She wasn’t ready to give up her source yet, at least to Alex, even though she was asking him into this with her.

“Okay, then.” He searched the woods. “We should get back inside.”

She hadn’t considered that the woods near his cabin could be dangerous. But if a drone could follow her, track her, so could the danger.

Once inside, Alex paced the small space. “The message sounds multilayered and could mean both a digital threat and a physical threat. And now the spy drone and the shooting make sense, although I haven’t often heard of a cybercrime including physical violence of this nature.”

He didn’t say more while he continued to pace, a deep frown building in his brows and around his mouth.

Then he turned and loosely pointed her way. “You’re a threat to whomever is behind the exploitation. You are their vulnerability. Such extreme measures make me wonder what’s going on at Hanstech. What’s so important?”

She nodded. “I agree. I’m trying to learn that from my sister. Last night I tried to convince her to let me in to help. Someone is actively searching for a vulnerability, if they haven’t already found it.”

“Come on, Mackenzie. With your cybersecurity skills and the fact that you teach penetration testing, you could get into the system on your own. But I get it. You want her permission.”

“The Hanstech system is air-gapped. It’s an intranet system.”

“So that’s why you’re in Montana, and . . . here in my cabin.” He stopped pacing and locked gazes with her.

Understanding passed between them, confirming that she’d made the right decision in coming to him. She needed to physically get to the company computers because they were not connected to the outside world, the Internet, or any other network or device connected to the Internet. Alex was someone with whom she could communicate. He understood even when her sister hadn’t.

Thanks, God, that Alex is here in Montana too. Despite her mistakes, God still cared, and she hadn’t been forgotten or discarded because of them.

“Partially. I came here to warn my brother. Now that he’s gone, I wonder if his death is linked to the warning. If I was too late to stop it.”

“You’re saying you think he could have been murdered.”

“I’m saying it’s worth asking for an autopsy to find out.” She pursed her lips. Should she tell him more? “He had a pacemaker.”

Alex narrowed his eyes as he studied her. Did he think she was reaching?

“Someone is watching my sister. She’s afraid to speak freely, and I’m running out of time.”

“And you didn’t go to the authorities, the FBI, with this because . . . ?” He arched a brow. “You don’t have anything, really. No evidence, just a warning. So that makes me again question the source of the warning.”