Web of Deceit Read online

  It was all Kait’s fault. Stupid, stupid, Kait. She would pay.

  Starting tomorrow.

  Oh, yeah. Tomorrow. She’d be surprised. He’d planned it to perfection. Now all she had to do was play her predictable role. And she would, of that he was certain. She never veered from her schedule. Even after the sleepless night she’d have tonight, courtesy of his clumsy attempt at stealing a quick kiss from his child, Kait would be up at sunup, sitting on her deck with a cup of coffee and the newspaper before taking his darling girl to daycare.

  Daycare, hah!

  His daughter didn’t deserve to spend her days in the care of strangers. She deserved a mother who coddled and cherished her all day long. Abby would have done that. She wouldn’t have been like his mother, bailing on her son when a man came along who promised a lifestyle dear old dad could never provide. Money. A decent home, not a rat-infested one. Freedom from the man who belittled everyone and inflicted physical pain when they’d failed to meet his standards. Or like Kait. A workaholic. No, Abby wouldn’t have been like them. She’d have been the perfect mother, but Kait had ruined it all by meddling in his business.

  The last light snapped off.

  Good. One step closer to the moment he’d rescue Lily from her surrogate mother, who didn’t have time for his precious baby. But first, Kait deserved to know his pain.

  He struggled to his feet, stretching his leg and easing out the stiffness. He started to leave, then turned back to the window and saluted.

  Game on, Kait. Tomorrow you will pay, and soon, very soon, my sweet little Lily will know life as she was meant to experience it.

  With her father.

  KAIT’S LACK OF sleep last night had taken a toll. She yawned and rolled her stiff, cramping neck. Her fault, of course. She should have been sitting at her cubicle working on her latest case. Not standing behind an FBI analyst, staring down at a computer monitor and hoping to get a lead on her AWOL brother-in-law.

  She watched the code scroll across the screen like a slot machine in Vegas. Rows and rows of gibberish, rolling up and disappearing like Fenton. Was his trademark code in there somewhere, or was this another false lead like so many since he’d disappeared down her parents’ hallway?

  Time to find out.

  She approached the analyst sitting with her legs wrapped around a backless chair, her body hunched over the keyboard, fingers flying. “Any luck, Jae?”

  “Minute,” she mumbled and held up a finger tipped in green nail polish.

  Trying to be patient and not push an already overworked analyst, Kait practiced a deep breathing technique she’d seen on a TV morning show. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep this up without losing it. Keep up the pretense of being okay while her co-workers gave her pitiful looks. If they looked her in the eye at all.

  But what choice did she have?

  She could still feel the stickiness of Abby’s blood on her hands. Hear her sister’s last gasp and their parents’ wailing cries when they’d come into the room. She had to keep looking for Fenton. Make sure he paid. He’d gone so far underground that they’d never had a hint of his existence, but she’d continue to check in with analysts at all hours of the day and urge them to keep working the case. To work harder. Dig deeper.

  Jae suddenly sat back and stretched out legs encased in skinny jeans. “Man, I thought I had something.”

  “So this is another dead end, then.” Kait tried not to sound disappointed.

  Jae’s eyes, lined in thick kohl, remained fixed on Kait. “We want to catch him, too, you know.”

  “I know you do.” Kait blew out a sigh. “Not that it’s an excuse for pushing you so hard, but I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Kait squeezed Jae’s shoulder, but the analyst’s attention had already returned to the screen.

  She started pounding the keyboard again. “For everyone’s sake, go do something, Kait. You know we hate backseat drivers.”

  Jae was right. Staying would only distract them.

  Kait left the steady hum of computers for an eerily quiet hallway. Usually, the bullpen buzzed with activity. Sure, it neared four o’clock, but agents never went home this early in the day.

  Something was up.

  As she passed the conference room fondly dubbed the war room, the scent of scorched coffee drifted under the door and tainted the air with its acrid smell. She spotted Rolland Sulyard, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Portland office and her immediate supervisor, standing at the head of the long table. Figured. He was famous for leaving the last dregs of coffee in the pot to burn while he held his staff captive in endless meetings.

