Chapter 33

thirty-three

DYLAN

If I thought yesterday was frantic, today was worse. All the reasons why Alex lived in the middle of nowhere were thrown out the window. Instead of the peaceful refuge he’d created, his home had become Fort Knox, complete with bodyguards.

At ten o’clock, the first of two huge SUVs arrived. Special Agent Liam Nelson was here to talk to Alex about his family.

Jeremy and Connor showed up an hour later. They both worked at Bryant Security and were two of the best bodyguards Ryan employed.

And if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, winter had finally arrived. Overnight, a storm created havoc on the roads. Snow sat at least two inches thick on the ground, and the temperature had dropped to below zero. It was great news for the ski resorts, but not so great if we had to make a quick getaway.

The back door opened and Connor strode into the kitchen. “It’s freezing out there. Is Alex in his office?”

“He’s in the living room with Liam,” I told him. “Were you able to install the extra security cameras?” I handed Connor a cup of coffee. Almost as soon as they arrived, Connor and Jeremy drove to the ranger’s house, hoping to link some new security cameras to the system Alex already had in place.

“The cameras are ready to go. Once I’ve added them to Alex’s computer, they should start recording.”

“Where’s Jeremy?”

“At the ranger’s house. He’ll test the infrared beams while I’m monitoring the system. I’ll be in the office if you need me.” He held up his cup. “Thanks for the coffee.”

No one was taking Alex’s last email lightly. The terrorist cell wanted the program Alex had developed. They must have realized their threats were getting them nowhere, so they switched tactics. But how did they know Alex had a brother? Did they know how much he’d always wanted a sibling? And why tell him about him now?

I sat at the kitchen table and opened my laptop. Last night, Alex made a list of everything he knew about his parents. I sent the information to the FBI and to my team in Boulder. While they were doing their best to find the missing link to Alex’s brother, I wanted to investigate something else.

I didn’t believe in coincidences. Finding Alex’s brother when the program was almost ready for the next phase of testing didn’t add up. Unless someone leaked the status of the project to the terrorist cell.

If that happened, we were all in trouble.