Page 16 of Under Fire

“Yes.” He opened the drawer to his desk and pulled out a mobile phone. “While working with me, I need you to use this,” he said.

She lifted a brow. “A burner phone?”

“No. It’s a Rexar H12 created by Navarro Technologies. Not only are the calls transmitted on this phone untraceable, but it alerts a mainframe ─ that’s manned twenty-four hours a day ─ when an attempt is made to do so. It’s also equipped to send an alert the moment you get into your car, and detects any device attached to it. Such as GPS, a tracker, FLOCK, or any other sort of telematics device. When that happens, your phone will beep twice. Continuous beeps are cause for alarm. Check it immediately since it could mean that an explosive device has been detected on your vehicle.”

“Wow! That’s scary.”

“But it could be a lifesaver, which is why you always keep Rexar in ready mode.”

He crossed the room and reached out to turn the phone over. Their fingers touched in the process, and she tried ignoring the flutter that went through her lower extremities. Hadn’t she just told him he wasn’t her type. Well, it seemed whatever his type was, it appeared to be playing havoc with her nervous system, and she wished he wasn’t standing so close. He smelled good.

She fought to keep control of her mind and body as she watched him use his thumb to slide a panel on the phone, revealing several colorful buttons. Then he began speaking again. “If you want to keep it on to figure out why and who might be tracking your movements, don’t do anything. However, if you want to send out a decoy, namely signals to scramble your location, basically showing somewhere you aren’t, press this white one. To deactivate the tracker immediately, press the blue button. Doing so will alert whoever put the tracker on your car that it was discovered. If you are in a situation and need help, the red button alerts the mainframe and will send backup to your location immediately.”

“Who is the backup?” she asked, looking up to meet his gaze.

“It’s not always law enforcement. We are part of a network that operates in all fifty states, and the persons monitoring the mainframe will know who to summon.”

He returned the phone to her and then took a step back. “Any questions, Hollis?”

She looked at the device, mainly to mask her features when their fingers touched again. And why did he have to say her name in such a throaty tone? “No questions. I’m impressed.”

Most FBI agents knew of Navarro Technologies and used a number of their state-of-the-art devices. However, she was fully aware that advanced devices like these weren’t available on the private market. “Mind me asking how you’re able to get your hands on this?”

“Dak Navarro is a personal friend of mine. He enjoys testing his ingenious techy devices out on his friends first. When it becomes available for government use, we get to keep it with automatic upgrades.”

“Cool.” She glanced up at him and caught him looking at the way her blouse fitted over her breasts. Their gazes met, and the atmosphere in the room shifted to a place that neither of them wanted it to go. “So where do I start, Locke?” she asked, breaking into the tension building around them. “I came ready to roll up my sleeves and work.”

She saw the frown marring his brow. “Did you assume I would hire you, Hollis?”

“I saw no reason that you wouldn’t. Now if you will excuse me, I’ll retrieve my briefcase from the car.”

“That’s another thing I need to cover with you.”

She lifted a brow. “What?”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “While working on Karl’s defense, I prefer that you do so here.”

“Why?”

“This house was chosen for a reason. It was made to be hack-proof and secure. I will provide you with a company laptop to use that cannot leave here. I know the software installed on it, and I prefer not having any of the confidential information Carol will be uploading get compromised by anything you might have on yours.”

“I’m a professional, Locke. I know how to handle my business.”

“I would not have hired you if I didn’t think you could. But it’s more than just your business, Hollis. And, I might add, it has nothing to do with you not being trustworthy. It’s about transporting what I consider sensitive information back and forth. I prefer everything kept in one centralized location.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes. Just in case you’re being watched, I suggest you still bring your personal laptop every day as a decoy.”

“Do you think all this is necessary?”

“You’re a former FBI agent, Hollis. You tell me.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “No, how about telling me what you’re thinking, Locke, and why?”

He didn’t say anything for a minute, then said. “I don’t know who we are dealing with, and I’ve ordered reports on quite a few people. Reports that I don’t want to get in the wrong hands. Carol will upload information to us daily to review, and a special team back in Portland flags anything in the reports they think we need to know. I’m not asking you to move in here, Hollis, but because of the toxic climate and uncertainty I’m beginning to feel around this case, the less file movement, the better.”

Maybe she shouldn’t get uptight about it. As he said, it’s not like they would be living together. They would merely be working together. Besides, all the reasons he had given made sense. As an agent, she only understood the investigative side. She was never concerned with all the legality of preparing a case for trial that would require a controlled environment.