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 clicked off Cyrus’s email and went to the sent folder and scrolled back to the date Cyrus’s message had been sent. He didn’t see a reply but did a search for Cyrus’s school email address just to be sure. There was nothing, just as he’d thought. Hollis had never responded to the boy directly.
Rex wasn’t sure if his annoyance was because of his preconceived conception of Hollis Barclay’s personality or because he felt a deep connection to Cyrus after what they’d gone through together. Analytically speaking, if Rex had come across an email like that one on a different case where he had no personal context for the people involved, would he also have bypassed the email and possibly considered it a prank? Cyrus didn’t mention Cami’s name, so maybe a junior staffer had simply disregarded the email . . . which wouldn’t have been completely unfounded.
Personal bias was never helpful when trying to see all angles.
He opened an email that had been sent in the hours after Cyrus’s, but it was nothing of any importance, just a question about signage. But just as he was about to close that correspondence, again, a reply email popped up. He brought his hands away and watched as, again, a string of numbers appeared in the subject line. What the hell is happening? He’d never experienced anything like this.
He grabbed the pad and paper sitting near the edge of the table and wrote down the letters, which looked like random gibberish. Then he brought his head back slightly as the cursor jumped down to the body of the message and again, gibberish was displayed.
The same prickle skated under his skin. Was someone following him around the site? Watching him through the inner workings of Hollis’s campaign communication? What or who? If it was a who, they weren’t very good at it. It almost seemed like a weird bug, maybe some partially installed security that wasn’t quite up to speed.
In any case, he needed to quietly exit this space. He wasn’t working on behalf of the NSA, and if anyone found out he was hacking into campaign websites illegally, he could get fired from his job or possibly arrested for election interference.
He backed out and covered his tracks and then shut down the computer. He’d gotten the information he’d gone there for. He now knew that Hollis or someone on his staff had opened Cyrus’s email and that if Hollis had answered at all, it hadn’t been from there.
He stood, feeling antsy and still troubled by the feeling that he’d been watched. Rex grabbed his sweatshirt and headed for the door. He had some information to share with Cami.
The nerves only fired up when he was at her door with his fist raised to knock. He heard the TV from inside and the soft sound of voices. And he felt like an interloper.
He stood there for a moment, indecision making him feel like the kid he’d once been. The one always standing on the outside looking in, afraid to make a move and risk being rejected.
He’d seen the police car parked across the street from Cami’s apartment. He didn’t even have the excuse that he was checking on her safety. The cops were readily available, should she need them.
“Fuck,” he muttered as he turned away. The news he had could very well be relayed on the phone, and he knew that. Behind him, the door opened. Startled, he turned to see Cami.
She smiled, so welcoming that he felt her expression wash over him from head to toe. “Hi,” she said.
“Hey.” He looked back at her door, noticing the small camera near the top corner and answering his own question about how she’d known he was there. “I was, ah, just checking in.” Behind her, he saw a pile of boxes sitting haphazardly against the wall.
She opened the door wider. “Do you like sushi?”
Sushi? “Yeah, sure.”
“Great. We picked it up to celebrate our matching DNA, and we have plenty. Cyrus is watching a show, but will you come join me?”
Chapter Forty-One
Gosh, Cami was happy to see him. When her phone had dinged with the notification that someone was at her door, she’d been practically giddy when she’d opened the app to see Rex standing there.
How could you miss someone you’d only really known for a week? And yet, she did. If she’d had any doubt, the bounce of her heart left no question.
She’d considered calling and inviting him over to have dinner with them, but then thought better of it. She’d already dragged him into so much. Rex probably wanted to get back to his life. He was in town to settle his grandfather’s estate, a task that she’d taken him from. And now he was behind schedule and having to make up for lost time. Because of her.