Page 21 of Shadow of Doubt
Nick eyed her. “It’s time he knows.”
“But I?—”
“I know you’d rather that didn’t happen,” he rushed on, “but we need his and the team’s help.”
“We do? But…” Her fear was vivid in her eyes now.
Nick squeezed her arm. “They have former military or law enforcement skills, and we need their expertise.”
Brooklyn clutched her hands together, her gaze flitting around the room.
Colin moved closer to Brooklyn but looked at Nick. “This sounds serious. Is my mother in any danger?”
“I don’t think so,” Nick said.
“‘Think so’?” The words exploded out of Colin’s mouth before he could temper them. “‘Think so’ isn’t good enough. Either she is or isn’t.”
“She could be. So in your terms, yeah, she is.”
Colin wanted to strangle Nick for involving his mother in something that could put her in danger and hiding it from him, but he couldn’t very well do that. He shoved his hands into his pockets instead. “I thought we were buds. Yet, you clam up when you should be talking.”
Nick continued to look at Colin but took a deep, exaggerated breath. “Let’s all take a beat and sit down.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Brooklyn dropped onto a lumpy sofa cushion.
Colin wanted to be close enough to see her expressions as she explained in the dim light, so he rested on the arm of the sofa. “Go ahead, spill, and don’t leave anything out.”
“Before I begin, just know I planned to tell you if Gage and Nick thought there was any danger to you or your family.” She scrubbed her hands down her pantlegs. “I used to work with and date a guy named Kane Tarver. He was a fellow white-hat hacker. One day out of the blue, he decided he wanted to make more money and turned to the dark side, hacking and exploiting people. When I found out, I was shocked. Appalled. So I turned him in to the police, stopped seeing him, and changed jobs.”
Not what Colin was expecting, but then he didn’t know what to expect. “What happened to him?”
“There wasn’t enough evidence to bring him to trial, and he got off.” She gritted her teeth. “He’s been threatening and stalking me since then. I’ve had to move several times so he couldn’t find me. I’ve continued hacking, but change all of my email and online accounts each time I move. I don’t do social media or anything that would put me on the internet, but he always finds me through my work.”
“We have algorithms set so we can see when he discovers her internet presence,” Nick said. “That allows her to flee before he finds her physical location.”
Colin was getting the gist of the problem, and he didn’t like what he was hearing. “And you’re running from him right now?”
She nodded. “Nick got an alert on his phone last night and came to rescue me. We got out of there just before Kane arrived, but he didn’t trail us.”
“And it was convenient for you to hide out here, but not tell me. Why exactly?” His tone was testier than he planned, but come on. A stalker? His mom? The combination didn’t sit well with him.
“I’m sorry. Nick, Gage, and I agreed that Kane couldn’t possibly find me here and there was no danger. And like I said, if there was any hint that he did, I would tell you.”
Colin jerked his hands from his pockets and ran them through his hair. “That’s not a decision you all have the right to make for me.”
“We—”
He flashed up his hand. “I’m right, and you know it. You just wanted a place to crash, and we were convenient.”
“No, no.” She shook her head. “I could’ve crashed at Cold Harbor until I found a job. But when Gage mentioned your situation, the job was something I could do, and I thought I could help too. I’ve pretty much decided to give up IT work so he can’t find me, and this job with your mom sounded wonderful until I could figure out what I might do long-term.”
He studied her, and she squirmed. He could be accused of being too intense and was probably badgering her right now just by the way he was looking at her.
“Stop being so hard on her, Colin.” His mother’s voice came from the doorway, and she stepped into the room, her cane clomping on the wooden floor. “I’ve been eavesdropping. Sorry.” She smiled at Brooklyn. “But I know my Colin. He would’ve kept this from me.”
“I… Yeah.” He shook his head. “You’re right.”
She smiled softly at him. “You would’ve done the same thing you’re accusing Brooklyn of doing.”
