The Mackays thought they’d taken care of the last of the homeland terrorists determined to destroy Somerset, Kentucky, and the world as they knew it last year. They were wrong.
Evidently they were still there.
Well hidden. Well funded. Determined to remain hidden and to destroy anyone who dared to threaten them.
But how in the hell did Lyrica Mackay threaten them? And why go after her and draw her brother’s attention back to them?
There were far too many fucking questions and he didn’t like the feel of any of them.
One thing was for damned sure, though—to get to Lyrica, they’d have to go through him first.
SIX
“We’re clear inside and out.” Elijah stepped into the kitchen, expression intent as he shifted the tool belt he wore about his hips into a more comfortable position. “Won’t matter if they have a bug every half inch in this place, they’re not going to broadcast through the diffusers I made.” There was pure triumph gleaming in his dark eyes as he propped his hands on his hips and stared back at Graham with a grin. “You and your little Mackay are wrapped up snug as a bug in a complete blanket of privacy.”
“Enough so that it would tip someone off?” Graham asked the other man.
The privacy was all well and good, but as much as he wanted it, he didn’t want to become suspect simply because nothing was getting out.
Elijah shook his head, shaggy hair falling over his eyes for a moment before he brushed it back. “The diffuser perfectly mimics normal broadcast interference while occasionally allowing a series of prerecorded television and radio conversations I put together to simulate normal, everyday conversations. In this case, phone calls, sports shows, and male conversations. There are no female voices or even hints of such. Trust me, you’re covered.”
It wasn’t the first time the man had created a device designed to completely stymie possible listeners.
“Any trace of watchers?”
The chance of anyone having identified him or suspected that Lyrica was in the vehicle with him as he drove out of London was thin to none.
“Nada,” Elijah assured him with another quick shake of his head. “And I have about a dozen motion cameras set around the property sending data to my laptop. If anything even resembling a human hits the program it’s running through, then I’ll know about it.”
Were their bases really covered so well?
“How could they know you have her?” Elijah kept his voice low, his back to the windows. “There’s nothing that could have connected her to you.”
Graham nodded absently before leaning against the counter behind him and crossing his arms over his chest as he considered his options.
Staring back at the other man thoughtfully, he considered the angles he could see. Elijah was doing the same, he knew. As laid-back and relaxed as Elijah appeared to be, Graham could detect the tension just beneath the surface.
“No one’s contacted me yet,” he murmured. “Dawg has a system set up . . .”
Elijah cleared his throat uncomfortably. “He took you off the list the night before he left.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, his gaze met Graham’s regretfully. “He didn’t say why. Brogan called me to let me know a few hours before I passed you heading out of the county last night.”
Graham straightened slowly, anger beginning to simmer inside him. “Then let them look for her. Once the bastard and his asshole cousins get home then I might let them know where the hell she’s at.”
“Come on, man.” Elijah grimaced. “Don’t put me in the middle here. Jed and Brogan find out I know shit and haven’t told them, then they’re going to try to hurt me.”
“Try” being the operative word.
“Then duck faster than they try to hit,” Graham growled. “The least he could have done was let me know he didn’t fucking trust me to protect his sister anymore.”
Elijah rubbed at the back of his neck as amused mockery filled his expression. “Maybe protecting her safety isn’t what he’s worried about, boss. Dawg has it in his mind it’s her virtue he’s protecting, I think.”
“And why the hell would he worry about that?” There were days Graham was damned thankful for his training and his ability to lie in the face of his own guilt.
Elijah laughed as knowing surprise filled his face. “Come on, man, you two get around each other and it’s like setting a fuse to dynamite. It just hasn’t exploded yet.” His brows lifted. “That I know of anyway.”
Graham’s jaw clenched. “Keep your damned mouth shut about her whereabouts,” he ordered the other man again. “Let’s see if any of them are smart enough to know where she’s at.”
He pulled her cell phone and battery from his back pocket then and tossed the two on the kitchen table. “I’ll call the airfield and authorize the chopper for you. Fly out to D.C. and meet with Doogan. Give him the battery and phone and tell him to find out who the hell is tracking it and how they managed to block her entire contact list from incoming or outgoing calls. When he locates the bastard, I want to know where the hell he’s at.”