She believed him.
“I do. I need confirmation,” Ella said.
“I had to do a detailed decryption on it, and still it took almost forty-eight hours. The first file is a list of all of Dresden’s holdings. The second file is a list of associates. The third file, Ella, that’s where shit gets real interesting.”
Ella held her breath.
“It’s got pictures.”
“Let me guess—Noah Caine, Anna Beth Caine, and Cameron Markov?”
He grunted. “There’s some other woman too. I’m running face recognition on her as we speak…no clue who she is. There are pictures and video. Whoever took the videos didn’t do a great job. The audio is horrible. Vivi is working on cleaning it up right now. Most of the meetings are between, wait for it, the Piper and Horace Dresden.”
It fell in line with what Ella was beginning to suspect was going on, but that wasn’t good news. “What else? You’re holding out on me,” she said, warning in her voice.
“There’s a file encrypted so tightly I couldn’t break it. Vivi is trying to break it, but even she has doubts about how she’s going to get it done. She says it looks like there was a fail-safe on it. We need to know who has the fail-safe. And Ella, the file is labeled ‘Endgame.’”
“Anna Beth Caine,” she whispered.
“The woman I’m busting my ass to get away from Dresden?” Brody asked.
“Yeah, that one. Anna Beth Caine either is or knows the fail-safe,” she whispered. It’s why Cameron had been so insistent that Ella get to the drive and tell her father to protect Anna Beth.
“How is she related to the Piper?”
“Daughter. Where do we stand on getting her out of there, Brody?”
“I’m working on it…tugging on every resource I have in that area, but you gotta know going in there is suicide without my team.”
Ella did know. “Yeah…no heroics. My take is he’s not going to kill her. Not until he’s flaunted her for the Piper.”
Brody went silent for long moments. “It’s what he’ll do to her in the mean-and-between-time. You know that, Ella.”
She knew that too. “We’ll get her. I don’t know if she’s innocent, but nobody deserves Dresden. We get her out. It’s got to be a priority.”
Brody grunted, and she took that as agreement.
“I’m sending you and Vivi everything I have on our secured link. Have Vivi look at it all and put together a board for me. I’ll be in Port Royal as soon as I can. We’ll put it all together then,” she told Brody.
“Got it,” Brody said. “Later.”
“Later,” she promised and disconnected.
She knocked the phone against her forehead. There was still something she was missing. She needed to meet minds with her people like they used to do, and then the picture would be clearer.
She dialed Vivi’s number.
“Damn you, Jude. Where’s Ella?” Vivi yelled into the phone.
Ella laughed. “Good to hear your voice, Viv.”
“Ella? Damn that man for not putting you on the phone with me immediately! Are you okay? Tell me you’re okay!” Vivi spoke so fast that Ella couldn’t respond.
She laughed again. “I’m okay, Vivi. Done any riding lately?”
“Rook took the Hyabusa away from me. Said it was too heavy and I’d kill myself, which would kill him, therefore I couldn’t drive it anymore. Pissed me right off.” She paused long enough to draw a breath. “Enough about me. How’s you? Been a long time. You couldn’t hit a bitch up and chat?”
“Long time, my arse. You had tabs on me the whole time, and you know it,” Ella said, frustration leaking into her tone.
She could imagine Vivi rubbing her nails on her chest before blowing on them. “I’m good, but it took me months to find you. I had to sneak into your profile chart at the Agency. I had to research you, Ella, before I could put together a viable code to find your ass. So as good as I am, you’re not too bad your-damn-self.”
High praise indeed coming from Vivi. “I’m chatting now.”
“Your man went through hell,” Vivi said, her voice now low and carrying just a tinge of anger.
“So did I,” she responded.
“That over now? You all in?” Vivi queried.
“Jude left me no choice. My heart left me no choice,” Ella responded honestly.
“Finally,” Vivi said breathlessly. “Listen, I’m working on that drive Brody sent me. There are actually two files, not just one, that are encrypted so tight with a fail-safe that it will destroy them if I dig much deeper.”
“I think I know who the fail-safe is, or at least who knows what the fail-safe is,” Ella said. “I’m sending everything to Brody via our secure link. He’ll get it to you.”
“I’m kinda jealous you have a secure link with Brody but not me.” Vivi’s tone indicated her pout.
Ella snickered. “We’ll correct that once I’m in Port Royal.”
Vivi chuckled. “Fabulous. I’ll see you when you get home.”
“Oh, I’m already home,” Ella said before she could stop herself.
“Where are you?” Vivi asked, confusion coming down the line.
“With Jude.”
Vivi sighed. “I love that for you.”
“Me too.” Ella smiled. “Okay, I’m logging off. Brody will get you the information. I’ll see you soon.”
“Soon, Ella,” Vivi said. “Oh! One more thing, I was about to hit Keeper up when you called. According to my sources, Dresden is in the States. I don’t have a location. I’m trying to track him now.”
Chills ran down Ella’s spine. What had she said to Jude? Nowhere is completely safe. Was Dresden coming for her even now?
“Ella?”
“Got it, Viv. I’ll tell Jude.”
“I’m out,” Vivi said and disconnected.
Ella got up from the couch, her heart pounding but lighter than it had been in months. How could she have forgotten what team meant?
She made her way to the door Jude had mentioned under the stairs. She punched the code in and entered. The door closed and locked behind her. She walked down a set of stairs into a cavernous room that
