Set Me Free (A Fugitive #2)(16)

With a grunt Elliot opened up his laptop then grabbed a few other devices. I had no idea what they were. Zach and I took a seat opposite Elliot, letting Alex do the talking.

"So, Lucy...," his blue eyes flickered over mine before landing back on our computer geek, "...has remembered a few things."

Elliot's brown eyes, usually so hard hitting brushed over me gently. "Lucy. Nice."

I grinned, but it didn't stick around for long.

After a second Elliot paused, his forehead crinkling as if he remembered something. I dipped my head. Zach must have shown him the files. Was he about to lose it and storm out? I could hear him shouting, "Like hell I'm working for a parent killer." The door would then slam shut and I'd be left wanting to cry, yet again.

But none of that had a chance to transpire, because Alex drew Elliot's attention with a squeeze to the shoulder.

"She says her father was murdered by...a powerful man."

"Yeah." Elliot nodded. "A cop, right?"

Zach cleared his throat and reached for the photo. "Not exactly. He's Special Agent William Tenner of the FBI."

"The FB—What? You can't be serious." I kept my gaze steady on his, until his cynical glare popped wide and he slumped back in his chair. "Woah. Heavy."

"Yeah. Yeah, it is man." Alex shuffled in his chair. "Can you find out a little about him for us?"

That wasn't really why Elliot was here, but I did think it was a good idea to ease him in slowly. Besides, it was probably good that we found out a little about the man we were trying to take down.

Elliot's fingers clicked over the keys, the staccato sound making me nervous. A minute later he was wincing at the screen, making it even worse.

"What?" I didn't mean to snap.

"Um...Well, Mr. Tenner is now Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco branch of the FBI."

My heart sank through my chest and into my stomach. I could feel it drowning in my belly acid. I dropped my head into my hands. "That's how he found me so easily in San Fran. Shorty would have started asking around the...well, the criminals." I tipped my head. "In his position, Tenner would have his finger on the pulse of everything that goes on in that city and if he killed my parents then surely he's involved in other criminal activity, right?" I felt a spark of a memory try to push through my wall, but it faded before I could snatch it.

"Most likely...unless this was a crime of passion that he's trying to cover his tracks on." Alex clicked his fingers. "Maybe he wants you gone because he sees you as a threat. He must have worked out that you were in the house that night. You're probably that last loose thread in this case."

I frowned. "Either way, he must have huge influence in the city...maybe even the whole bay area. There's no way we can get this guy."

"But the crime didn't happen there." Zach squeezed my hand. "It happened in L.A. and Special Agent Jackass doesn't work there anymore."

"He's still part of the FBI."

"Yes, but he won't have his eye so closely on L.A. activity." Alex's grin sparked with pride as he looked across at his nephew. "Elliot can you try doing some sort of search to find us the police reports on the Tate's investigation?"

Elliot's eyebrows rose. "You mean FBI crime reports?"

"Yeah, from five years ago." He scrambled for the file, flipping through the articles. "Anything to do with Jack and Edith Tate in February 2009."

Hearing the details rattled off with such detached efficiency made me feel sick. In spite of that, I was starting to feel a tad calmer. Reliving their deaths had been hideous, but there was a certain sense of release. I'd held the details locked in for so long and getting them out seemed to lift a weight off me. I didn't feel that pressure in quite the same way, although I still felt like there was more.

I tried to relax my brain, see if more would come forth, but I was obviously still scared. My brain muscle seemed to bunch in protest every time I reached for it. It was damn frustrating.

"You know I can't just Google that information, right?" Elliot lifted his eyebrows.

"Yeah, we know. That's why we called you." Alex's eyes were fiery as he prepared himself for Elliot's reaction. "We need you to hack into the FBI."

The air went still around us as everyone held their breath. It was like Elliot had frozen in time, the only thing to move were his eyeballs, which darted from one corner of his eye to the other. Finally, after an age of waiting, a laugh burst from his mouth.

"Bring it."

He swiveled in his seat and bent over the keyboard, losing himself in a flurry of keystrokes.

"I'm gonna try activating a couple of backdoor sleepers that I nabbed from the underground guys."

I had zero idea what that even meant, but was completely fascinated watching Zach's friend. His eyes ran over the screen, frenetically taking in whatever code he could find. Sometimes he'd frown, other times he'd snicker and half an hour later, he slumped back in his chair with a triumphant smile.

"So, Dani-girl. What do you need to know?"

"You did it?" My mouth dropped open.

"Of course I did it."

"But it's the FBI."

"And I'm Elliot Strickland." An arrogant smile stretched across his lips, making Zach laugh.