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Brooklyn didn’t pay any attention to Nick’s driving as he piloted the city streets until they hit the highway toward Cold Harbor. No need. Serving in the army had taught him how to handle weapons and defensive maneuvers, and he would keep her safe.

Thankfully it had given her time to delete her home doorbell videos that showed Nick’s arrival and their departure. If Kane managed to hack their account, she didn’t want him to see that Nick had come to her rescue. She couldn’t put his life or his family’s lives at risk. Maybe it was time for her to cut ties with him. Change her identity. Move to another state. The best solution, of course, was to figure out a way to take Kane down. But no matter her desire to do that, she hadn’t been able to find anything else concrete since turning him in three years ago.

Fat lot of good turning him in had done. He’d simply disappeared and vowed to get even with her, and now here she was homeless again. Now that she was safe, finding a home had to top her priority list. In a town or city where she could find another job and wouldn’t need a car. Short of changing her name, she’d tried to eliminate her electronic footprint, and that meant not being in the state database for a car registration and being selective when accepting clients in her freelance business. She’d also gone to using cash as much as possible and did her best to find an apartment without needing to fill out automated paperwork.

Unfortunately, most of the places that fit her criteria were owned by individuals offering listings on Craigslist or online ads. When Kane located her again, and she fled, he could try to get information on her from these owners and hurt them in the process.

And he would. Find her again. That was a given.

She sighed.

Nick glanced at her, the dashboard lights reflecting the sharp planes of his face. “Thinking about Kane?”

“Yeah. I need to figure out a way to expose him, but I don’t have a clue how to find him, much less get any evidence of his crimes.” She tried not to sound so down, but she was feeling down. “My top priority right now has to be finding a more permanent place to stay.”

“You heard Gage when I called, right?”

She nodded. “He said I can stay as long as I like.”

“Which is good, but I’ve known you a long time and know you’re far too independent to have to rely on him for housing for long.”

“Exactly.” Her stomach rumbled, and she wished that pizza had arrived sooner.

“I need to stop and feed you.”

She wanted to eat, but she didn’t like putting him out when he had a long drive back home after dropping her off at Blackwell Tactical’s compound. “I can wait.”

“I know you can, but you’re a real grump when you get hungry.” He pointed at a road sign that announced Gert’s Diner. “We’ll stop there.”

The sign with old-fashioned lettering boasted the best downhome cooking and baked goods in the state. Her stomach rumbled louder. “Ever eaten at Gert’s before?”

He shook his head. “But it’s open and nearby, and that fits my criteria.”

“I was more thinking about the fact that Kane can’t connect it with you.”

“Oh, right. Makes sense. Nope. No connection.” He exited the highway and took the access road for a mile. He cranked the wheel into the well-lit lot. Only two cars were parked near the large window, but an “open” sign flashed its welcome.

A red and white awning spanned the width of the building, and the signs in the window also foretold of downhome Southern cooking. Odd choice out in the rural Oregon countryside, but she was a big fan. Her granny had grown up in Alabama before moving to Oregon to get married. She made the best Southern dishes and had taught Brooklyn’s mother how to cook them, too, so Brooklyn had her fill growing up.

Nick pulled around back. “Don’t want my license plates in view of the road.”

“Good thinking.”

“Do you expect anything less?” He laughed. He’d never served in law enforcement, but his work at the Veritas Center involved working on law enforcement investigations, and he’d learned a lot about procedures and how to stay safe.

They hurried through a robust wind that smelled fishy and hinted at the coast not too far away from the front of the building. Inside, the sweet aroma of freshly baked pastries set her mouth to watering. The delectable treats scenting the air filled a large glass display case to her left.

An older woman, who had a single white streak like a lightning bolt going through the side of her short black hair, greeted them with a smile. Her nametag read Linette. “Welcome to Gert’s. Are you here for takeout or would you like a table?”

“A table please.” Nick smiled at her.

“Sit anywhere. Menus are on the table, but if you’ll be wanting pastries, you might want to check out the case before you take a seat.”