  Fellow agents and Cyber Crime Action Team members Becca Lange and Nina Brandt sat with three other agents in the dimly lit space, and Kait stopped to assess the situation. A flat screen mounted on the wall flashed through slides, the light reflecting off Sulyard’s shaved head, shadowing his face. The slides held tactical details for a raid. Not a case she recognized, but it was obvious they were getting ready to arrest someone without her. Purposefully without her? No page. No call or text summoning her to the room. Even good friends Nina and Becca had left her out.

  She’d never been excluded before, so why was it happening now?

  Sulyard clicked off the screen, and the occupants turned toward the window. Most of her co-workers wore sheepish expressions as if she’d caught them with their hands in the cookie jar.

  Great. Everyone knew the reason for the shutout except her.

  Becca started to rise, but Nina placed a hand on Becca’s shoulder, stilling her, and headed for the door. Not surprising. Becca would march out here and blurt out the problem in her straightforward, often brash way. Not Nina. She was the essence of discretion in public.

  Which meant they thought Kait needed handling and this situation required kid gloves.

  Nina stepped into the hallway, quietly closing the door behind her and staring at a folder she’d grabbed on the way out.

  “Nina?” Kait asked, but her friend didn’t respond, keeping her gaze trained on the folder.

  Not good. Nina’s grandmother had raised her in the true southern tradition and taught her to make eye contact. To smile at all times. Even if Nina was as angry as a mad wasp, she didn’t show it in public. Becca and Kait were the only ones in this office who’d ever seen Nina reveal a temper to match her fiery red hair.

  “What gives, Nina?” Kait asked. “Why wasn’t I included in the meeting?”

  Nina looked up. Blue eyes usually vibrant and clear were dark with guilt. “I’m sorry. I asked to have you join us, but Sulyard forbid it.”

  Kait’s unease moved toward full-blown worry. “Why? What’s happening?”

  “A small ISP was tracking communications traffic when they noticed a huge surge in traffic.” Nina drew a report from the folder and handed it to Kait.

  Kait studied the printout from ValCom, a local Internet service provider, showing that an unusually large number of computers had accessed ValCom’s network at the exact same time.

  “A botnet,” Kait said, referring to a network of computers controlled by an unscrupulous individual.

  Nina nodded. “The good news is we’ve tracked it through a myriad of servers to the source where the attack originated. We’re about to make an arrest.”

  “And the bad news?”

  “The code contains Rhodes’s signature,” Nina said, using Fenton’s last name as all agents in the office did.

  “Fenton? He’s finally surfaced.” Kait’s stomach fluttered with excitement. Finally! “Wait? How is this bad news?”

  “Sulyard is making you sit this one out.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  Nina shook her head, a wayward curl springing into action. She gently tucked it behind her ear when Kait would have slapped it out o
f the way. “I’m sorry, Kait, but he says you’re too personally involved and might do something to jeopardize the prosecution.”

  “He’s not going to keep me here!” Kait tried to push past Nina to the door.

  Nina clamped her hand on Kait’s arm; her long nails polished an outrageous orange, looking out of place against Kait’s simple gray suit.

  “Let me go, Nina,” Kait warned.

  “If you go in there upset, you’ll regret it.”

  “I’ll regret not being there to arrest Fenton even more.”

  “You could lose your job.” Nina’s eyes flashed with determination.

  “Then I’ll lose my job.” Kait glared back and shook off Nina’s hand.

  “Look, honey.” Nina took a breath and came back with a softer tone. “The odds of this being Rhodes are slim to none. He knows we’re on to his trademark code so it’s doubtful he’d use it again. This is most likely someone impersonating him.”

  Not Fenton? No. Kait refused to believe that. “If it’s a copycat, Sulyard wouldn’t be so adamant about me staying here.”

