Page 108 of Shallow Remains

“Lachlan,” Ivy said. “If you don’t mind hanging with the guys for a few minutes, I’d like to talk to Maddy about something in private.”

Maddy blinked, looked at him. He raised his eyebrows. “Okay?”

There went that little buzz of anxiety in the pit of her stomach, all her social awkwardness rushing to the surface at the thought of having to make conversation with a complete stranger. “Sure, yeah.”

Ivy gave another little smile. “Great. Where should we talk?”

Maddy got the sense she wanted more privacy than just going into the kitchen. “We could go out onto the back deck and put a heater on.”

“Great.”

Maddy gave Lachlan one last look to express her dread and then led the way out onto the back deck. She closed the heavy bronze-glazed door behind them and gestured to the comfy sofa set deep under the roofline. “Here okay?”

“Perfect.” Ivy sat at the far end, gazing out at the turbulent ocean while the rain drummed on the roof and dripped off the eaves. “What a spot. We can see the water from our bedroom window at home but only because we’re on a hill.”

“Where’s home?”

“Crimson Point, Oregon.” Ivy shifted and turned to face her more. “Blaine told us about everything that happened.”

“Oh.” Everything? Including Syria?

“Only because it was pertinent to my work on your case.” Her hazel gaze was steady. Calm. “I wanted to tell you in person, but I traced Eve’s communications and was able to ID who was pulling the strings in Turkey.”

Maddy’s eyes widened. “But the FBI has the laptop and her phone. They took them into evidence the same day she…” She trailed off. Of course. Apparently none of that was an impediment for a world class hacker. “Right.”

Ivy’s lips twitched. “It’s one of the most satisfying parts of the job, honestly. Being able to slip in and take a look at things without being detected. It’s my jam. Although I blame my sister for part of it. We’re a little competitive with stuff like that.” She shrugged.

“Your sister’s a hacker too?”

“One of them, yeah. Amber. I’d never admit this to her, but she’s probably better than I am.”

Whoa. That was both sort of awesome and terrifying at the same time. “How many sisters do you have? I’m an only child.”

Ivy nodded, probably because she’d already done a full background check on her. “Eight. And they’re all experts in their individual…specialties.”

She made it sound so secretive. Maddy leaned forward, eager to hear more. This conversation wasn’t the least bit awkward or forced. She’d known Ivy for five minutes and she was already one of the most interesting people Maddy had ever met.

“But back to my investigation. The man Eve was taking some of her orders from was Bayat Demir.”

FIFTY-SEVEN

Maddy inhaled as a lightbulb went off in her brain. “He was connected to the militia that took me captive.”

“Yes. He was second-in-command. He’s been in prison, and is now serving the rest of his sentence at a maximum-security facility in solitary confinement thanks to this plot and the leak that exposed it.”

Maddy grinned. Oh, she liked Ivy a lot. “It was you.”

“Might have been,” Ivy said with a secret smile. “I want you to know the threat is one hundred percent eliminated. The numbered account they were using has been frozen, and all the assets seized. There’s no further danger to you or Lachlan. But your sheriff is going to have his hands full. The sub you spotted initially that Blaine got pictures of is owned by a major drug cartel involved with a massive drug smuggling operation in the region.”

“I knew it.” She shook her head. Sneaky bastards. “Does Blaine know? And Xanthe, and Rafe?”

“I told Blaine and Xanthe, and he told Rafe this morning.”

“Rafe just had a detective come on board full time to help him with his current caseload.” Detective Axel Sidorov. He’d been kind to her during the interviews and when she’d given her statement. “But apparently the FBI isn’t sharing much of what they know about what’s been going on here. Not even about the murder of the militia founder this summer.” She paused. “I assume you knew about all that?”

“I may have come across a few things, yes. There’s a lot more going on here than anyone realizes.”

The cryptic tone and wording sent an ominous prickle over Maddy’s scalp.