“Gladly.” Brooklyn stepped up to the glass and drooled over rows and rows of donuts, cookies, muffins, and other pastries, but when her gaze landed on an individual pecan pie, her search was over. Her granny baked the best pecan pie ever, and memories flooded back of days spent in her kitchen, baking and cooking with her, before dementia took over and she passed away.

Tears pricked Brooklyn’s eyes. She hadn’t seen her parents since Kane started stalking her. She’d had to stop any communication with them then. She couldn’t risk him hurting them to get information about her.

Oh, how she missed them. Tears ran from her eyes, and she angrily swiped them away.

Nick stepped closer. “What’s wrong?”

“The pecan pie reminds me of my granny, and I miss seeing my family.” She looked up at the fluorescent lights to stem the tears.

“Something else Kane’s taken away from you.” Nick gestured at the aisle leading to small tables with striped tablecloths that matched the exterior awning. “Let’s sit. Go down to the end.”

She strode down the aisle through tables on both sides of the room, past the only two couples in the room. Both were young and, from what she could see, in love.

What would it be like to come here with a boyfriend instead of a friend? To be dating? At her age, she should be settling down. Having a family. Most of her friends, who she no longer could keep up with either, already did. Nick was a perfect example, and with his work obsession, she’d always thought he was the most unlikely of her friends to get married and have kids. Yet he’d fallen hard for Piper, and now they were parents too.

He circled around the table and dropped onto a black wooden chair facing the door. She sat on the other side. He handed her a colorful menu in a plastic sleeve. “I had to bail on my event before dinner, but I guarantee whatever I choose here will be better than the rubber chicken dish they were planning to serve.”

“Especially the dessert.” Images of that pecan pie came back, and her stomach rumbled again.

“I’ll get an apple fritter. I’m not a big fan of pecan pie.”

She snorted.

“What?”

“The way you say it. Pea-can versus puh-con. Yours is how a lot of Northerners would say it, and if my granny was still alive, she would chastise you and say that’s a can to pee in.” She chuckled.

He smiled. “Not sure that’s just a Northern way of saying it.”

“Yeah, I heard that even pecan farmers vary on their pronunciation. Just saying.” She opened her menu before they got into a discussion about her family and she started crying again.

She immediately spotted her dinner and didn’t have to think twice. A vegetable plate that included fried okra, squash casserole, fat-back green beans, macaroni and cheese, and homestyle mashed potatoes. All dishes her granny had made and Brooklyn had never learned to cook. She would have to make it if she ever got to see her again.

No. No. Don’t think that way. They would be together again. Soon. She would find a place to live, and then finally find a way to take Kane down.

Their waitress strode down the aisle, her steps dragging, and her face tight with the end of the workday fatigue. She held out a coffee pot. “Looks like you could both use a cup.”

They turned their cups over, and she filled them with steaming hot coffee. “Best coffee and vittles you’ll find in these parts, as Granny used to say on the Beverly Hillbillies.”

Brooklyn chuckled. “I was surprised to see downhome cooking here.”

“Gert’s a transplant from Georgia. Said the people of Oregon deserved to know real cooking.” Linette laughed. “I hope you like it.”

“My granny was from Alabama. My mama still cooks her recipes.” Brooklyn’s voice cracked, and she forced a smile as if she wasn’t suddenly very homesick. She missed her parents. They’d been such a big part of her life before Kane. Sunday supper every week with those Southern dishes, games, and family fun.

“’Nuff said.” Linette chuckled and set down her pot to get out a small order pad and pen from her apron. “What can I getcha?”

Brooklyn placed her order. “I’ll have cornbread with that and sweet tea.”

“Ah, yes, you know your way around a Southern cooking menu.” Linette turned to Nick. “And you?”

“Don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ll take the roast beef dinner with green beans and corn. Biscuits and tea without all that sugar.”

“Good choice.” Linette jotted it down. “And did you decide on dessert?”

They gave their orders.

“I’d like to get a to-go box of pastries too,” Brooklyn said.

