The Rebel King (All the King's Men Duet #2) - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,112
returned. CamTech never told anyone about the abduction, but he just kept watching me and gave me a sneaky vibe. So I gave Grim Chauncey’s information.”
“We cross-referenced him with what we knew about Keene to see if there were any intersections,” Grim says, “and there were. They were at Stanford together. A search of his home computer revealed some interesting payments that synced with several K and R incidents we suspect the Keene brothers may have been behind. Looks like he hacked into their systems for intel, but CamTech was the only company he infiltrated as an employee.”
“Did you get a warrant to search his place?” I ask, frowning.
“No, he was the victim of an ‘unfortunate home invasion,’” Grim says, tongue firmly in cheek. “While the burglars were at it, they tapped his phone.”
“Nice.” I fist bump him.
“And then the day CamTech turned the vaccine files over to the CDC—”
“So they finally did it?” I cut in.
“They did, yeah.” Wallace nods. “And our whole team knew because it essentially ends our research for now. We’ve been reassigned to a different project.”
“So as soon as CamTech notified the team,” Grim says, “we intercepted a text message between our rat and an untraceable number. The text didn’t give any detail about Keene’s whereabouts, but I had enough to question him.” Grim’s grin is evil. “Unofficially, of course. You know it doesn’t take long to break these weak motherfuckers. Barely took any pressure, a few threats, and he gave up Keene’s location. Sang like a bird.”
“Where is he?” I ask, fists clenched and heart pounding with dark anticipation.
“Oklahoma,” Wallace answers, wearing a concerned frown and watching me carefully.
The world slows down, every second covered in tar. I can barely get my tongue to move. “Lennix is in Oklahoma.”
“I know.” A tortured scowl twists Wallace’s even features. “If anything happens to her—”
“She’s safe,” Grim interjects. “Her security has her covered.”
“You best be damn sure about that, brother,” I say, my voice low and promising so much hell to pay if she’s not.
“I told you, I have eyes on him and my guys are in position to move in as we speak.”
“He’s in the same damn city as Nix,” I say. “That’s not coincidence. Move the fuck in.”
“There’s a couple of ways to play this.” Grim casts a careful glance to the screen where Wallace waits, watches and listens. If I know Grim, he’s about to tell me some off-the-record-illegal shit.
“Can we trust you, Murrow?” I ask.
“Of course,” Wallace says, his voice tense. “Do whatever you have to. Just protect Lenny. I don’t care if you break every law in the book. She’s my best friend. I just want her safe.”
It would typically irritate me to hear him call her his best friend, but I can’t muster my usual possessiveness. I’m glad she has people in her life as loyal as Wallace—who care about her. Maybe he’s not half bad.
“Tell us,” I say, shifting my attention from Wallace onscreen to Grim by my side.
“We haven’t alerted the authorities,” Grim says.
“Don’t.” My voice is clipped. Curt. “Keene doesn’t get a trial or handcuffs or a jury of his peers. They’ll screw it up. He assassinated my brother and he tried to kill my girl. No one I love is safe until we end this for good. I want to see his dead body.”
Wallace sucks in a sharp breath. “Maxim, I—”
“If you think that asshole gets to see another day after what he’s done to my family and what he’s tried to do to Lennix,” I say with complete calm. “Then hang up the damn phone right now, Murrow. Forget what you’ve heard and don’t ever ask me about this.”
A tight pool of silence follows my words.
“Um, I was going to say,” Wallace tells me from his screen, “that I agree. We need confirmation of death.”
I nod, feeling a new respect for the man Lennix counts as one of her closest friends. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
“Except you also need plausible deniability,” Grim says. “If there’s ever any blowback from this, it can’t come back around to the president of the United States.”
“What makes you so sure I will be?”
Grim gives me the knowing look he’s been working on for a decade. “You win everything eventually. Why would the presidency be any different?”
“An election is a little more complicated than a company takeover.” I pause, knowing both men will disagree with what I have to say. “I need to see it happen.”