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it.”
    That was true. Their boss was a serious health nut and encouraged his employees to be the same way. Ed had been hired by the previous owner and had stayed on after Mr. DeLuca bought the company. The relationship between the two men was an uneasy one. She suspected that if Ed hadn’t been so good at his job, he’d have been fired long ago.
    She closed her eyes and sighed. “Darn it anyway. I had a feeling Ed wouldn’t drop the investigation even after the boss told him to. Well, he wouldn’t have found much. I’ve been doing most of my work on my laptop here at home for just that reason.”
    There wasn’t anything she could do without hard evidence. She looked at Cody and caught him eyeing the basket of fruit she had sitting on the kitchen counter. He never complained, but between his tuition and rent, she knew money was tight. Too tight for him to always have enough left over at the end of the month to eat much more than cold cereal.
    She would have to play this carefully because the kid had his pride. If he thought she was offering him a handout, he’d take off out of sheer stubbornness even if it meant going hungry for the night.
    â€œI was going to order some takeout for dinner, but I don’t have the energy to go pick it up.”
    She sagged back against the wall to give credence to the lie. “If I buy, will you go get it?”
    He eyed her suspiciously but then nodded. “If you’re sure.”
    She tossed him the menu. “I’ll take broccoli beef and spring rolls. In fact, order me cashew chicken and a double order of fried rice and get whatever you want. If there are any leftovers, I can take them for lunch next week.”
    â€œSounds good.”
    As he reached for the phone, she dug her spare key out of her junk drawer. “Here, take this so you can lock the door on your way out. I’m going to grab a quick shower while you’re gone.”
    He caught the key and nodded while he rattled off their order. She was glad to hear he’d taken her seriously about ordering extra. Knowing Cody’s appetite, she doubted there’d be more than a few grains of rice left after he was done eating. That was okay. She didn’t have that many friends; she couldn’t afford to let one starve to death.

Chapter 4
    D.J. hung back and watched the door to the apartment building. By his calculations, R. Morrison lived on the second floor, in the end apartment. He’d been unable to determine if the initial stood for Reggie for certain, but his gut told him he was on the right track.
    He spotted a kid who looked to be about twenty cutting across the parking lot. The guy headed right for the apartment building with a bag of what looked like takeout. He twirled a key ring on his finger. This was definitely promising.
    For one thing, he looked like the quintessential computer jockey. He was too skinny for his height, vibrated with overloaded energy, and wore glasses. His complexion was on the pasty side, as if he spent far too many hours at a computer and not nearly enough outside.
    D.J. smiled. He liked the kid already, even if the punk had been leading him on a merry chase for the past couple of months. He planned on getting right up in his face about pissing in the wrong person’s pool, hoping to put an end to Reggie’s forays into Paladin territory. He had his doubts though. The forbidden fruit was always more tempting to a dedicated hacker.
    He should know.
    D.J. remained in the shadows long enough to give the kid time to get inside and feel safe before making his move. Five minutes later, he headed for the door. Time to go introduce himself to one Reggie Morrison. This should be fun.
    Inside the building, he took the steps two at a time. A hunter by nature, he automatically avoided making any noise right up until he was ready to announce his presence. No use in giving his target any advance warning.
    D.J. stopped to listen before