“You can choose them on the way out,” Linette said. “Can’t go wrong with anything in that case.” She picked up the pot and departed.

“Plan to feed your sweet tooth as usual I see.” Nick put their menus back in the holder.

“No, I’m going to do that before we leave.” She laughed. “Those I plan to give to Gage as a small thank you.”

“Oh, right. Good idea. Not that he’ll expect a thank you. He and his team help people all the time without expecting anything in return.”

She still couldn’t grasp the whole concept of a tactical team working out in the boonies. “A seaside town in nowhere seems like an odd place for a tactical team.”

Nick poured a heavy dose of cream into his coffee and nodded. “Gage grew up in Cold Harbor, but he left for a time to serve as a SEAL. Came back home after he was injured and had to leave the team. He wanted to stay there because it’s the only life his daughter knows. When his wife died and left him a huge insurance settlement, he started the business. He hires only people who are former military or law enforcement who lost their chosen jobs due to an injury.”

“Giving them a second chance.” She picked up her cup.

“Exactly, and they’re all glad to help others who need a second chance too.”

“Not sure I qualify for that, but then again, maybe I do.” She sipped on the coffee, the dark nutty flavor perfect without any bitterness.

Nick stirred his coffee. “You deserve to catch Kane in an illegal act that would put him behind bars for years. I’ll do whatever you want to help with that.”

She met his gaze. “Don’t think this will make me change my mind and take you away from your job or family to work on this for me. So many people are counting on you, and now that Piper’s expecting again, you’ll have even less free time, which I expect you to spend with your family.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way.” He frowned. “My past offer still stands. I’m glad to ask my partners at Veritas to take on your case pro bono. I know they’ll say yes, and then it’ll be part of my job.”

She shook her head. She wasn’t a charity case when there were so many other people deserving of their pro bono help. She would hire them, but she couldn’t afford their rates.

“The Blackwell Team has an IT expert too. Eryn Sawyer. Top-notch skills, and they charge less than we do. Or at least they used too. Not sure what their rates are now.”

She shook her head. “With always having to move and change jobs, I haven’t been able to save much money. And I figure this time, I shouldn’t take a white-hat job but steer clear of IT altogether. Maybe leave Portland and hole up in a small town. Then maybe Kane won’t find me again, and I can build up my savings to be able to afford some help.”

He snorted. “Leave IT? It’s in your blood. And what would you do?”

“I don’t know. Haven’t thought about it.” She took a moment to process. “I used to waitress in college.”

He set down his mug. “I can’t see it, but if that’s your only option, it won’t give you enough money to hire Eryn.”

“Then I’ll just have to find Kane on my own.”

“I could lend you the money.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “No point in suggesting that when you know I’ll say no.”

“I know. But I just had to put it out there.” He frowned. “Let me know if that changes or if you want the Center’s help after all.”

She nodded, but her pride wouldn’t allow her to accept his charity. At least not yet. She would only change her mind if Kane upped his game and she didn’t think she could stay one step ahead of him.

Linette delivered their food, and as they ate, Brooklyn turned the discussion to the latest technologies Nick was employing on the job. She enjoyed having a normal meal with a normal discussion and appreciated it when, on their drive, Nick talked all about Piper and Carter.

She loved seeing his devotion to his wife and how smitten he was with his son. The longing for a family of her own threatened tears.

No, stop. Focus on being happy for him.

Nick slowed the vehicle and flipped on his blinker. “We’re here.”

Brooklyn searched for a sign. Nothing. Just a small opening in a treelined road. He pulled onto the drive, and she leaned forward in eager anticipation of seeing her home for the next little while. A security light clicked on from the trees, highlighting the wooded drive. Several more lights came on as they rolled slowly down the narrow lane, the tires crunching over gravel until they reached a heavy-duty gate leading to an open area.

He pulled the SUV to the gate and pressed a button on the intercom mounted on the post.

“Nick, buddy.” A deep male voice came over the speaker. “I’m on my way to the conference room. You remember where that is?”

“In the training building.”

“Exactly. Meet me there.”

