Chapter Forty-Six

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Chicago

S omeone was on to him. It was the only explanation for all the increased interest about him online. Whoever was digging into him was good, almost as good as he was. They had erased all digital footprints that would lead him to their identity, but he had trigger alarms set up to alert him of any unusual activity, and over the past few days, there had been a lot of it.

Chewing nervously on his lip, Oscar continued to click through the latest batch of worms trying to infiltrate his personal data. Every time they came close, one of his soldier worms ate the intel, and it disappeared. At any other time, he would enjoy the challenge, but this concerned him on a level he had never experienced.

Had the people who were supposed to be helping him sold him out? Were they perhaps dallying with him, mocking him, and then they planned to eliminate him? The very idea that he had worked so hard for all this for it to fall apart on him was mind-blowing. He wanted to call them and demand answers, but he also didn’t want to call attention to himself again.

Couldn’t they just do what he had asked them to do? Wasn’t that the agreement? And if they were going to do what they’d said they would do, why hadn’t they? They had spies everywhere. Surely they knew where the girl was. Were they just toying with him?

Slamming his laptop closed, he surged up from his chair and paced around his desk. What was he going to do if he was their target now? He was on their radar. Nothing would protect him if they wanted to take him out. They had thousands, perhaps millions, of people in their debt who, at a moment’s notice, might be told to do away with him. And he would never see it coming—just like Bass and so many others.

How could he have been so stupid?

Oscar pulled at his hair and ground his teeth till his jaw ached. If he weren’t so distraught, he would be laughing, because he suddenly wished Kevin were alive so he could get his take. He hadn’t had a lot of respect for his brother-in-law, and he deserved to be dead after what he’d done, but for just a few minutes, he’d like to have the man here.

A buzzing noise sounded, and he almost jumped out of his skin. When he realized it was just his phone, a strangled laugh emerged from his dry mouth. If he jumped at every small sound, he’d likely die of a heart attack long before anyone from the Wren Project could get to him.

On shaky legs, he went back to his desk and grabbed his phone. Noting it was an unidentified caller, he felt his breath catch in his throat. Was this them? Were they calling to tell him he was a dead man?

“Hello?” he said breathlessly.

The same androgynous voice as before said, “Your target has been located. Once the package is secure, you will be notified of the pickup location.”

Astounded, he tried to ramble out a thank-you, but the line was already dead. Dropping the phone, he covered his face with his hand and then let out a giant belly laugh. He’d been worried about nothing! So what if people were trying to find him? They wouldn’t succeed. And when the girl arrived, he’d force her to do what he wanted, get rid of her, and then he would be set for life.

His day had finally arrived.