Semua Bab Aegis Group: Bab 131 - Bab 140

ZAIN UNLOCKED THE FRONT door of the apartment and stepped in, Andrea right behind him. He wanted to do a sweep of the place before allowing her in, but it was raining, and Andrea was soaked to the bone."I always miss the rain until I'm home," she said, teeth chattering.He dropped the bags just inside the entrance and locked the door behind her while straining to listen for noises. It was a little past midnight, and Andrea lived a good hour away. Crashing at her friend's place was a matter of convenience-and it also had a higher probability for being safe. Still, he rushed through, giving the rooms a once over."You really didn't have to come home with me. I'd have been okay, I swear." Andrea gripped the handle of his laptop bag. Her hair stuck to her face and there were goose bumps all over her chest. His hoodie swallowed her, but at least it'd kept her warm until now."We aren't having this conversation again." He took the bag from her and rolled it to the side so she wouldn

ZAIN CHUCKED THE BAG of ruined stuff out onto the stoop. The pile of things on top of the ruined sofa was easily as tall as he was. Between himself, Andrea, Crystal, and a few friends, they'd managed to excavate the worst of it. There wasn't much left to be salvaged.He hurt for Andrea.In all his time, he'd seen maybe one revenge job that equaled this level of hateful destruction to property. What was more, the break-in only confirmed his fear.Whoever was behind this was connected to Grunge and Dark Matter Games.It was someone she knew.It had to be.The only people who'd known they were leaving had been at the booth that morning. It was a short list of people. Maybe seven names, outside of the girls.What he wouldn't give to be able to fly back and question every one of those people himself-but he couldn't leave Andrea. Letting her out of his sight was not happening.The cops were skeptical the two incidents were connected.Andrea's games and computer were missing

ZAIN YANKED THE FIAT into the parking lot.He could see the rental.The empty rental.Where was Andrea?Who was that man?He shoved the car into park and got out, his hand on the gun. In the distance, he could hear sirens-no doubt the cops on their way to Andrea's house, or maybe his location, if Gavin was still in communication. Either way, it wasn't Zain's problem.The lot was empty, save for the rental. Smoke leaked out from under the hood and the driver's side door was still partially open. He approached with care, peering into the back seat, steeling himself for anything. Or at least as much as he could.If Andrea...he couldn't go there. Not now. Not when she still needed him calm and level headed.He turned in a circle, searching for something, any sign of them.The car that'd left the parking lot was now beat to hell. He could only hope Andrea had survived the collision uninjured.A few vehicles had pulled over to the side of the street running parallel to th

ZAIN PARKED THE FIAT outside of the police station.Hours spent canvassing the area where Andrea had gone missing and the apartment complex had turned up nothing. Not a thing. Besides the people on the road, no one had noticed the man, Andrea or their car. How could they just disappear? He itched to be at his computer, to do something that might yield a lead, but he had to leave that up to Gavin and pray the kid realized what was at stake here.He pushed the front doors open and checked in at the front desk. The officers on scene had connected him to the Detective Bowman that Crystal and Andrea had wanted to speak to."Bowman is on his way," the officer at the desk said after a quick buzz.Zain checked his phone again. Nine texts from Crystal, two from some of the guys and one from his boss. Fuck. He'd leave that for later. Chances were, whatever Crawford had to say wouldn't be good."Mr. Lloyd?" A man in his late thirties opened the double doors leading into the rest of the

ZAIN HIT PRINT AND stared at the mug shot.Kevin Lee.He was as good as dead."I've got him," Zain said out loud.Max sat up straight, his head swinging toward Zain."What? Who is he? Let me see." Max got up, circled his desk and leaned over Zain's shoulder. "We're just now starting to get tips from Crystal's vlog.""Can we release the name?""Do I want to know how you found him?""Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to." Their facial recognition access was a favor. One they'd paid dearly for by almost losing one of their guys. But the FBI, CIA and NSA all owed Aegis a big, honking debt. So Zain got to play with toys that were so far above what he'd been able to do before. The capability alone was terrifying. And he got access to it."Let's see if he's got a file before we discuss releasing his name." Max returned to his desk, tapping out the name."He does." Zain pressed his lips together. He'd skimmed the police records on Kevin as soon as the Ae