The gate hummed open, and she scanned the area to see additional cameras mounted in various positions inside the compound. This place was protected like a fortress.

“Why all the security?” she asked. “Is Gage one of those former military paranoid types?”

“Nah, he’s a regular dude.” Nick pulled into the compound, and the gate whooshed closed behind them until the lock hit the post and clicked closed. “They have a large cache of weapons on site along with other pricey equipment and had some theft attempts.”

And protecting it made sense. “I’ll feel safe here for sure.”

“Just remember, no system is infallible. Especially when we’re dealing with an IT wiz like Kane.”

“You think he could penetrate this network? I mean, I’m assuming this Eryn person you mentioned set it up, and you seem to be impressed with her skills.”

“Given enough time, I’m sure he could hack anything, but if he does, he’ll face an armed response for sure.” Nick fixed his gaze on her. “Still, an armed response takes time to muster, and it doesn’t take long to scale the fence, even if it’s reinforced with barbed wire at the top, and get to the cabin you’ll be staying in.”

“So don’t let down my guard and keep my gun close.” She sighed as she’d hoped to count on the protection of this team and live a more peaceful existence here. But no. Right now, if she wanted to stay alive, she had to sleep with one eye open and expect the worst.

In Blackwell Tactical’s conference room, Colin stretched, while Eryn sat at the end of table, head down, staring at her monitor. He loved everything about information technology and was glad to be here working with an ultimate professional like Eryn.

Well, maybe he didn’t love everything. Not when someone misused IT for their financial gain, which was far too prevalent these days and the reason he’d left the FBI. He couldn’t handle seeing the abuse of anything and everything possible. Way too prevalent, and no matter how many creeps Colin put behind bars, they kept coming. One after the other. Like a barrage of bullets from a machine gun. Taking. Exploiting. Abusing.

Now he helped class participants avoid such scammers. Helped them eliminate their online presence so they couldn’t be tracked or manipulated. Taught them how to avoid leaving any tracks online. How to spot scams and risky websites.

Colin tried to stifle his yawn but couldn’t contain it. They’d had a quick microwave dinner and continued working for hours. It was getting late, and he wasn’t used to sitting in front of computers for crazy long hours anymore. But if Eryn was game to keep working, so was he.

She looked up from her monitor. At some point, she’d sleeked back her long, black hair into a ponytail and flipped it over her shoulder. “This guy will take some time to finish. He’s been very active online with pretty much every one of the socials.”

Odd. “Most people who take our classes avoid social media like the plague.”

“He used it for political reasons. Nothing personal. But man, the memes he’s shared.” She frowned. “He’s definitely a socialist.”

He didn’t like the look of that frown. “Is there something else bothering you?”

“No, just wondering why I signed up to help with this.” She laughed. “I mean, it’s tedious and not very challenging.”

“Oh, yeah, that.” He chuckled.

“Doesn’t seem like it bothers you, though.”

“I get it, but tedious is just the thing I want to do these days.”

She sat back. “Don’t you miss being an agent at all? The excitement the job could hold. I know I do at times.”

He shook his head. “Maybe I haven’t been gone long enough.”

“Yeah, time has a way of making us forget the hard parts and remember only what we enjoyed.”

“Besides,” he said. “We’ve had a few exciting months at Shadow Lake. Even had to dodge some bullets, so that was fun.”

She blinked a few times and stared at him. “What kind of survival training are you teaching?”

He laughed. “We recently had a client who was being stalked and needed our help. And before that the Maddox brothers’ significant others had some big issues that I helped with. You know how it goes. As the team’s source of online information needed in investigations, you get pulled in all the time.”

“Oh, I get it all right.” She chuckled. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Not sure how I feel about it when it comes a little too close to the reasons I left the Bureau. But I guess it does keep the job fresh and exciting.” He tapped his monitor and yawned. “Especially when you have unending hours of this kind of thing in front of you.”

The door opened, and Gage stepped into the room. He was dressed in his usual black tactical pants and a logo-embroidered team shirt. His dark hair was cut shorter than Colin remembered, and it was slicked back like he’d just taken a shower.

