, discreetly placing it underneath the vehicle. “If we’re wrong, we’ll always know where this ride is.”
“You’ve never wrong,” Cooper pointed out.
Quinn shot him an exasperated look. “We know explosives will be loaded into self-driving cars, but we don’t know for certain if this is one of them.”
Xaden stood beside them, scanning the area.
“She’s right. I’ll head back towards the hotel.
I want to put a tracker on the other self-driving vehicle we spotted.
” Xaden huffed out a breath. “If it’s neither of these cars, then some asshole could still be heading right toward the Space Needle on Saturday. ”
“Nah. We know what to watch for,” Cooper said.
“We’ve looped in the Seattle PD. We’ll monitor things from downtown.
The IT staff will be watching from the office.
Quinncess will be doing her own magic. Even if the explosives are in another car, we’ll get these mofos and end it before any damage is done. ”
Xaden clenched his jaw but nodded. “I hope you’re right. I’ll meet you back at the hotel. Text me if there are any new developments.”
“Will do. I’m going to walk Quinncess back to her car first,” Cooper said.
“I’m fine,” she protested.
“Sure, but Knox would be pissed if we let you roam around alone at night.”
Xaden pointed a finger at her. “He’s right about that. Our boy is protective of you.”
Quinn stilled, feeling pleased nonetheless as a flush washed over her.
Hopefully Knox was already back in the office.
She’d tell him about the newest updates in person.
She still felt slightly off kilter, like she was missing something.
Knox calmed her in a way no one else could, and she was eager to see him and hash out the newest developments.
There were simply too many balls in the air to juggle them all, and she hoped like hell none of them came crashing down. The last thing Quinn wanted to do was disappoint anyone. She’d leave Bravo Team to handle things here and get back to where she felt most confident—behind a computer screen.
The walk down the block was quiet, save for the sounds of the city around them. Cooper was typically chatty, but she could tell he was scanning the area, on alert. It’s not like anyone would jump out and harm them. He was a big guy. But too much was at stake to slip up now.
Cooper gave her a mock-salute as he turned and left a few minutes later, Quinn locked safely in her car. She shook her head, sitting in the driver’s seat. All of this cloak and dagger stuff wasn’t for her.
She tucked the broken camera into her bag.
Someone from IT would look at it another day to figure out why it had malfunctioned.
At least now they had the proper equipment to work with.
Quinn logged into the surveillance feed for the newest cameras they’d set up, quickly sending a link to everyone else.
It was go-time. Like it or not, the wheels were in motion.
They’d either stop the traitors who were hell bent on causing harm or watch in devastation as multiple targets were hit. The second option was unacceptable.
She glanced at an earlier text, hoping things were under control in L.A. Quinn knew as well as anyone that shit could hit the fan when you least expected it. Starting her engine, she nearly jumped in surprise when her phone began buzzing. Frowning, she saw Holt’s name on the screen.
“Quinn here. Is everything okay? I’m headed back to the office.”
“Radley’s missing,” Holt bit out.
“What?” She froze. Talk about a weird premonition. She’d literally just been wondering about the team in California.
“I just got off the phone with Boone,” Holt continued. “Radley was surveilling the perimeter of the hotel and disappeared. Boone found her things discarded in an alley by the loading dock. Pull up the surveillance feed from outside the hotel.”
“Shit. Okay. I’m still downtown, but I’ve got a laptop in my vehicle. I can access everything from here. I’m putting you on speaker phone,” she said, pressing a button on the console and then turning her attention back to the screen.
“Tell me when you’re in,” Holt said.
Quinn’s fingers flew over the keyboard. Ironically, her laptop at the office was monitoring the feeds right here in Seattle. If anyone looked, they’d probably see her car parked on the street with Quinn inside it.
The L.A. hotel feeds popped up on her screen, and she looked at the cameras from multiple angles, showing the lobby and exterior of the building. She could click to individual floors and stairwells if needed.
“When was Radley taken?” Quinn asked, her voice clipped.
“Within the past thirty minutes. Boone just notified me that she’s gone,” Holt said, his voice grim.
“Okay. Let me check the outside cameras. I’ll scroll backwards and work from there,” she told him. “Fortunately, I’m recording everything.”
Holt grunted a sound of approval.
Quinn clicked on the correct camera angle, zooming in and studying the video.
The footage was dark, given the late hour, and Quinn adjusted the settings and brightness to better view the loading docks.
Quinn’s gaze narrowed. It was the perfect spot for someone to hide.
It was isolated. Dark. Her heart stuttered as she saw Radley round the corner and walk in that direction alone. She glanced at the timestamp.
Quinn’s heart pounded, despite knowing what was likely about to happen.
Suddenly, a man came at Radley in the footage, and Quinn cursed.
“What is it?” Holt asked, his voice urgent.
“A man attacked Radley behind the hotel. It looks like Mike Cameron,” she said in surprise, referring to the man who’d been stalking her colleague.
“He took her,” Quinn said, her voice shaking.
