Atomic Beauty by Barb Han Page A

working on anything with me, he’ll be intrusive. Plus, he ended my assignment already.”
    â€œWell, he can seize my computer if he wants to. He won’t find a thing.”
    â€œI appreciate it. I owe you dinner when this is all said and done,” Erika said, forcing a light tone she didn’t feel, digging deeper into her own flesh with her fingernail.
    â€œI’m planning to hold you to that.” She issued another pregnant pause. “And, Erika, take care of yourself. I know how hard this time of year is for you.”
    â€œIs it that obvious?”
    â€œNot really. But I know you.”
    â€œPoint taken. I’m fine.” She would be, too. Just as soon as she put the son of a bitch who killed her father into the ground.
    Erika spent the next half hour navigating the waters she’d already memorized from satellite pictures, seething, working to control her anger. It was crucial to ensure there were no more surprises. The puzzle pieces didn’t fit, but they would. Soon.
    As she trolled the waters, she thought about what Stacy had discovered. Of the three who were involved in CorMeds, only one was alive. Presumed to be alive. Erika didn’t know for sure. The mystery person might be the key to figuring this out and a starting point to finding her father’s killer.
    If this was linked to her father, Murdock’s insistence she walk away made more sense. Erika wondered what else he’d found out or if Murdock himself was involved. Surely, he’d investigated. Or, had he been forced to walk away all those years ago?
    * * *
    Maybe Sam Carter had wanted out? Maybe he threatened to expose the whole operation and had to be silenced. Either way, Erika didn’t like that this story involved Exacto and so many of her own.
    Sanctuary existed to clean up messes and, therefore, avoid bigger battles. Large-scale battles. Most of the US’s military was farmed out to contractors these days, which also made everything harder to track.
    â€œDid you find the mystery person, Jace Mitchell?” Erika asked aloud, briefly considering the possibility that the third person could be him. She dismissed the idea quickly.
    Another thought struck her. Had he found something that the government would be ashamed of? Is that why she’d been given the order to kill him?
    And the thought she didn’t even want to acknowledge assaulted her. Was the third person Murdock? Her brain screamed, No!
    If he was, then she’d sent Jace’s data straight to the devil himself. The magnitude, the implications of what Jace had found out had to be enormous. She pulled binoculars from her pack, idling the boat engine.
    Keeping low, she surveyed the area. It was a quiet morning on the island. An occasional boater passed by and waved. She returned the gestures as she pulled out a fishing pole and set up the line on the side of her boat that she’d tossed anchor on. There was no good place to hide, except around the corner from the boathouse.
    Erika brushed her hair back from her face and stared for a long moment. It was cool and the water would be frigid. Her head throbbed from her last headache. A rock to her temples would’ve hurt less.
    She hadn’t expected Jace to be sitting out in the open waiting, but there was no hint he’d been there and no guarantee he’d show.
    The spot where her mother’s necklace usually rested itched. She missed the heavy metal chain around her neck, the weight of the locket nestled close to her heart.
    She wiped down the boat for fingerprints just in case she didn’t make it back. She slipped into her short-sleeved wetsuit, and pulled her facemask over her mouth. She repeated her mantra, never let them see your weaknesses , picturing what she’d be doing tonight. Sticking around the area might be interesting. There’d be plenty of fresh seafood and she could use a cold beer when this was done.
    When she’d finished putting