Secret Obsession (Carder Texas Connections #6)(22)

While part of her wished he’d let her stay in Chicago, the past few hours had convinced her not to use that code and take off. Despite everything, watching Noah made her believe in the possibility—the possibility of a future.

Should she even allow herself to think that way?

She leaned forward as Noah and Zane rattled off terminology with an ease she’d only witnessed on television.

“Archimedes might be a wacko, but he’s a damn good engineer. Check out this design, Noah,” Zane said. He pulled apart one of the cameras they’d taken from her apartment. “He’s good. I wish I’d dreamed up how he put together the motion-and voice-operated sensors. Efficient, saves size and power. I’m borrowing it.”

“Well, when we see him, you can tell him how brilliant you think he is,” Noah said. “Can you use the camera to track him?”

Lyssa perked up. Was this it?

“I tried.” Zane scowled. “I ended up in the middle of Kandahar when the bouncing finally stopped.”

“Somehow, I don’t think he’s there.” A sharp curse escaped from Noah’s lips, and he shoved back from the table. “There’s got to be a way.”

He paced back and forth like a panther in a cage, waiting and wanting to pounce. Lyssa could practically feel the frustration emanating from each step. He settled at the back window and stared outside, his mind obviously whirling with possibilities.

“What about Chastity’s notepad?” Lyssa asked.

“No fingerprints,” Rafe answered with a frown. “Of course, Archimedes has never left so much as a partial print. The guy is careful.”

Rafe was right. Lyssa shoved the files she’d read from cover to cover. “I always thought the feds were hiding something from me. I couldn’t believe they didn’t have leads that the papers hadn’t published, but there’s nothing here.”

“What about the note Archimedes left for us?” Noah said, still focused on the backyard.

“The infinity symbol matches the other notes he’s left on paper,” Rafe said.

No one mentioned there were only a few examples of his handwriting. More often than not, Archimedes left his calling card carved into the body.

In fact, Jack had been the first body he’d carved into.

With a quiet shiver, Lyssa forced herself to focus on the here and now, not the past. “What about the other symbol?” Lyssa said. “Can I see it again?”

Rafe pushed the notebook toward her while Zane started in on the laptop again, muttering to himself.

Lyssa studied the pencil drawing Archimedes had created just below the infinity sign. When Noah pulled the chair beside her back and sat next to her, she looked at him. “It’s simple. Just a clockwise spiral.”

She traced the design with her finger. “It looks familiar but I can’t place it.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I should know what it means.”

“You read the files we have. Has he ever used a second symbol before?”

“Not unless it’s in the missing files. The papers didn’t have anything about a second drawing either. Not the ones I was able to read.”

“Archimedes is waiting for you,” Noah said, looking at the message. “Infinity is his signature. So, what is this damn curlicue?”

“I have a feeling if we only knew—”

Noah’s phone vibrated. He glanced at the number, stood, then placed the device against his ear.

“Bradford.”

Without pause, he crossed the room, away from her. The intensity on his face didn’t lessen, and his body moved with primal grace and precision, quiet and deadly. In moments like this he reminded her of Jack. But something more, something even more dangerous to her peace of mind.

With a single glance he looked back at her, two frown lines deepening in his forehead, his expression speculative. Whoever was talking to him hadn’t pleased him.

He kept his gaze pinned to her, unmoving and unnerving. Questioning.

A terrifying thought speared into her mind. Her heart hitched.

He couldn’t know. No one knew.

Impossible. Noah might be smart and good at his job, but there was no way he’d discovered her secret. Had he?

Oh, God. She’d read his bio; she’d seen his PR photo. She knew he was CEO of three of the top technology companies in the country.

She knew he’d been a marine.

She knew Noah and Jack had spent time together on missions her fiancé couldn’t discuss. Noah and Jack couldn’t have been more different. Jack had an easy smile, a quiet and trustworthy way about him, despite being a crack sniper.

Noah was forceful, powerful and oddly mysterious. She couldn’t pin him down. In contrast, he looked through her as if he could peel away her secrets.

That she refused to allow.

Noah pocketed the phone and Lyssa swallowed the dread.

He walked over to her. “That was Ransom. Reid’s stable but not improving. Elijah’s going to give it one more day. Ransom promised to put one of his best forensic accountants on the job. He figures this guy’s toys cost money. He’s looking into suppliers.”

Zane got a strange look on his face then hid it just as quickly.

“You know who it is?” Noah asked.

A guilt-ridden expression settled on the computer expert’s face. “Maybe. Not something I can talk about.”