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Code Conspiracy
Carol Ericson
Her computer is her greatest weapon. When Gray Prescott asks hacker, and ex-girlfriend, Jerrica West to use her skills to locate his missing Delta Force leader, neither expect the danger that awaits them. Soon Jerrica must put her faith in the man she left once before, and might be forced to walk away from all over again…
Her computer is her greatest weapon.
Hacker Jerrica West doesn’t abide by the rules, so when her by-the-book ex recruits her to locate his missing Delta Force leader, she’s shocked. Gray Prescott is a hard man to refuse, but this assignment is more dangerous than either of them could have guessed. When the cybertrail exposes a terrorist plot, Jerrica must put her faith in the man she might be forced to walk away from all over again…
CAROL ERICSON is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than forty books. She has an eerie fascination for true-crime stories, a love of film noir and a weakness for reality TV, all of which fuel her imagination to create her own tales of murder, mayhem and mystery. To find out more about Carol and her current projects, please visit her website at www.carolericson.com (http://www.carolericson.com), ‘where romance flirts with danger.’
Also by Carol Ericson (#udd91938a-3a8b-5848-8720-801a1eaf13f8)
Enemy Infiltration
Undercover Accomplice
Delta Force Defender
Delta Force Daddy
Delta Force Die Hard
Locked, Loaded and SEALed
Alpha Bravo SEAL
Bullseye: SEAL
Point Blank SEAL
Secured by the SEAL
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Code Conspiracy
Carol Ericson
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-0-008-90481-4
CODE CONSPIRACY
© 2019 Carol Ericson
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Note to Readers (#udd91938a-3a8b-5848-8720-801a1eaf13f8)
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Contents
Cover (#u8bccd26a-7d3f-53aa-9747-7e02b6341915)
Back Cover Text (#uf1cb2c3d-4d5e-5021-9913-e03c4251783c)
About the Author (#u3cba78b9-ca5e-50fc-b083-ce8b03cc3ca5)
Booklist (#uecab458a-1394-5aab-9477-8756de6db0ec)
Title Page (#ud72abbe4-50a6-5a93-a9dd-1cd3f81c7b97)
Copyright (#u25bf13cd-ec87-5c6c-bf31-883604426cc2)
Note to Readers
Prologue (#u51ad2b05-70d6-50e0-8e70-e13aa543bbfe)
Chapter One (#u52017b91-21ac-5bdd-9e28-55e439606d69)
Chapter Two (#u7f455849-8921-58dd-9803-f33955b2fe3f)
Chapter Three (#u1cf7dcf9-d9aa-5d26-a3e4-5e6289a55101)
Chapter Four (#u75b45e03-7a87-585b-b39b-7969e4f4c61d)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#udd91938a-3a8b-5848-8720-801a1eaf13f8)
“Dreadworm.”
The speaker, slouching behind a post on the tracks of the central Berlin train station, drew out the last syllable of the word and it reverberated in Rex Denver’s chest like an omen. He coughed as if to dislodge it from his throat.
“Dreadworm? You mean the hacking group?”
“Only they can break into the CIA’s computer system.” The man drew the hood of his gray sweatshirt more tightly around his face with a pair of gloved hands. “Rumor has it they’ve already been successful.”
Denver had a side view only, but he didn’t care. The identity of the informant held no interest for him, but his words acted like an electric prod.
“You’re sure the CIA is behind this setup? In league with an international band of terrorists?” Denver’s gut roiled and tumbled, bitter bile clawing its way up his throat.
“The entire Central Intelligence Agency?” The man jerked his head from side to side, his hood moving with it. “No, but forces within that agency…and others…are actively working against US interests and that means holding the government hostage with the threat of some kind of terrorist attack.”
Denver swore and spit the sour taste in his mouth onto the train tracks. “Why are you telling me this? Reaching out to me in this secretive way?”
“Call me a concerned citizen.”
Denver snorted. “Most concerned citizens don’t risk their lives and livelihood on what could be a conspiracy hoax.”
“Was the attack on you, your Delta Force teammate and that army ranger a hoax? Is the campaign to discredit you and label you a traitor a hoax?”
“Hell, no. That’s real.”
“So is this.”
“Why not go to the director? I’m just gonna assume here that you’re CIA.”
“Don’t assume anything, Major Denver. I have no solid proof that this is happening.” The informant lifted a pair of narrow shoulders. “And I don’t know whom to trust.”
“The director?” A cold chill seeped into Denver’s bones and it had nothing to do with the empty tracks he was straddling in the dank tunnel, his hand flattened against the damp wall.
“It could be anyone. That’s why you need Dreadworm. They can cross all boundaries. They have crossed all boundaries.”
“Their leader, Olaf, is in hiding.”
“So are you, Major Denver. Tell me. How did you get from Afghanistan to the streets of Berlin without showing up on anyone’s radar?”
“You know that thing you said about trust?” Denver shoved his cold hands into his pockets. “Right about now, I trust no one—except my Delta Force team.”
“That’s wise. They’re the only ones who have been actively working to clear your name…and they’re getting close.” The man stepped back against the wall as the tracks beneath them vibrated. “You don’t have to explain—dark-haired man with a beard slipping across borders with the other refugees. Who would stop to think the mass of people contained an American Delta Force soldier?”
Denver didn’t plan to reveal his secrets to anyone—not even a shadow in the night with his own secrets. “I know someone who works with Dreadworm.”
“Then I suggest you start pulling in favors, major.”
The informant stepped forward, and Denver jerked back, gripping the weapon in his pocket.
“Stay where you are.”
“Your contacts at Dreadworm might be interested in this.” He held up a cardboard wheel in his gloved hand. “Go ahead. Take it.”
Denver snatched the circular object and shoved it into his pocket. “I should pass this on to Dreadworm?”
“That would be advisable.” The informant pulled the collar of his jacket close around his neck. “Because Dreadworm is your only hope right now. Dreadworm is our only hope—I never thought I’d hear myself say those words.”
“Wait.” Denver peered into the blackness, as the man stepped back. “How am I going to contact you again?”
“I’ll find you when I need to.” He laughed, a hollow sound that echoed in the tunnel. “After all, we need to save the world.”
A light appeared at the end of the tunnel, outlining the slim figure hugging the wall, and Denver prayed it was a metaphor for his current situation. Could Dreadworm really be the light at the end of his tunnel?
The shrill train whistle made his teeth ache. Denver climbed off the tracks, his head cranked over his shoulder, his eyeballs throbbing with the effort to pick out his informant, still on the tracks in the path of the oncoming train.
Denver shouted. “Get out of the way!”
The light from the train flooded the tunnel, the empty tunnel, and as Denver stepped back onto the platform, the train whooshed past him, lifting the ends of his long hair and shaking the buttons on his shirt.
