Eric looked insulted. “No,” he said. “Do you think I’m some kind of creep?”

“I wondered, for a while there,” Eli said moderately, remembering the kid’s previous escapades.

Eric colored, from the base of his throat to his hairline. “I’d never go on the dark web,” he said. “It’s full of terrible things. Besides, Mom would kill me!”

“With my bare hands,” Sara confirmed, watching her son very closely now.

Eli turned his attention to Dan, though he was still hyperaware of Brynne, who looked more than a little frightened.

“You must have people who know how to navigate that cyber snake pit.”

“Of course I do, myself included,” Dan said, slightly affronted. His gaze slid to Melba, who skirted it, probably embarrassed, as Eli was, by the oversight. “First place we look, when we’re dealing with the worst of the worst.”

Eli cursed silently, pushed back his chair.

Melba immediately followed suit.

“Eli,” Sara said, in the big-sister tone she reserved for certain rare occasions, “this is a holiday. We’re in the middle of a family dinner.”

Dan got up, too, but in a resigned way. He was obviously reluctant to leave a full plate—his second—to surf a scummy sea of ugly information.

Just the thought of it made Eli long to take a shower.

And then lose himself in the sweet, shimmering light that was Brynne.

Sara sighed, aware that she’d lost the battle, if not the war. “Use the computer in my office,” she said. “I don’t want any trace of this dark-web crap on the kids’ system.” Her gaze landed on Eric’s face, then Hayley’s.

In Sara’s modest office, furnished with a simple desk, a Mac desktop with two monitors, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, jam-packed, Dan eased into the adjustable leather chair and reached for the wireless mouse.

One monitor flared immediately to life; the image was a family photo—Sara, Eli, Eric and Hayley posing near the chutes at the Creek’s annual rodeo.

Eli was comforted by that picture, which had been taken by either Cord or J.P. a couple of years back, but he was also reminded of how very much he had to protect.

“Password,” Dan said. The chair creaked under his weight as he turned to look at Sara, who was standing in the office doorway by then, with Brynne peering over her shoulder.

The man had eyes in the back of his head.

A handy trait, in his business.

Sara recited the string of letters and numbers.

“Too easy,” Dan scolded. “I could have guessed that in about five seconds.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Melba demanded, standing just behind her ex-husband and a little to the left.

“Damn it, woman,” Dan breathed. “Would it kill you to cut me some slack here?”

Eli chuckled at this, and received a scathing Melba-glare for his trouble.

Dan’s enormous fingers danced over the keyboard with amazing delicacy.