Free Wire (Pierce Securities Book 2) by Anne Conley Page A

a month ago? Maybe?”
    Evan snapped the notepad shut. “Okay, I’ll get started running these names, then I’m going to try to extract The Crimson Lady. She’s in there pretty tight. I was poking around with her this weekend.”
    Grateful for the change in subject, she exhaled. “Yeah, I’ve tried to get her out, too. The AI program with her is pretty effective. She’s managed to learn from all extraction practices in the past and is protecting herself from them.”
    “You think this is strictly AI programming?” Evan’s eyebrows were raised.
    “Yup. Maybe you should look at your own past, huh?”
    She almost smiled at his stunned expression. He honestly hadn’t thought about that, she guessed. Once he recovered, his eyebrows slanted down in suspicion.
    Before he could leave, she stuttered out, “W-Wait. Um… I don’t- I mean, I haven’t slept with anyone since you. It was special to me, too.” She needed him to know this, even if nothing else from their conversation about that night stuck with him. Feeling stupid, she continued, unable to stop her mouth, “It was the best night of my life. I just wanted you to know that,” Paige muttered. She went back to staring at the floor because the glare he gave her was too much.
    He left without another word, shutting the door harder than necessary on his way out. That depressed Paige relentlessly, leaving a pit of darkness in her gut.

The next morning, Evan sat at his desk, watching one laptop run code, trying to extricate The Crimson Lady. Pounding keys on another, he ran through Paige’s associates, trying not to think too hard on this morning’s news.
    Another kid had been caught beating up a homeless man on Congress Avenue, down the street from Paige’s condo. Caught in the act, the sixteen-year-old had admitted The Crimson Lady had told him to do it, and where. An avid Realm of Worlds player, he’d freely admitted to having multiple conversations with the woman, describing in detail what to do. The press didn’t specify where he had the conversations, though, whether they were in the game or another platform altogether.
    That meant there were five attacks left. And Evan was convinced Paige would be the last one.
    Evan found it incredibly hard to believe that an online game, with the audience it had, would be able to pinpoint one impressionable youth and twist his mind into attacking a defenseless man. Whoever was behind The Crimson Lady must actually communicate with these kids on the site Dan had found. Of course, the FBI would be confiscating the kid’s computer, so he wouldn’t be able to look there for a chat history. Unless he did it remotely. He made a mental note to call in a favor with Kellog.
    He was worried about Paige. Since he’d started working here, he’d noticed a deterioration in her physical appearance. His first day at PSL, he’d noticed a difference in Paige and Sandra, but it had gotten worse in the two weeks he’d been here.
    She seemed exhausted, her skin waxy looking, and she wore dark, puffy circles under her eyes. Her hair, which before had been smoother than spun silk, was now dry and frizzy. He felt for her, seeing the physical evidence of how hard she was working to keep her company going. Now that The Crimson Lady had struck again, and last night’s breaking news, it was obvious she hadn’t slept a wink. She was probably in her own office working her ass of right this very minute.
    Despite his angry words yesterday, he was worried about her. Sure, he was pissed when he’d heard he was nothing more than something to cross off her fucking list of things to do before she died, but her parting shot had cut him deeply. That night meant something to her, and she hadn’t been with anyone since then, either. He didn’t know what to do with that now that she was a client.
    A client who needed him. With one more attack under The Crimson Lady’s belt, that brought Paige’s attack that much closer.
    Using his tablet, he