Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 38307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
My jaw clenches. “You’re saying it came from inside her workplace.”
“Yes.” Cal pauses. “And we have the name.”
My pulse hits hard once. “Who?”
“It’s her editor in chief,” Cal says. “Her boss. Randy O’Connell.”
Rowan’s hand grips my forearm. “What?” she mouths silently, eyes wide.
I stand slowly, moving away from her so I can think. “You’re sure.”
“We didn’t stop at the phone,” Cal says. “We followed the money trail from the profile vendor. The billing account routes through a shell company, but we peeled it back. Payments are coming from a corporate security contractor tied to the company Rowan was investigating.”
My stomach goes cold. “They’re funding the attacks.”
“They’re funding the pressure,” Cal corrects. “Here’s what we have so far. Rowan’s boss is being blackmailed. Not a theory. We have recorded calls and a series of transfers. They’re squeezing him through leverage. A past mistake, something that would end his career and possibly put him in prison. The corporation promised to make it disappear if he stopped her story and got control of her materials.”
I stare at the far wall, mind already assembling the pieces. “So he put her under surveillance.”
“Yes,” Cal says. “He used the phone to track her, see what she had, who she talked to, and when. And when that didn’t work fast enough, they escalated to intimidation. The vehicle hits. The attempted entry. All meant to scare her off and force her to hand over her files.”
Rowan stands now, close enough to touch, but she doesn’t. Her face is pale, her eyes huge and furious.
Cal’s tone stays firm. “Tell Rowan. But listen to me. You and Rowan stay put. Do not go hunting. We have a team moving to confirm his location and secure evidence. Law enforcement involvement will be controlled. We don’t want leaks.”
I nod, even though he can’t see it. “Copy.”
“And Sin,” Cal adds, voice harder. “This guy is desperate. Blackmail makes people unpredictable. If he realizes the net is closing, he might do something stupid.”
My gaze cuts to Rowan. “Understood.”
“We’ll keep you updated,” Cal says. “Stay dark.”
The line goes dead. I lower the phone slowly.
Rowan looks like she’s bracing for impact. “Sin,” she says, voice tight. “What is it?”
I exhale once, controlled, then meet her gaze. “Cal’s team traced the spyware on your phone.”
Rowan’s eyes flash. “Okay. And?”
“It was pushed through your paper’s internal system,” I say. “Not some random hacker.”
Her brows knit. “So it was…”
“It was someone with access,” I finish.
She steps closer, a thin line of anger forming between her brows. “Who?”
I hold her gaze because I’m not going to soften this for her. “Randy O’Connell.”
Rowan goes still, like her body doesn’t understand the words. Then she laughs once, sharp and disbelieving. “No.”
“Rowan.”
“No,” she repeats, louder. “That’s insane. He’s… he’s the reason I got my first big byline. He’s the reason I’m even on that investigative desk.” Her voice cracks on the last word, and she hates that it does. I see it. She swallows hard, forcing herself back into control. “He’s always backed me,” she insists, eyes bright with anger and something that looks like grief. “He’s always told me to dig deeper.”
“He did,” I say. “Until this story.”
Rowan shakes her head. “He wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t try to scare me.”
“He didn’t do it because he hates you,” I say quietly. “He did it because someone has him by the throat.”
Rowan’s breathing turns shallow. “What do you mean?”
I keep my voice steady. “He’s being blackmailed by the corporation you’re investigating. Cal has proof. Calls. Payments. A leverage file. They threatened to ruin him unless he stopped the story and got control of your work.”
Rowan’s lips part. She looks like she might be sick. “So he…” She swallows. “He watched me. He tracked me.”
“Yes.”
“And the car?” Her eyes snap to mine. “The car was him?”
“Not his hands,” I say. “But his decision. He helped them find you. Helped them time it. Cal believes they used a corporate security contractor to handle the intimidation.”
Rowan’s face changes. Shock burning down into rage. “And all this time,” she whispers, “I was worried about leaks in the police. About some random thug.”
I step closer. “The threat was in your office.”
Rowan squeezes her eyes shut for a second, then opens them. “I admired him.”
“I know.”
She looks up at me, and her voice goes small, almost raw. “How do you even recover from that?”
“You don’t recover,” I say. “You adapt. You protect yourself. You make sure he can’t do it again.”
Rowan’s jaw sets. “I want to go back. I want to confront him.”
I catch her wrist gently, grounding her without restraining. “No.”
Her eyes blaze. “Sin.”
“Cal said stay put,” I tell her. “They have a team moving. If you run back in hot, you give him warning and you put yourself in reach.”
Rowan’s chest rises and falls fast. She looks like she wants to fight me. Then she sees my face. I’m not fighting her to control her. I’m fighting her to keep her alive.