  “He has to cover himself just in case it is Rhodes.” Nina paused, and seemed to consider her next words carefully. “You know we all want to see him pay, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then trust us to handle this.”

  Oh, how Kait wanted to put this heavy burden in someone else’s hands, but it was her battle to wage. Her revenge to exact. Her mission. Her reason for getting up each morning and moving on after Abby’s death. If Kait let anyone else do it for her, she’d never forgive herself. “I can’t, Nina. I just can’t.”

  “Fine. Then let me talk to Sulyard. Maybe I can convince him to let you ride along if you promise to stay in the car.”

  “I can’t promise that.”

  “You know Sulyard.” Nina stepped closer and lowered her voice. “No matter what you say to him, he won’t reverse his decision and let you in on the arrest. It’s either stay in the car or miss out altogether.”

  Kait studied her friend, looking for any hint of dishonesty. “Was this his plan all along? To let me think I can’t go so I’ll be happy to ride along?”

  “You know me better than that.” A heavy sigh slipped from Nina’s mouth, and it cut Kait to the core that she was lashing out at one of her best friends. “You’ve become so suspicious since Abby died.”

  Kait winced at Nina’s comment, but she was right. Kait hardly trusted anyone. Not since Fenton had taught her the toughest lesson of her life. She could never fully know another person. They could hide secrets and turn on her in a flash. But Nina? Not Nina. She wasn’t harboring anything. She was Kait’s friend. And if she said Kait wasn’t being played, then she wasn’t being played.

  “I’m sorry.” Kait made sure her expression carried her remorse for doubting Nina’s intentions.

  “No biggie.” Nina smiled, wrinkling her nose covered with freckles that had multiplied in the summer sun. “I can handle your suspicions without melting. So you want me to talk to him?”

  Kait didn’t want to sit in the car. Worse, she didn’t want to be left behind and miss seeing Fenton dragged out of the house in handcuffs. This option was better than nothing. “Fine. Ask him.”

  “Then give us some space to work this out. Head over to your cubicle and I’ll come find you after Sulyard makes a decision.” Nina didn’t wait for Kait’s agreement but went into the room.

  Kait should do as Nina suggested. Walk away. Let them hash it out. But she couldn’t leave without seeing Sulyard’s initial reaction to the request.

  Kait turned to the window. The overhead lights burned brightly now, displaying the pitying looks of her co-workers. Not from Becca, though. She offered a tremulous smile. Kait tried to return it but failed. Instead, she watched Nina march up to the boss. Her gestures were big and animated as she made Kait’s case for her, forcing Sulyard to take a step back in defense of his personal space. He shifted his focus to Kait, his eyes burning with intensity. Assessing. Weighing. Processing. She resisted squirming and stood firm. If she let him see any hint that she wasn’t clearheaded and strong, or that she would fall apart in the field, he’d deny Nina’s request. Deny the one thing Kait desperately wanted, and after three long years of waiting for this day to come, she wouldn’t be present to witness Fenton’s takedown.

  Chapter Three

  KAIT WAITED IN her cubicle, pacing back and forth, her palms coated in perspiration. She felt like a little kid sent to her room while her parents discussed her fate. Ten minutes had passed. Going on eleven now. Then twelve. Ticking by as slow as an eternity.

  Finally, she heard the meeting break up and she hung at the edge of her cubicle, waiting to see who Sulyard had dispatched to share the news. If Nina rounded the corner, Kait was out. Anyone else except Sulyard meant she was in.

  She held her breath. Stared. Waiting.

  Becca charged around the corner in her usual head down, get to the problem and solve it mode. Kait resisted shooting her hand up in victory until Becca delivered the official verdict. A runner and all-around athlete, she was solid muscle, her legs powering her down the hallway in rapid strides. With blond hair pulled into a ponytail, she looked every bit an agent. Tough and in charge.

  “You’re in,” she said without fanfare. “So start getting your things together. The team departs in fifteen minutes.” She held out her fist for a bump.

