Page 80 of Broken Wheels

“Doc? What’s the second most important part?”

He pulled free of Dixon’s embrace and gazed at the board. “To be honest, I don’t know. Every time I look at what we’ve got to work from, the list seems to grow bigger.”

Dixon wandered over to the board and scrutinized it. He turned to look at Doc. “But that’s good, isn’t it?”

Josh blinked. “How do you come to that conclusion?”

Dixon gestured to the board. “All the pieces fit together—we know they do—we just need to figure out how.” He folded his arms. “So, let me tell you what I know, and you can add in the parts we don’t yet have.” Dixon frowned. “We’ve been played from the beginning. That’s a fact. First it was Porter, who either directly attacked us or knew who did. Then Porter ends up killed in prison by a gunshot to the back of the head while handcuffed to a chair. Not quite the suicide they claimed. And finally, we have someone willing to kill to get a shot at you.” Dixon stared at him. “Why now? It’s been years, so what’s the end game? Is it the military or someone else?”

Josh had been asking himself the same question.

Dixon cocked his head to one side. “The footprints you found in the cyberworld, is there any way to trace them?”

Josh shook his head. “I tried, but it was a dead end. As far as I can tell, they’re rerouting the information through dozens, maybe hundreds, of other networks.”

“And do those networks have anything in common?”

Josh widened his eyes. “I don’t know, but that’s a brilliant question.”

Dixon grinned. “I have my moments. They’re few and far between, but I do have them.”

Josh finally had a starting point, a direction to take that would hopefully allow him to drag all these threads into one place.

They got into the same files I did. That means they have someone who’s my equal—or better. Definitely more skilled, because he’d left his hacking behind to keep himself and Gary out of trouble, and he’d grown rusty.

“I’m not sure how to move forward,” Josh admitted. “They obviously have someone working for them who is damn good at what they do.” He let out a sigh. “It’s been years since I had any serious hacking practice, and that’s not something you can let slide. If I go in trying to find any information, it’s possible—maybe likely—they’ll notice me.”

And that target on my back will grow in size.

Dixon nodded. “Then we talk with Gary and Michael, and ask them how they want to proceed.” His brow furrowed. “One thing you need to keep in mind, though. Only you can decide if this is worth the added risk.” He gave Josh a gentle smile. “No one would think less of you if you wanted to stay safe.”

No one except Josh.

He could picture the people who’d been killed by these unknown adversaries. He could see Gary, Michael, and Abbas’s faces. He could recall Dixon being so close to the car when it exploded.

Dixon was wrong. If Josh decided to go with this, the risk would involve a lot of other people too.

“I want to go back to my place,” Josh said in a firm voice.

Dixon arched his eyebrows. “And you know that’s not gonna happen, so it’s not even worth discussing.”

Josh glared at him. “I’m an adult. I’m entitled to make my own choices.”

Dixon’s smile only served to ramp up Josh’s irritation. “Sorry, Doc. You’re a prime target for these people, so it would be a bad idea for you to be on your own. You’re a lot safer here than in your apartment.” He took Josh’s hand. “I know it sucks, and I wish there were other viable options, but there aren’t. We—I—need you to stay safe.”

“Because if I die on your watch, it reflects badly on you, right?” Josh snapped as he yanked his hand from Dixon’s. The anger took him by surprise, and he wondered about its source. Dixon had done nothing to earn Josh’s petulance. If anything, he’d been patient to a fault.

This has to be tough on him too, not being able to go out or to do much beyond work and taking care of me.

“Yes, that’s it precisely,” Dixon snarked, his expression stony. “It couldn’t be because I care about you too, right?”

“Did you ever think I have a life I want to get back to?” Josh flung at him.

Stop lying to him. Stop fooling yourself. You’ve slept better in his bed than you have anywhere else in years. He’s actually helping you stay focused, and his insights are moving you in the right direction.

And Dixon didn’t deserve Josh’s ire.

Dixon crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him. “All right, tell me what you need to get back to. If you can convince me, I’ll talk to Gary and Michael, and we’ll see what we can do.”