Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“Simple. Elegant,” Justin said a bit breathlessly.
“Is it recording us?”
“Nope. It’s just a location beacon. A radio frequency tracking device. Lots of companies will put them on important cargo to keep a close eye on its exact location at all times. And it’s small enough to avoid the notice of most thieves if they don’t know what they’re looking for.”
“Can we trace the signal back to the person following us?”
Justin’s smile dimmed. “Nah. Doesn’t work like that. It just sends out a signal saying, ‘Here I am!’ and if you know the code for the signal, you can find it.” With a shake of his head, Justin pulled out the little wire and destroyed the tiny chip. “These are cheap and easy to get your hands on in bulk. I’ve used them a few times.”
Justin dropped the trash on the ground, picked up the reader again, and checked over the clothes and bag a second time, but there was no sign of another signal.
“Your clothes are clean. Well, they’re clean in a matter—”
“Enough,” Gabriel snapped. He grabbed a handful of his garments and started shoving them back into the bag. His hand was throbbing, his stomach was growling, and he was tired. If they’d shaken their tail for the time being, he would be happy if Justin dropped him at some little motel so he could catch a few hours of sleep. He was seriously off his game.
“Now…about your computer.”
Gabriel groaned. He’d known this was coming. “Are you getting a signal from that bag too?”
“No, not that.” He’d returned the little handheld device to the bag in his car. Justin started to reach up and scratch his head with his left hand but suddenly stopped, wincing. The wound in his side had likely pulled. He couldn’t imagine how the man had forgotten about it.
“Then what?”
“He wouldn’t have to put a device on it if he managed to log into your computer.”
“My computer is encrypted. A twenty-six-character password is required along with a bio log-in.”
“Ooooh…snazzy,” Justin teased. Gabriel rolled his eyes at the man.
“If that is not sufficient for you, then you may destroy the laptop.”
Justin’s mouth fell open in horror, his light-brown eyes looking as if they would fall from his skull. Gabriel would have thought he’d suggested setting fire to a pile of kittens.
“Access to the laptop and its hard drive is encrypted, but I save nothing on the computer. All my files are saved on an encrypted server.”
A low snort left Justin. “Yeah, you and all those naked celebrity photos.”
“I think I’m a little better protected than celebrities who have taken naked photos on their phones and then don’t expect those to get out.”
“Yeah, I feel like that’s one of those basic laws of science. Law of gravity. Law of thermodynamics. Law of nudie photos. You take that shit, and it will get on the Internet. Guaranteed,” Justin said, drawing out the last word with a fake southern accent.
“So, what do you want to do?”
Justin stared at the computer bag and scratched his chin. “You’re one hundred percent sure that’s your computer.”
“Yes. That I checked. It’s mine, down to the scratch on the front left corner.”
With a nod, Justin motioned for Gabriel to step back, and he closed the trunk, leaving the laptop in place. “This looks like it was a quick job. This asshole probably wanted us in one place and to know where we were hiding. He wouldn’t have had time to try to hack a computer.”
Gabriel walked around to the passenger door but stopped before opening it. “Then he’s getting what he wants. You should drop me off at a motel. We should stay separated.”
“He’s getting part of what he wants. We’re together, but he can’t track us.”
“But—”
“G, we’re safer together. We’ve both been injured already.” Gabriel just stared at Justin over the roof, lifting one eyebrow at him until Justin finally groaned. “Yes, yours is self-inflicted. We’re injured, and your room was compromised. We’re obviously up against more than we were anticipating. We’re better off watching each other’s backs from one location.”
Gabriel glared at his companion for a couple of seconds before he heaved a dramatic sigh, and only because he knew it would irritate Justin. The fact was, staying with Justin held a certain amount of appeal beyond having a bit of eye candy to sweeten his day. Justin’s house would undoubtedly be fully loaded with security, and it had been a while since he’d stayed in a place that might truly be safe.
“You may…have a point,” Gabriel conceded.
“There you go!” Justin laughed and then extended his right fist across the roof. “Come on, G Love. Don’t leave me hanging.”
“If I had known you’d be this big of a pain in the ass, I would have told Marilyn to choke on her offer.” But he still found himself reaching across the roof and lightly bumping his uninjured fist to Justin’s.