Hard to Trust by Wendy Byrne Page B

she's stored there. But I'm still not convinced she'd keep it on her hard drive anyway."
    "We've searched her. She doesn't have a thumb drive anywhere, either in her backpack or pockets. Where else could it be?"
    "Cyberspace. If I was a betting man, that's where she'd keep it."
    "That's assuming she didn't pass something to that guy she was with in Virginia. We still don't know who she told, or if she has anything that she might have left with him or somebody else."
    "We got a nice picture from the camera at the train station. It might take a while with the face-recognition software, but as of right now we still don't know. We have to consider the possibility she either told or said something to him. In which case we're screwed."
    "Once we know, he's going to be the next on our list of people to get rid of."
    All she could think about as she listened to the conversation was that she had to tell somebody they were in danger. If she could only remember who.
     
    *  *  *
     
    Jake walked the perimeter of the ramshackle building, searching for another way inside. Coming in the front door, guns blazing, was an easy way to get himself killed. But on the side opposite the door, he spotted an unlatched opening that might have been part of an old ventilation system. A weathered wooden piece about ten feet off the ground flittered open and shut in the breeze. He needed to find something that would make scaling the side possible, and searched the surrounding area.
    After spotting a rusted-out steel drum, he strapped the gun from his go bag along his back and dragged the drum over to give him the boost he needed. His fingertips barely touched the opening, but it was enough for him to latch on. Using his boots along the rough siding for leverage, he scrambled with a kind of grace that would do his family proud. His fingers curled around the opening as he levered himself up to peer inside. Damn. One of the men punched her in the ribs, sending the chair she was tethered to crashing to the dirt floor. Guess she wasn't in on this after all.
    The sound of her moan rattled his bones. Been there, done that, and it wasn't fun. He could only offer a sympathy wince. Bruises had already formed on her face, while the puffiness beneath her eyes gave him a clue as to what she'd been through in the short time she'd been in their company. Her limp body made him believe they'd either given her something or she'd become unconscious during the course of the beating.
    "Tell us now," one man shouted at Tessa while two others paced back and forth. "Who is that guy you were with in Virginia? You gave information to him, didn't you? Make it easier on yourself, and tell us who he is."
    Knowing they were asking about him wasn't a feel-good moment. He had to do something. Quick. Based on the way her head kept flopping against her chest, he didn't have much time.
    Thinking through possible options, he took the only one available. Guns blazing. He'd hoped she'd be able to help him lower the odds, but from the look of things, that wasn't even a remote possibility. Her head kept bobbing up and down, hitting her chest then coming back up again. The expression on her face couldn't be faked, so he knew the combo of drugs they'd given her had been of the extra-strength variety.
    They'd had her less than a half-hour, but had still managed to mess her up pretty bad.
    Damn.
    Okay, he needed to think and plan and come up with a way to take out three men all at once. He looked down the scope of his gun. It could be done. But even he wasn't invincible.
    These were trained operatives. He was sure about that. Then again, so was he. He willed back the doubt that crept into his head. Now was not the time to dwell on what he couldn't change.
    "She has the information stored somewhere. We can't let it get out or everything we worked for will be gone. We'd have risked everything for nothing."
    She gazed up at the man, that weird expression on her face. "Why?" Her words were the first