  Kait pounded it and exhaled emotions that threatened to bring tears.

  Becca appraised her. “I’m sorry about meeting without you. Sulyard personally escorted us to the room so we couldn’t tell you.”

  “I understand,” Kait said as she worked to control the tears.

  “You’re not mad?” Becca asked. “Honestly, I mean.”

  Kait shook her head, her mind already going to the items she would need to bring along on the raid.

  Becca glanced at her chunky sports watch and frowned. “You know there’s nothing I’d like more than to go on the raid with you, right? I’d be all over it if I didn’t have the CASA conference in Eugene. Maybe I should get someone else to do the keynote speech.”

  Kait shook her head. No way would she be the cause of Becca missing her speaking engagement. A former foster child, Becca volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children. She was a tireless defender of abused or neglected children and was a sought-after speaker for the volunteer organization.

  Kait appreciated her friend’s concern, but if Becca chose to cancel, she’d regret it for days. “Go as planned,” Kait said firmly. “I won’t have you miss something that’s so important to you.”

  Skepticism lingering on her face, Becca continued to watch Kait. “Is there anything I can do to help before I go?”

  “For starters, you can stop looking at me that way.” Kait crossed her arms. She hated when anyone thought her as weak and helpless as Fenton made her feel. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. I can see it in your eyes. I’ll try to reschedule.”

  “Absolutely not. You go to Eugene and wow them. Nina will take good care of me in your absence.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about.” Becca wrinkled her nose, her mouth lifting in a smile. “She needs looking after as much as you do.”

  Kait forced a smile at her friend’s attempt to lighten the mood, but nothing short of arresting Fenton would make Kait smile with abandon right now. “Get out of here before you’re late.”

  “Call me if you need me.” After one last look, Becca hurried down the hallway, her ponytail swinging in cadence with her steps.

  Thankful to have friends who watched her back, Kait gathered her things. As she prepared, anticipation over finally capturing Fenton started in the pit of her stomach. By the time Nina came to tell her they were ready to depart, Kait felt drunk with e
xcitement.

  “Don’t get your hopes up,” Nina whispered as they walked out the door with the other agents. “Remember what I said. Rhodes wouldn’t use his code again. This is most likely someone impersonating him. You know how the hacking community idolized him. Everyone wanted to be the infamous Vyper.” She nearly spit out Fenton’s screen name, her distaste for him obvious.

  “I don’t know, Nina. It makes sense that he’d surface on the anniversary of Abby’s death.”

  “If that’s the case, then why wait until the third year? Why not do something on year one and year two?”

  Kait slipped her hand into her pocket and fingered the letter “A” cast in pure silver that she’d taken from Abby’s keychain. Kait carried it every day, the sleek metal a reminder of her failure to protect Abby and of letting Fenton escape. She gripped it hard, letting the cool edges bite into her palm. She wouldn’t fail again. If there was any chance of capturing him, she was all in. “My gut says it’s Fenton. So go with me on this one, okay?”

  Nina eyed her. “I just don’t want you to be disappointed again if it’s someone else.”

  “I know.” Kait tried to smile at her friend, but her lips trembled, so she clamped them together before Sulyard saw her questionable hold on her emotions and left her behind.

  She trailed the team into the parking garage. Simmering heat radiated off the concrete, hitting Kait square in the face. The last thing any of them wanted to do in this heat was to strap on a Kevlar vest over suit jackets. They would, though. Safety always trumped comfort. Knowing she’d see no action, she felt foolish retrieving her vest from the trunk, but protocol dictated she wear it, so she chose her newest one and slipped it on.

  Sulyard tossed his keys to her. “You’re driving.”

  Interesting. She climbed behind the wheel of his SUV, and he took shotgun. His commanding presence made the vehicle feel smaller than usual. Silence filled the car, and she was conscious of the fine line she was walking with him right now and didn’t speak. Once on the highway, he handed a file to Nina in the backseat, and they discussed operation logistics.