“The finest,” Andrea agrees quietly. “I don't want to pry... but do you want to tell us about it?”
“Tell me what you've found first,” I order, pouring another bowl of cereal and emptying the box. “And we might need a food run.”
“There's a twenty-four-hour place down the street, I saw it driving from the airport,” Nathan says. “I can go later. As for what you're asking, I believe you're talking about the files on Peter's personal computer you asked Andrea about?”
I give Andrea a raised eyebrow, and she shrugs. “Nathan and I talked after meeting up at the airport and while we've been looking for you. We laid it all out between us, making sure we're working toward the same goal. We want Peter to pay as much as you do.”
I look sideways at Nathan, who nods. “I know. Like I said, we'll discuss it later.”
“Fine. And, what have you found?”
Andrea shakes her head. “Peter kept nothing. I've had his password for a while, and copied a lot of his server a while back for... personal reasons. But he kept nothing about the bomb that was used for your parents.”
“However, I did keep information,” Nathan says before I can get upset. He takes a memory card from his pocket and sets it on the table. “I've kept it and a few other e-mails as insurance against Peter going too crazy on me. I don't know what you've got, but this could easily put him behind bars for a long, long time.”
I take the chip, and look at it. “You know that if you give this to me, you’re putting yourself in my hands?”
“I should have done that as soon as I found your loft address,” Nathan says quietly. “I should have done it again after Jackson came to me and asked me not to turn you into Peter, and then again when he asked for my allegiance in covering this trip. So don't worry about that part.”
I nod, then take out my phone, putting the chip inside. I copy the files, and then upload them to my cloud server, making sure there are copies in multiple locations. Darcy knows about the cloud. She can get the files if something happens to me. “Okay. So what now?”
“Now we take him down,” Andrea says with intensity. “The only issues are timeline and method. What about Jackson?”
“He's... not on board,” I say softly, trying not to let my mood falter. I'm in work mode, and I can't be worried about Jackson right this moment. “He... he's still got some things to let go of.”
Nathan nods in understanding, then sips his tea. “Then I have an idea... one that protects him, protects you, and brings the authorities in relatively quickly.”
“I'm listening.”
Chapter 24
Jackson
I'm frantic with not knowing what to do. I've tried calling Katrina for the past two days, and I'm paralyzed with worry.
At first, when Katrina walked out, I thought she was just pissed off. I mean, I've pissed off women before, but I figured she'd come back after cooling off. It wasn't until after I got dressed that I realized her bag was gone too, and by then, it was too late. I searched the area around the hotel, but she wasn't there.
I tried text messages, calls, everything as I took the rental car around the hotel's neighborhood, hoping that maybe she stayed close. Two hours of driving later, and I tried other places as well. But nothing, which shouldn't really surprise me. Miami's a big city, and I'm looking for one woman.
Nathan calls me back, and I'm glad for his help. He came down from Savannah as soon as he could, arriving just after midnight that day, meeting me for breakfast the next morning. He searched in his Tahoe all day yesterday, and now I'm desperate.
“Nathan... what have I done?” I ask as he mechanically shovels hash browns into his mouth. We're at a diner, and I realize with a start that I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday, and I call the waitress over for a pancake breakfast. Fuck the carbs, I need food. “What have I done?”
“Sounds like you pissed her off,” Nathan says quietly, sipping his orange juice. “She may have ghosted on you.”
“No, I can't accept that. Not after... well, after what happened between us,” I say. He doesn’t need to know all of that. “I have to find her.”
“Maybe she went back to New Orleans,” Nathan offers. “I mean, she could have jumped on a flight back home just as easily as hanging out here.”
I shake my head, sighing in frustration. “No way, Nathan. I don't know how I can say that, just... it's a feeling. She's here in Miami, I know it. After the incident with her father, there's just no way she'd just leave town without at least something pulling her back. Being pissed at me isn't enough.”