The Trigger (29 page)

“I haven’t heard.” Gibson didn’t look worried either.

The conference phone in the center of the table rang and grabbed their attention.

Gibson clicked a button, and a voice said, “This is Robert Palmer, director of the FBI.”

Gibson looked startled, then cleared his throat and introduced himself. “Thanks for calling, sir.” Gibson finally lost his grumpy look. He introduced Dallas and McCullen, then leaned back in his chair. “We hope you have good news for us.”

“I do. But first, let me congratulate all of you for the excellent work you did. You prevented hundreds of deaths from potential explosions and saved the economy millions of lost dollars. You’re all in line for promotions and a presidential award.”

Dallas was pleased she’d get a raise, but she planned to stick to undercover work. She was impatient to know the outcome. “Did any of the bombs go off?”

“A network exchange site in Reston, Virginia experienced an explosion, but only two people were in the building, and they only suffered minor injuries. Internet service in the region was disabled for thousands, but it’ll be repaired soon. With the help of the British MI6, we were able to intercept all the others before they reached their targets.” Palmer excused himself for a moment.

In the short break, Dallas met McCullen’s eyes and smiled. He’d done a great job with both cases, and she hated seeing him so down.

The FBI director came back on. “I also wanted to tell you that we have seven of the perpetrators in custody. One was killed in an attempt to stop him, and the one female bomber is still at large. But we know who she is, and we will find her.”

Dallas felt relief—and her first real sense of accomplishment. “What about Middle East diplomatic relations? Did we manage to avert a war?”

Palmer paused. “My understanding is that the situation is stable, but talks are still going on with Iran.”

“What about the money?” Dallas didn’t know the full extent of what Raff had done.

“Some has been recovered, but millions are still missing. The hacker hasn’t spoken a word since we moved him from the hospital to a federal detention center.”

“Why was he in the hospital?” McCullen asked.

Gibson cut in. “Spencer Clayton broke his hands so he couldn’t do any more damage online.”

The thought made her laugh. McCullen smiled too.

“That’s all I can tell you,” Palmer said. “And it’s all the time I have too. Thanks again for your excellent service.”

Later in the airport, Dallas checked her personal emails. Trevor had contacted her again, asking when he would see her. She started to delete it, then changed her mind. She’d been gone less than a week, she hadn’t cheated on him, and he was a good guy. Maybe she’d invite him to visit Flagstaff with her and see how it went. She hit reply and texted:
I’ll be home soon. Call me tomorrow and we’ll have lunch
.

That would make her shrink happy… for a while.

L.J. Sellers
is an award-winning journalist and the author of the bestselling Detective Jackson mystery/thriller series:

The Sex Club

Secrets to Die For

Thrilled to Death

Passions of the Dead

Dying for Justice

Liars, Cheaters & Thieves

Rules of Crime

Crimes of Memory

She also has four standalone thrillers:

The Trigger

The Baby Thief

The Gauntlet Assassin

The Lethal Effect

 When not plotting murders, L.J. enjoys performing standup comedy, cycling, social networking, and attending mystery conferences. She’s also been known to jump out of airplanes.

Thanks for reading my novel. If you enjoyed it, please leave a review or rating online. Find out more about my work at ljsellers.com, where you can sign up to hear about new releases. —L.J.