And Dylan is a hacker. He used to be a resident of Halfway House. He’s officially a government employee now. Follow me so far?”
Ben nodded, thankful for Aidan’s and Julian’s patience.
“He and his partner, Wall, live on a horse ranch upstate. Wall is a former task force teammate of mine and the best marksman I know. It’s why I need him here.”
Ben cocked his head, the pieces of the earlier conversation suddenly falling into place. “Dogs and music?” he signed, then looked over at Julian who interpreted for Aidan.
With a chuckle, Aidan nodded. “You’re a little dangerous with that lipreading skill.” He shook his head and stared at him, almost in awe. “Dylan likes to threaten me by giving me stray dogs. I mentioned him before. He’s the guy who gave us King and Luna. Wall carries his rifle in a guitar case.”
“But they can help?” Ben signed, glancing over again at Julian to interpret.
Aidan nodded. “I know they can.” Aidan glanced down at his phone. “That’s the general. We’ve got clearance.” He quieted as he scrolled through a message. “It seems they kept monitoring Viper’s connections over the years. They have a screen grab of his son’s face. It’s a few years old, but Jess should be able to use it to find something.”
Aidan turned the phone’s display toward Ben, the blood instantly running cold in Ben’s veins and leaving him lightheaded. He glanced up from the screen, his gaze skipping across to each face, stopping to read Julian’s lips as he spoke. “He looks familiar…but I can’t place the face.”
Ben tapped Julian’s shoulder, holding back the rising worry, signing as his hands shook. “The guy from the home improvement store.”
Julian’s expression hardened. He took a step closer to Ben as if his proximity would provide some sort of protection from the memory.
“Aidan…” Julian said.
“Yeah?”
“That guy approached Ben months ago.”
“Fuck.”
Aidan grabbed his phone and immediately launched into one call, then another, pacing as he spoke, making it impossible to read his lips. With Cal on one side and Julian on the other, Ben remained standing. Their presence the only thing keeping him steady when the entire world around him was falling apart.
Ben absently glanced around, wondering what Gabriel would think of the last-minute change. Aidan had asked Cal and Julian to swap the small couch from the guest room with the treadmill, placing the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, setting it next to Gabriel’s worktable which Aidan had commandeered.
Gabriel’s peaceful workspace had become a command center. Aidan spoke on his cell, the hotel phone, and video calls as he simultaneously touched base with both his team and Jessie at the police station, and Dylan at his ranch home. Aidan was determined to find Gabriel, and Ben refused to stand in his way or interfere with his progress.
After raising hell with his government and agency contacts, Aidan had gained access to a lengthy stack of confidential files. The file hadn’t contained much personal information on Viper’s son but had included information on a string of deaths linking back to Viper nearly a decade after his death. It was why the government had kept monitoring his contacts. With Viper’s death confirmed, they knew it couldn’t have been Viper. With years of careful satellite monitoring, they had gained the visual confirmation they needed: the man was a spitting image of Viper, only younger and most likely the son on record. The son who had followed in his father’s footsteps and had a list of crimes that rivaled those of his father. Viper’s son had officially earned his spot on the very same list that had held his father’s name for two decades.
And that man had taken Gabriel and had somehow vanished into thin air.
Ben had numbly stared as people came and went from the penthouse. Some were part of Aidan’s team, others wore polished government-issued suits or service uniforms. He gave up reading lips some time ago, instead relying on Cal for updates.
So many resources. So many people. Each with their own agenda.
Some wanted to rescue Gabriel, others aimed their efforts at the bullseye on Viper’s son’s back. Knowing both were together, Ben just hoped the combined efforts worked to find Gabriel in time.
Ben had asked Julian to go back home to Matt. As if sensing his desperation, Aidan had asked for phone or text updates from people rather than a visit. Good. The fewer people staring at him with worried expressions, the better. Having Cal at his side was