friends in Madrid.
Max saw him stiffen. “What’s wrong?”
“They’re threatening my mother.” Adam quickly pulled out his phone. If they went anywhere near her, he’d kill them with his bare hands!
Max read the message and whispered, “Good lord.” Seeing the phone next to his ear, she said, “Are you calling her?”
“Yeah.” He stood and began to pace.
“I’ll call Myk and let him know.”
Adam turned his attention back to his own call. His mother’s voice mail kicked in. Disappointed, he kept his voice as normal as he could. “Hey, Mom. Just checking in. Call me when you get a chance. ’Bye.” As he ended the transmission, his worry increased in proportion to his anger. If the people responsible for sendingthe e-mail wanted to tangle with him fine, but leave his mother out of it. Grim, Adam punched up his stepfather’s cell number. Ray’s phone rang a few times, then Adam was sent to his voice mail, too. Tight-lipped, he forced his voice into the same calm tone he’d used before and left Ray a similar message.
At that moment Adam felt like a terrible son because he had no idea where his parents were. He remembered his mother calling to say she’d be going on a trip to West Africa, but he’d been so obsessed with the prototype that he hadn’t paid much attention to the dates or to her itinerary. Had she gone already? Had she returned? How long did she say the trip would be? He ran his hand over his hair. He didn’t know. The same held true for his stepfather. The last time he’d talked to Ray had been two weeks ago. Or had it been longer? Once again he couldn’t recall the conversation clearly, and now there was no way to be sure they weren’t in danger unless they called. If anything happened to them he’d never forgive himself.
Max was on the phone with Myk. She had him hold on for a moment while she spoke to Adam. “Did you get your stepdad’s voice mail, too?”
He nodded. “Neither of them answered. She said something about going to West Africa but…” He shrugged.
Max relayed that info to Myk. She and Myk talked for a few more minutes then she closed her phone. “Myk’s tracking down your parents right now. He’ll call back soon as he can. If it’s any consolation, Myk and I are both betting they sent this to scare you.”
“And they’re doing a damn good job.”
Max sympathized with him. “I’m not going to tell younot to worry, because if it were my mama, I’d already be on a plane for home. We’ll just have to wait and see what Mykal finds out.”
Adam nodded but all manner of disturbing scenarios filled his mind. For the first time in a long time his work on the prototype took a backseat.
“Who else knows about this invention of yours?” Max asked.
“Most of the scientific community. I took the wraps off at the Madrid conference and referenced some of the work that went into it.”
“Exactly how much referencing did you do?”
“Enough for them all to know that I’m just a heartbeat away from perfecting it.”
“I see.” Max rolled that around in her mind for a moment, then asked, “So can the people who sent the e-mail do anything with the prototype if it’s not finished?”
“Depends. Lot of people out there with bigger brains than mine.”
“Could anyone you know be helping them?”
It was a question he’d been asking himself since leaving Madrid. “Not that I know of.” Adam wished he knew where his mother was.
“You have firewalls on your computers?”
“Yeah.”
Max was glad to hear that, although the Madrid people had somehow accessed his mother’s screen name in order to lure him into opening the message. “Myk’s going to contact a friend and have her try and find out where that e-mail really came from. What about Ms. Kaitlin, could she be a mole?”
“Only for her daddy, but he doesn’t have access to alab, as far as I know, and you’d need one to finish the prototype.”
“He’s a scientist?”
“Yeah. Got
Max saw him stiffen. “What’s wrong?”
“They’re threatening my mother.” Adam quickly pulled out his phone. If they went anywhere near her, he’d kill them with his bare hands!
Max read the message and whispered, “Good lord.” Seeing the phone next to his ear, she said, “Are you calling her?”
“Yeah.” He stood and began to pace.
“I’ll call Myk and let him know.”
Adam turned his attention back to his own call. His mother’s voice mail kicked in. Disappointed, he kept his voice as normal as he could. “Hey, Mom. Just checking in. Call me when you get a chance. ’Bye.” As he ended the transmission, his worry increased in proportion to his anger. If the people responsible for sendingthe e-mail wanted to tangle with him fine, but leave his mother out of it. Grim, Adam punched up his stepfather’s cell number. Ray’s phone rang a few times, then Adam was sent to his voice mail, too. Tight-lipped, he forced his voice into the same calm tone he’d used before and left Ray a similar message.
At that moment Adam felt like a terrible son because he had no idea where his parents were. He remembered his mother calling to say she’d be going on a trip to West Africa, but he’d been so obsessed with the prototype that he hadn’t paid much attention to the dates or to her itinerary. Had she gone already? Had she returned? How long did she say the trip would be? He ran his hand over his hair. He didn’t know. The same held true for his stepfather. The last time he’d talked to Ray had been two weeks ago. Or had it been longer? Once again he couldn’t recall the conversation clearly, and now there was no way to be sure they weren’t in danger unless they called. If anything happened to them he’d never forgive himself.
Max was on the phone with Myk. She had him hold on for a moment while she spoke to Adam. “Did you get your stepdad’s voice mail, too?”
He nodded. “Neither of them answered. She said something about going to West Africa but…” He shrugged.
Max relayed that info to Myk. She and Myk talked for a few more minutes then she closed her phone. “Myk’s tracking down your parents right now. He’ll call back soon as he can. If it’s any consolation, Myk and I are both betting they sent this to scare you.”
“And they’re doing a damn good job.”
Max sympathized with him. “I’m not going to tell younot to worry, because if it were my mama, I’d already be on a plane for home. We’ll just have to wait and see what Mykal finds out.”
Adam nodded but all manner of disturbing scenarios filled his mind. For the first time in a long time his work on the prototype took a backseat.
“Who else knows about this invention of yours?” Max asked.
“Most of the scientific community. I took the wraps off at the Madrid conference and referenced some of the work that went into it.”
“Exactly how much referencing did you do?”
“Enough for them all to know that I’m just a heartbeat away from perfecting it.”
“I see.” Max rolled that around in her mind for a moment, then asked, “So can the people who sent the e-mail do anything with the prototype if it’s not finished?”
“Depends. Lot of people out there with bigger brains than mine.”
“Could anyone you know be helping them?”
It was a question he’d been asking himself since leaving Madrid. “Not that I know of.” Adam wished he knew where his mother was.
“You have firewalls on your computers?”
“Yeah.”
Max was glad to hear that, although the Madrid people had somehow accessed his mother’s screen name in order to lure him into opening the message. “Myk’s going to contact a friend and have her try and find out where that e-mail really came from. What about Ms. Kaitlin, could she be a mole?”
“Only for her daddy, but he doesn’t have access to alab, as far as I know, and you’d need one to finish the prototype.”
“He’s a scientist?”
“Yeah. Got
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