Chapter 60

sixty

ALEX

I gave Sherlock, Eric’s large German Shepherd, a big hug. “What would I do without you?”

“It can’t be that bad,” Eric said from the doorway. “What’s happened? You sounded stressed on the phone.”

“I gave the terrorists a copy of the EMP program.”

Eric’s hand froze on the zipper of his jacket. “You did what?”

“It was the first version I sent through to the Pentagon. I hid tracking software inside the coding. It shows the location of the program, no matter where it’s sent.”

“Are you crazy? You could have been arrested or killed.”

“Someone had to stop the terrorists.”

“But did it have to be you?”

“No one had a better plan.” I headed toward the kitchen. Sherlock and Eric followed. I knew I’d taken a huge risk, but I made sure no one would be able to use the program. “After the terrorist cells were located, I was supposed to destroy the program.”

“What happened?”

I handed Eric one of the toasted sandwiches I’d cooked a few minutes earlier. “The FBI took me into Boulder for questioning. I was being interrogated and couldn’t upload the virus.”

“I’m almost too scared to ask, but what happened to the program?”

“It was destroyed. But not by me.”

Eric patted Sherlock’s head. “Was it Dylan?”

My eyebrows rose. “Why would you say that?”

“He works for one of the best security companies in the country. If he thought there was any chance you’d hand over the program, he would have taken steps to stop you.”

“It wasn’t Dylan. It was my boss, Richard Leigh. If I couldn’t release the virus, I needed someone I could trust to do it.”

“If Dylan didn’t harm the program, why are you so upset?”

“Because he tried to destroy the program with his own virus. It didn’t work because Richard had already launched his.”

Eric bit into one of the sandwiches. “Did you expect anything else? He’s ex-Army. Most of the people I’ve met from the military have a sixth sense when it comes to trouble. That’s what makes them good at their job. Sit down and eat something. You’re making me nervous.”

I sat beside my friend. “I thought I could trust him.”

“What are you more upset about? The fact that he planted a virus in the program or that he didn’t tell you what he was doing?”

“If he was worried about the program, he could have talked to me.”

“Would you have told him what you were doing?”

“Probably not. I didn’t want him to get hurt. ”

Eric stopped chewing. “I thought you’d sent the program over the Internet. What actually happened?”

“I met three of the terrorists at the ranger’s house. I copied the program onto an external hard drive and gave it to them. I didn’t realize they had a hostage with them. I still don’t know how Anthony was kidnapped.”

Eric’s eyes widened. “You aren’t joking, are you?”

I shook my head. “I wish I was. I’m visiting Anthony tomorrow. Hopefully, he can tell me what happened.”

“So where does Dylan fit into all of this?”

“Nowhere. He went back to Boulder.”

“And?”

“And nothing.” I refused to believe that Dylan created the gateway into my program out of concern for me. There had to be more to it than that.

“I thought you liked him.”

“I did. But feelings can change, especially when you realize the person you fell in love with doesn’t exist.”

Eric pushed away his plate. “Dylan’s human, just like the rest of us. Have you talked to him about what happened?”

“No.”

“Well, while you’re thinking about whether that’s a good idea, I’ll make coffee.”

With Eric on the other side of the kitchen, Sherlock turned to me. His big chocolate-brown eyes pleaded with me for a treat. Before Eric came back, I took some melted cheese out of my sandwich and gave it to him.

“I saw that,” Eric said with a smile. “It’s just as well your arm’s healing. Otherwise, Sherlock would be pulling you outside for a game of fetch.”

I looked through the kitchen window and sighed. A game of fetch was exactly what I needed, especially after the last couple of days.