Page 8 of Knox
Bingo.
She replayed the recording, pausing and snapping a screenshot.Maybe it was nothing, and maybe it was the break they needed.
“What’d you find?”one of the IT staff asked, noticing her expression.
Quinn pointed at the monitor, quickly filling him in.“Watch that car.It was right by the hotel Bravo Team is staying at, not far from the Space Needle.”
“Will do.”He hustled off to his own computer, pulling up the link to the feed that she’d sent to the entire team.More eyes watching the scene could be crucial in stopping the attack, but Quinn was trying to gain intelligence via other means as well.
Her gaze landed on the laptop beside her, where she was waiting for a response on the dark web.So far no one had noticed that she was impersonating one of the terror cell members.She was directly messaging a few people and needed more details.
Anxiety churned through her stomach.
If she messed this up, the group could be tipped off that they were being watched and disappear.While the goal was to stop the imminent attacks, the Feds wanted to bring the perps to justice.That would be a hell of a lot harder without the element of surprise.If they scattered, they’d eventually regroup and plot something else.They’d still be out there, intent on causing chaos and terror.It was urgent they ended this as quickly as possible.
Her gaze drifted back to her first computer again, watching the car in question through the traffic cams.The vehicle changed lanes and sped up.Much to her dismay, they seemed to be exiting the city.
“Quinn!”one of the IT staffers called out.
She glanced up.
“That vehicle looks like it’s leaving the city.”
“Yeah,” she said with a frown.“I just noticed that.It’s probably not one of the suspects.The Space Needle is in the exact opposite direction.”She shook her head in frustration.A large duffle could’ve easily concealed the explosives.They were still out there somewhere, and she wanted to find them before they were loaded into one of the self-driving vehicles and sent toward their target.
Her phone buzzed, and she saw a text from Xaden.
Xaden:That was a bust.The guy I followed was hauling a bunch of junk.
Xaden:Illegal dumping might be wrong, but we’ve got more urgent matters.
Quinn:Any updates from Cooper?
Xaden:Negative.
Given that Cooper was scouting the area, he wouldn’t necessarily check in unless there was something important to share.Her gaze landed on the time.Boone and Radley should have just landed in L.A., and Quinn would need to get into those systems as well.
Knox had swung by earlier to check in, but he’d headed out to investigate one of the local sites.They had cameras on a weapons’ cache nearby, and when they’d spotted movement there earlier, he’d left to check it out.
A tinge of worry coursed through her.This was what the men did.They were former Delta Force for goodness’ sake.Just because she was used to seeing Knox around the office didn’t mean the man wasn’t positively lethal.The entire team was highly trained.Quinn and the IT staff had zero tactical skills, and it was silly of her to worry over something she couldn’t control, especially for a man as capable as Knox.
Just thinking about his athletic build, muscled arms, and dark eyes sent a shiver racing through her.He was confident and sexy.A deadly combination.She loved hearing his deep voice as he stood at her side.
Quinn let out a sigh.She had enough on her plate right now and couldn’t sit here worrying about Knox all evening.If anything, the rest of the team was likely in more danger trying to intercept the explosives.She needed to focus on the job.
A new message suddenly pinged on her laptop, and Quinn’s gaze slid back to it.The man she was chatting with on the dark web was already in L.A.She smiled.He still thought he was talking to one of his own men and had no idea he was accidentally feeding her intel.
Anon1: I’ll leave everything on the 8thfloor for the time being.
Anon1:I will be ready, by Allah’s mercy.
She sucked in a breath.In what world would any God want people to harm others?The homegrown terror cell’s motivations were criminal—literally.She didn’t understand their twisted religious beliefs or intent to harm others.Her job wasn’t to profile them, however.She had the technical know-how to help Bravo Team stop the attacks in both L.A.and Seattle, and she’d damn well do it.
Quinn quickly responded, using the hacked account.
XYJihadi:Fantastic work, my brother.
Quinn shot off a quick text, telling Boone and Radley to keep watch on the 8thfloor.She was already in the hotel’s security system, and in no time, Quinn was sending them an encrypted message with links to the hotel security feed for that specific floor.Adrenaline flooded her bloodstream.This was how she worked best—juggling multiple situations and getting the job done.She’d knock down one task and quickly move on to another, never missing a beat.
