Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
He was used to being debriefed after a mission. But this time, he supposed, he’d either have to forgo one, or give himself time to filter through all the emotions he’d held at bay while emotions had been impractical.
He’d gone to text her a hundred times that day but held himself back. She needed time with Cyrus. Time to get him settled, and time to get to know one another. That would be a long process, but these first days were important as far as establishing trust. He didn’t want to get in the way of that.
He’d called his mom and let her know he was back. She hadn’t asked many questions and seemed distracted by something—probably one drama or another going on in her own life. He was partly annoyed and partly grateful that he didn’t have to explain what had happened with Cami and Cyrus. It would do him well to start thinking of the whole experience as another one of his jobs, one that he was proud of, but one that he’d eventually leave behind.
But not quite yet.
He sat at the kitchen table, where Cami had first asked for his help. He knew Cami was planning to visit Hollis in the coming days if possible. Maybe she’d already reached out to him via his campaign. Maybe they’d already spoken. He hated the way that idea caused his stomach to cramp.
He typed Hollis’s name in the browser, punching the keys more harshly than need be, and then clicked on what looked like his campaign website. A close-up of Hollis’s face wasn’t exactly what he needed at that moment, but there it was all the same. Rex already knew that if he had hoped that Hollis Barclay had peaked in high school, he’d be sorely disappointed. Because he’d seen him on TV and a few billboards, too, in recent months. Maybe the guy had even become a better version of himself. He’d like to think so, especially considering he was seeking power by way of a political office, and because Cami was counting on it as she spoke of their son to him.
But Rex wasn’t there to look at pictures of Hollis or attempt to determine whether he’d matured, or even to wade through his various political platforms. He was there to hack into the website, and hopefully read his emails. Specifically, he wanted to know if the message from Cyrus had been received and if there were any messages from Hollis to other parties directly afterward.
Hacking in was a breeze. There were virtually no safeguards, and anyone with a basic knowledge of coding could have breached the site. Evidently, whatever else Hollis was, he wasn’t worried about cybersecurity. At least not here.
He clicked from one page to the next, examining the metadata and moving through the site as though he were the administrator. There were a couple of blog posts that had been written but not yet posted, but neither was of much interest to him.
It took a little longer to get into the associated email, but that was relatively easy work too. He’d hacked into the emails of foreign government officials. In comparison, this was child’s play. Which likely meant Hollis didn’t keep anything here he didn’t want others to see. But it was still worth a try.
Rex went directly to the read emails and scrolled back to the weeks before Cyrus was kidnapped. Sure enough, there was an email from Cyrus Sanders from a school’s .edu address that had been opened and—presumably—read. He opened it, feeling a tug on his heart as he read it.
Hi,
My name is Cyrus and I’m your son. Sorry to spring this on you, but I am in a really bad place with a foster family who don’t treat me good and I hope you can help me. My birthday is April 18th and I’m eleven years old.
Sincerely, Cyrus Sanders
PS Please write me back here. I don’t have a cell phone and my foster parents will get very mad if you call them.
“Shit,” he muttered, that tug making him wince. He hadn’t only reached out to Hollis; he’d asked for help. Had Hollis read this and chosen to ignore it? How could anyone be that cold?
He rested his head in his palm for a moment before looking back up. When he did, a reply email popped up under Cyrus’s original message as though he himself had accidentally hit the reply key. But he hadn’t. His hands were nowhere near the keyboard. Rex watched as a string of letters appeared in the subject line that made absolutely no sense.
What the hell?
His skin prickled. There was someone else in there with him. An administrator? But what kind of coincidence would it be if that person had the same weeks-old email open that he currently did?