Page 36 of Trapper Road

“You’re telling me this man threatened you and your family, and you feel that an attack or threat of bodily harm may be imminent?”

He’s covering his ass. Imminent threat of bodily harm would allow him to trace the location of Leo’s phone without a warrant. I give him what he needs. It helps that it’s the truth. “That’s what I’m saying.”

I wait, tense, while I hear keys clicking in the background.

I glance at my phone again, tracing Lanny’s location. She’s only a few blocks away, at one of a half dozen large houses just off the edge of campus. I find a parking lot nearby and kill the lights.

“Good news. He’s in California. Or at least his phone is.”

I blow out a long breath and let my head fall back against the seat. “Thank God,” I breathe. The relief I feel is intense and overwhelming. “Thank you. You have no idea.”

Mike lets a few beats of silence pass before asking, “Things okay for you, Sam?”

I run a hand down my face, suddenly exhausted. “I don’t know. A few days ago I would have said yes but now…”

“I heard about the shooting. The FBI’s already involved. My unit may be brought in to assist.”

I frown. Mike heads up a task force that investigates dangerous Internet groups. “Why? What reason would you have to be involved?”

“There’s thought that part of the shooter’s motivation may have stemmed from online activity. It’s becoming more and more of a problem, kids being targeted online and in video games. FBI wants to stay ahead of the issue, try to figure out how to stop this shit before it happens. Last thing we need is to be caught flat footed and look like we’re not doing everything we can.”

I remember what Connor told the cops when they interviewed him. “Yeah, apparently the kid got in a fight with the victims over some video game the night before.”

“And Connor was there? During the fight and again the next day during the shooting?” There’s an interest in his voice that sounds like more than curiosity. It sounds almost like an interrogation. It makes me put my guard up.

“You asking as a friend or as an agent?”

“I’m always your friend first, Sam.”

He’s right. He’s put his badge on the line plenty of times to help me out. “Good.”

“But that doesn’t mean I stop being an agent,” he adds.

“Connor’s a good kid. He had nothing to do with this.”

“That’s not going to stop them looking into him. Looking into all of you.”

Fuck. Just what we need.

“Connor’s a victim, Mike. He wasn’t shot, but he witnessed it. You and I both know what that does to a man.” We’d been in Afghanistan together. We’d seen the horror of what people could do to one another. We both bore the scars. “Don’t let them railroad him, Mike.”

“I’ll do everything I can to protect him, you know that.”

“Thank you,” I tell him sincerely. “Now, about that second favor.”

He groans but listens as I explain to him about the message board posts and the metadata pointing to Gwen’s IP address. “He’s planning to release the information as proof Gwen was involved in Melvin’s murders. You remember how it was with those fake videos — how it still is. We need to get ahead of it this time. If I send you the info, can you prove the IP address information is fake?”

There’s a slight pause and then Mike sighs. “You know I have to ask this, Sam. But are you sure Gwenisn’tthe one writing those posts?”

I clench my jaw to keep from saying something I shouldn’t. Mike has never completely trusted Gwen despite everything she’s been through. “She’s not involved in this,” I snap.

After another moment of hesitation, he says, “Okay, send everything over. I’ll look into it and get back to you.”

I thank him again and tell him to stay safe before ending the call and switching over to the location tracking app. Lanny’s phone is still showing she’s at the house party. I can see it through the windshield of the car — a large house spilling with people and light. I slide lower in my seat, getting comfortable.

I don’t plan on taking my eye off Lanny the entire night. Even if Leo’s still in California, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other threats out there.

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