“Yo, man.” He locked gazes with Colin. “Looks like you could benefit from a little more sleep. Those Maddox boys working you too hard?”

“Just the opposite.” He explained about caring for his mother. “We need to find someone to hire soon or one of us will have to quit our job.”

Gage tilted his head. “What kind of qualifications are you looking for?”

“Honestly, nothing much in the qualifications department. Just someone with a good personality who is kind and compassionate. Responsible and organized. Who can do basic things for my mom, like help her dress. Get her meals. Make sure she takes her meds. Basic common sense kind of things.” Colin took a long breath. “And not offend her by treating her like a little kid. That’s probably the hardest. Knowing when to step in without overstepping.”

Gage nodded. “I don’t mean to speak out of turn, but I might have a solution for you.”

“You do?” Colin perked up, feeling as if he’d just downed one of his favorite espressos.

Gage perched on the side of the table. “You know Nick Thorn?”

“Are you kidding? Who in IT on this side of the country doesn’t know about Nick?”

“Well, he has a friend who’s a white-hat hacker, and she’s looking to take a break from it. Not sure if she’s interested in the kind of job you’re offering, but she’s going to stay with us until she finds her footing. So a live-in situation like you have might be perfect for her.”

Colin tamped down his excitement as caring for his mother was a far cry from hacking. “Let’s ask her for sure.”

“Actually, she just arrived with Nick, and they’re on their way down here. I’ll go meet them and update her so I don’t put her on the spot in front of you. If that’s good for you.”

“Sounds great.”

Gage pushed to his feet and marched out of the room, his tactical boots thumping into the quiet, broken only by the hum of computer equipment. He still had his military-perfect posture and crisp movements of someone at attention. Gage had been on track to be a military lifer until the injury took him out and some things clearly carried over.

Colin admired what the man had built here and his family life. Not that Colin was ready for that kind of commitment in his own life. He had to recharge after his years chasing scumbags at the Bureau, only to have a long list of other equally or more notorious predators immediately filling the void. The child predators being the worst.

Colin fought back the shudder that wanted to take him and prayed for help. Help that God hadn’t provided in the past, but then each day was a new day, wasn’t it? And maybe the day that God said, “I got you.”

Eryn’s phone chimed. “That’s a text from Trey. Lucas has a cold, and he’s crying for me. I need to try to get him back to sleep.”

“How old is he?”

“Almost five.” She smiled, a dreamy one that lit up her face with happiness Colin only wished he knew as a parent. “But Lily is sick too. She’s three, and Trey has his hands full with the two of them. I should be back soon. I’ll let you know if that’s not the case.”

She rushed toward the door as if the kids themselves were calling out to her.

He couldn’t imagine being the parent of three—she had an older daughter too—and still trying to work. But she loved her job, and she seemed to fit it in part-time.

Voices sounded outside the door. Male. Female. Calm, ordered tone. No excitement by the woman. He’d hoped she would be thrilled about the job, but maybe she wasn’t interested. After all, she was used to something far more thrilling.

Please. Mom’s care is more important than me. I’ll gladly deal with the residual trauma from my past work if You provide someone to care for Mom.

The door opened, and a tall, curvy woman with flaming red hair in waves of curls down to the middle of her back stepped in. The sidearm at her hip surprised him. Didn’t match the femininity she portrayed. Not that a feminine woman couldn’t be a gun enthusiast, but in his experience it was more rare.

Why did she feel a need to carry? Was it because of what she’d learned in hacking? Learned that the world was a dangerous place and she needed to feel safer? He wouldn’t doubt it.

She caught sight of him. Her eyes matched the shocking green accent light of his gaming keyboard. A jolt of interest hit him hard. He almost gasped, but swallowed it down.

She had to be the woman Gage mentioned. The one who might take the job as his mother’s caregiver. If so, he would be glad to solve the problem. To have someone in the job.

But with her?

Could he live day to day with someone who made him forget everything in the room except her?