Chapter 44

forty-four

ALEX

The next morning, I finished reading the report the chairperson of the EMP project sent through. So far, the program was passing its testing parameters. The team had solved three technical issues and streamlined another part of the program. Everyone was happy with their progress, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to be in Washington, D.C.

It had been nearly two weeks since I got shot, and I was going stir crazy. I hadn’t left the house in five days, eight hours, and forty-one minutes. My life was slipping through my fingers, and there was nothing I could do about it.

A light tap on the door pulled my attention away from my sorry state.

“Am I interrupting something?”

I smiled at Eric, glad for the distraction. Like everything else in my life, Eric’s visit was preplanned, right down to the time we expected him to leave. “Did you get your last chapter written?”

“It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but it’s finished.”

“Was it your blood, sweat, and tears, or your characters’?”

“My characters’. Aaron Connelly was playing hardball with a career criminal. It didn’t end well.”

“Sounds like my life at the moment.” I stood and walked into the hallway. “Come into the kitchen. If we’re lucky, there might be some cookies left.”

“Where’s Dylan? I thought he was supposed to be here all the time.”

When Eric visited me in the hospital, I told him everything. Apart from the terrorists’ death threats, nothing seemed to have surprised him. Whether that was because he used to work in the NYPD or because he’s used to writing about murder and mayhem, I didn’t know.

I looked in the pantry for the cookies. “Dylan’s upstairs sleeping. It was his turn to do the night shift.”

Eric sat on a kitchen stool. “So, how’s it all going?”

“My arm’s slowly healing. It’ll take longer than I thought to repair the muscle, but I’ll get there. We haven’t heard from the terrorist group, and there’s no news about whether I have a brother or not.”

“You should write a book about what’s happened.”

I opened a packet of cookies and left them on the counter. “No one would believe me.”

“Most of the stuff in my books is make-believe. Your story’s one hundred percent real. You can’t get more authentic than that.”

“I don’t need authentic. I need a happy ending.”

Eric sighed. “You and me both. What’s happening with Dylan?”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“The last time I saw you together, there was a definite spark. Do you still like him?”

I poured hot coffee into two cups. “I more than like him, but sparks can be dangerous. Nothing will happen while he’s working with me.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Talking about Dylan was the last thing I wanted to do. He’d gotten under my skin, left me so darn confused that I just wanted his bodyguard duties to be over.

“His assignment with you won’t last forever. Once the FBI finds the terrorist cell, your life will go back to normal.”

I cradled my coffee cup between my hands. “The American cell is part of a larger organization. What if this is bigger than anyone realizes? All it would take is someone to create a program that neutralizes the EMP program, and all the work we’ve done will be for nothing.”

“They have to get their hands on the program first.”

“There’s already been one breach in security. Who’s to say the same person won’t give the program to the terrorists?”

Eric studied my face. “You can’t be in control of every aspect of the project. That’s why you report to the chairperson.”

I took a deep breath. If someone from outside our team got hold of the program, it wouldn’t matter who was in charge. The effect would be the same—total and utter chaos if an EMP attack was launched.

The back door opened, and Connor came inside. “Sorry to interrupt, but you need to call Ryan right away, Alex. The DNA results have come back from the lab.”