Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Today’s meeting was with my dad and a vetted analyst. When we sat down across from them, the analyst got straight to it. “We need to tighten the picture on access. I’ve already gone over most of this with your father, but it would be helpful to confirm with another person familiar with a different perspective. Make sure nothing is missed.”
“I’m happy to help however I can,” I offered.
“Start with Nina,” he requested. “She was enrolled in Safe at Home. Where could her real address have existed outside the state program?”
“Not in routine county records,” I answered. “The substitute address is what most agencies would see.”
My dad’s eyes narrowed. “My department already had the real one. After Jeff violated the restraining order before, we made a formal law-enforcement request so assigned investigators and emergency personnel could locate Nina if he came after her again. The address was stored in a sealed confidential location addendum inside her restricted case file.”
Corbin’s gaze sharpened. “Which platform?”
“The records-management system,” Dad replied. “Only a small group had elevated access, and every time somebody opened that addendum, it should’ve created an audit entry.”
“Stowe’s contract covers that platform and its audit logs,” Corbin murmured. “A county insider could open the addendum. Somebody using Stowe’s credentials could erase the trace.”
“Or he hired a hacker.” I glanced at Corbin and then quickly looked away. “I can’t imagine the Safe at Home program would be a big challenge to someone with the right skills.”
“Government databases are breached constantly,” Corbin murmured, earning him a death stare from my dad that he barely noticed. “But I don’t think that’s what happened.”
Having no clue about the undercurrent between the other two men, the analyst asked, “So Safe at Home itself may never have been breached?”
“It probably wasn’t,” Corbin said. “The weak point was the confidential copy the county requested to protect her.”
I looked toward the frozen image of Pike. “And he went to the house to make sure the address was still current.”
The analyst’s brows pinched together before he queried, “But creating a believable response gap still takes local knowledge, right?”
“Yes.” I gave him a rundown of how units are assigned, how dispatchers choose which car to send when resources are thin, and what kind of call would actually pull the nearest deputy away.
The analyst nodded. “That lines up with what your father told me.”
Corbin’s phone vibrated against the table. He glanced at the screen and answered with a short, “Go.”
I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but I spotted the subtle shift in his posture that most people would’ve missed. But I’d spent so much time with him that I suspected this wasn’t going to be good. And listening in to his half only confirmed it.
“When?” There was a brief pause, then he asked, “Direction?”
The answer from the caller was longer this time before Corbin instructed, “Keep eyes on him. Do not let him reach the turnoff.”
He ended the call and looked at my dad. “Pike just met a freelance surveillance installer at a gas station east of town. Handed him a small equipment case and sent him toward the backcountry access road that leads to my place.”
I pressed a trembling hand to my stomach as it knotted.
Dad’s expression hardened. “You’re sure?”
“Our men don’t make mistakes,” Corbin growled. “Especially not when it’s my woman at risk.”
My dad didn’t look happy about Corbin so easily staking a claim on me, but at least he didn’t push the issue since now wasn’t the right time. “You still have someone on Pike in case he pulls any other shit?”
Corbin glared at him. “Of course I fucking do.”
The analyst cleared his throat. “I think I have everything I need.”
My dad jerked his chin toward the door. “Go ahead. I’m going to hang back here with my daughter.”
After he left, we waited a few more minutes before Corbin’s phone rang again.
“What’ve you got, Nomad?”
The answer must’ve pleased him because his lips tipped up at the corners. “Proceed.”
When he set his cell back down, my dad asked, “What happened?”
“Now is probably a good time for you to leave, too,” Corbin suggested.
“Fucking hell.” My dad slammed his hands on the table and stood, pacing the length of the room several times.
I got up and walked over to give him a hug. “It’s okay, Dad. Corbin won’t let anything happen to me.”
He looked over my shoulder. “Promise me.”
“I fucking swear that nobody is going to so much as touch a hair on her head,” Corbin vowed in a lethal tone.
I tilted my head back to meet my dad’s eyes. “You need to be able to get on the stand and tell the truth. There are some things it’s better you don’t know.”
“Never thought I’d see the day when I was so damn grateful the Black Crowns follow their own set of rules.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Just know that if I didn’t believe Cipher would keep you safe, I’d break whatever laws were needed to make sure you came out of this unscathed.”