She sucked in a breath, trying to remain focused.
“He grabbed her and carried her right out of the damn alley. I’m going to check the other feeds to see where they went.
He must have a car somewhere. Let’s get Boone on the line. I’ll update you both.”
Quinn clicked through different feeds as the phone rang, and then Boone’s deep voice was on the other end. “Boone here. Talk to me.”
“It’s Quinn. Holt’s on the line, too.”
“Copy that,” Boone said. “What’s the word?”
Quinn quickly brought him up to speed. She clicked on another feed, relief washing over her as she spotted the getaway car. A brilliant criminal, this guy was not. The cover of night did little to hide Radley’s abduction.
“I got a plate,” Quinn told the men. “He double parked on the other side of the building, but it was clear as day. The vehicle has GPS. He might not realize it, given it’s a rental, but it will lead us straight to him.
Give me a sec,” Quinn said, typing rapidly.
The men were quiet as they let her work.
Her mind was already whirling with possibilities.
Numbers and codes filled her screen as she got in the back door of a large car rental agency’s computer system.
Mike Cameron had rented a vehicle using his own name.
Quinn’s pulse raced. This was easier than expected. Not all cases would be this simple, but they were lucky as hell tonight.
“I hacked into the rental company’s database, but the GPS is a different system. Hang on.... Okay, I’m in. Let me just pull up his information.”
She clicked on the GPS, watching as the geocoordinates appeared on her screen. Layering that over a street map of L.A., she smiled. “I’ve got the address! I’m sending it to you right now.”
“Thank God,” Boone breathed. “And thank you Quinn for saving the day. I’m on my way.”
Quinn let out a shaky sigh as they ended the call. Holy shit. Not much time had passed since Radley had been taken, but every damn second counted. She needed to get back to the office and assist from there in case they needed anything additional from her.
She checked her mirrors and pulled out onto the street, deciding to do a quick loop around the block first. Cooper and Xaden were watching the area, but she wanted to make sure there weren’t any other places they should add cameras.
She had extra equipment in her bag and was already here.
Not noticing anything of interest, she continued on her way, stopping at a red light.
As Quinn sat at the intersection, trying to calm her rattled nerves, she watched in surprise as a man loped right past her car window.
It was like when she’d been watching the surveillance feed of downtown Seattle earlier.
Something felt off. The man was looking around but didn’t seem lost, just quickly darted between cars as he crossed the street.
He paused for a moment on the corner, scanning the surrounding area, then headed straight for a dark sedan parked in front of a building.
She frowned. Quinn had the perfect view of him from her vantage point. The light changed to green, but she spotted an empty space and quickly parallel parked, still watching him.
Her stomach churned as she saw the man removing wooden crates from the trunk of his car. It couldn’t be. That was too damn obvious, except no one else was here. The rest of the traffic had driven away, and she alone was witnessing a possible terror cell member in action.
The man stacked two crates and began to walk away, Quinn quietly cursing as she got out of her car.
It was still idling, but she didn’t stop to turn it off.
Something was wrong. They didn’t have a tracker on this guy, and if they lost him, he’d potentially get away, heading to a different site.
She had seconds to follow him and plant a bug on the crates. Lives could be at stake.
Damn it all to hell.
If Knox were here, he’d know what to do. His quiet intensity intimidated some people, but Quinn knew his mind was always working. He wasn’t aloof and standoffish—he was thinking. Calculating. And she didn’t have time to sit around considering the other options right now. She needed to act. Stat.
Quinn called Cooper as she hurried down the sidewalk, but his voicemail picked up. She ended the call, her phone still clutched in her hand. She didn’t have time to stop and text anyone. She’d lose the man she was following.
Much to her dismay, the man turned in a different direction than she’d expected. Cooper and Xaden were likely still near the vehicles they had cameras on, planning to return to their hotel.
But where was this guy going?
He continued down the block, crossing an intersection. Quinn followed, making sure not to get too close. After he moved past another building, he ducked into an alley.
She followed him without thinking, realizing her mistake a moment too late.
The crates were already stacked on the ground beside the man, and he’d clearly known she was following him. Before she could even react, he was shoving her against a brick wall, his hands on her throat, his body pinning her in place.
Quinn struggled, trying to fight him, but he was too much bigger than her. Her nails clawed at his shirt, and she tried to knee him in the groin, but he easily lifted her up, leaving her dangling against the building.
The bricks behind her scraped the back of her head, the alley seeming desolate and far away from anyone else. Her heart palpitated as she realized she couldn’t get away. Why hadn’t she texted the team? Why had she followed him?
His hands on her neck grew tighter, and Quinn was gasping, desperate for air.
She tried to suck in a breath, but it was fruitless. Panic shot through her, Quinn’s desperation growing with each passing second. She clawed at his hands, scratching his skin, but he didn’t loosen his grip. Hard eyes bored into hers, nothing but pure evil in the man’s gaze.
The edges of her vision began to grow fuzzy, her body weak, and then everything went black.