White-Hot Hack (Kate and Ian #2)(70)
They washed each other, and when they got out of the shower, as Ian was rubbing her gently with a towel, she looked up at him and said, “I don’t want to go, but I will. I can get through this now.”
He finished drying her and wrapped her in the towel. “I know you can.”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t at all certain that he could.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“When are you leaving?” Diane asked. Though her mother was trying her best to hide it, Kate could hear the worry in her voice.
“As soon as I finish packing. Ian said the plane should be ready to take off by four.” She rifled through drawers and carried stacks of clothes to her suitcase.
“I’m so glad you’re coming home,” Diane said.
“I am too.”
When Ian had called her dad to say he was sending Kate home and to warn him about the possibility of a major power outage in DC, her mother’s worry had kicked into overdrive, and the only thing that had calmed her down was the assurance that she’d have her daughter back home by that evening.
Kate had such a bad feeling about everything. A problem with the power grid coming so close on the heels of their intruder lent an especially ominous feel to the situation. Ian already had enough to deal with, and the stress of both situations had stretched him thin. She’d awakened around four a.m. to go to the bathroom, and even though his eyes were closed, Kate knew by the way he’d tossed and turned all night that sleep hadn’t come easy for him, if at all. At six, when she woke up for the day, his side of the bed was already cold and empty.
Kate put the last of her things in the suitcase, closed the lid, and zipped it. “I have to go, Mom. I’ll call you when we’re in the air. I love you and I’ll see you soon.”
Ian backed his SUV out of the garage and left it idling out front while he went inside to get Kate’s suitcase. His phone rang, and Charlie’s name flashed on the screen. To his credit, he’d done a good job of keeping how he felt about Ian’s accusation from affecting their work relationship.
“Where are you?” Charlie asked.
“Home. I’m leaving now to take Kate to the airport.”
“If what’s going on in North Charleston can be confirmed as a cyberattack—and everything we know seems to be pointing to it—Homeland is going to ground all planes. Phillip also said they’ll deploy the Cyber Action Team.”
Ian’s stress level kicked up a notch because the last thing he needed at that moment was an unexpected roadblock. But if the grounding was imminent, Kate could get stuck on the runway, or worse yet, be up in the air when the alert came. They’d have to reroute her, and who knew where she’d end up. And once the Cyber Action Team had been deployed, Ian’s presence would be needed at headquarters immediately.
“How much time do I have?” He’d already given Rob the time off after explaining that Kate was going to be visiting her folks and therefore his services wouldn’t be needed for a few weeks. If he wanted to get Kate safely out of town—and he wanted that more than anything—he’d have to drive her himself.
“How much do you need?”
“Enough to meet Kate’s dad halfway between here and Indiana.”
“I doubt you have that long.”
“I’m gonna try anyway. Call me if anything changes,” Ian said.
Kate was standing in the open front door next to her abandoned suitcase when Ian roared up from the barn in the Spyder. He threw open the door, and when he reached Kate, he grabbed her suitcase with one hand and her by the other and led her to the car.
“Why are we taking the Spyder?”
“Because we’re in a really big hurry.” The hybrid vehicle was not only fast, it also didn’t require stopping as often for gas. “I just got off the phone with Charlie, and there’s a good chance all planes are about to be grounded.” He shut her door and ran around to the driver’s side.
Next he called Steve. “I can’t put Kate on a plane, and I’m going to be needed at headquarters very soon.” As he spoke, he typed Zionsville into the navigation system and chose a route. “If we both hustle, we can meet somewhere in the middle and as soon as Kate’s with you, I’ll turn around and head back.”
She was perfectly capable of driving herself, but she understood Ian’s reasoning. And once he knew she was with her dad, he could concentrate on his job without worrying about her.
Ian hung up the phone. “Okay. Let’s do this.” He left a spray of gravel behind in the circle drive and headed for the gate.
They had already put DC in their rearview mirror, traveling a brisk fifteen to twenty miles per hour over the speed limit, when Charlie called again. Ian pressed the hands-free button on the steering wheel. “What’s the latest?”
“A little over one hundred thousand customers in North Charleston just lost power,” Charlie said, his voice filling the car. “Their system is crippled. Forensics is trying to determine the exact cause.”
“Ian, they need you,” Kate said.
He didn’t respond immediately, mentally weighing his options. “Let me call you back,” he told Charlie and disconnected the call.
“I can drive myself.” He started to protest, but before he could get the words out she said, “Pregnant women drive cars all the time.” Her morning sickness had finally begun to taper off as she neared the end of the first trimester, but she still couldn’t stomach the thought of coffee, and even the smell of it continued to send her running for the bathroom. Other than that, she only felt slightly nauseated, and that was mostly first thing in the morning.