Page 81 of Critical Alliance (Rocky Mountain Courage 3)

He didn’t want to scare her, but . . . “Were you supposed to be next in line?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember. Chad tried to give me the chance to go, but he saw my hesitancy, so he stepped up to the zip line instead.”

Mackenzie closed her eyes and shuddered.

Alex got up and went to the kitchen. Grabbed them a couple of sodas from the fridge, then returned and popped the tops. She opened her eyes at the sound.

“Thank you.” She took the soda from him.

“Now, let’s hear the second thing you learned.”

“There’s a lower level at Hanstech with servers, another system for which a security clearance is needed.”

Wow. Alex suspected that might be the case. “That makes sense. There’s the commercial side of Hanstech where they’re developing the software for drones—what we read about on the website.”

“And the other side with government contracts. They could be developing something for the military.”

And he would need to communicate the threat to his superior. He rubbed his hand over his mouth, then dropped it. “Your thirty-six hours might be up sooner than expected. Someone needs to know about this.”

“Please, Alex. I understand and I agree, but...” She pursed her lips.

“Now isn’t the time to hold back. Tell me.”

“I’ve told you that Nora is scared and claims someone is watching her. She’s too scared to tell the authorities and ask for help. It could just be that the cybercriminal has her terrified. But I’ve wondered if Rowan had planned to go to the authorities when—”

“Okay. I hear you. Rowan could have been killed to prevent him from reporting the cybercrime potentially involving the theft of trade or military secrets.” What more did Nora know that she hadn’t shared with Mackenzie?

Alex moved to sit next to her and took her hands. “Mackenzie ... this has moved into seriously dangerous waters. Possible espionage on what seems to be a high-value target. I can only guess at what Hanstech is up to.”

Nausea roiled in his gut.

“I’m so close, Alex. Let me find a way to protect my sister.”

“And you. I’m not sure that zip-line incident wasn’t meant for you, if it was more than an accident.”

“Or Chad was killed because of what he knew. Maybe he was the intended target.”

He wished he could whisk her away from the danger, but she’d been pulled in, and he was grateful he was here to help.

God, direct me. What do I do here?

Again ... hard choices. Going to the authorities could destroy her trust, the reason she’d come to him in the first place. And doing it at the wrong time—too soon—could also sabotage their chances of catching the criminal. If it was just one guy and not a cyberattack facilitated by a specific country. Russia. China. North Korea.

Alex rose and moved to peek out the window. They’d closed the mini blinds to protect against prying eyes—or, rather, spying eyes. The woods were quickly growing dark and the shadows long.

“What is it?” Mackenzie stood.

“I need to check the perimeter. Make sure all is well. In the meantime, you need to get some rest.”

Would a hotel in town have been a better place to protect her? US Marshals most often used hotels for safe houses. A shadow moved, and he palmed his weapon, his heart rate ticking up as he took in a breath. Then an elk dashed away, and he slowly released his breath.

“In the morning, we’ll make plans for the day. I need to be with you inside Hanstech.” He turned to face her. “No more standing on the porch until we get to the bottom of this, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Why don’t you go lie down?”

“I can’t rest. Not yet.”