Midnight’s Queen (Stroke of Midnight #3)

Chapter 22

“Did you know?”

The office door had barely closed behind Ash and the other hacker before Portia started demanding answers.

The bomb Aleks had dropped about Vyne being a Tremaine product had sent shockwaves through her. She didn’t not believe him. With every damn day that she spent in the CEO role—one that she’d once coveted—she learned how deep the corruption in the company ran. Her father had left a number of messes to clean up, but the thought of one being a highly addictive and deadly drug was especially egregious.

After leaving Aleks in the alley, she’d fired off messages demanding to see Ash and Mendez in her office.

“Hello, Portia, good to see you too,” Ash drawled.

He sounded just the same as when he had worked for the corporation. The clothes were different—much less corporate—and he seemed happier and more relaxed. She wondered what that was like and ignored the twinge of jealousy.

Mendez shot Ash a sharp look before offering a more formal greeting. “Ms. Tremaine,” he said with a nod.

She had the good grace to return it. “Mr. Mendez.” Then she turned back to Ash. “Did you know about Vyne?”

The smirk slid off his face. “I know it’s a highly addictive deadly drug. And a very unpleasant way to die.”

His somber tone indicated that he had firsthand experience with the latter. She was curious who, but that wasn’t the priority now.

“Did you know that there’s a rumor that it came from my company?” Her voice rose on those last words. She grimaced, hating the outward expression of her concern.

“No. I hadn’t heard that specific rumor. What do you need from me?” Ash seated himself on the small sofa, taking the same spot Dizzie had. Apparently, her relaxing corner was becoming the corner of difficult conversations.

She frowned at his disregard for formality and rules, then sighed. He’d never change and he was no longer her problem. Following him to the alcove, she took the wingback chair. Mendez trailed behind them, looking unsure of his role. “Have a seat.”

“You know something.” Portia held Ash’s gaze, while Mendez joined him on the sofa.

“Maybe,” Ash said. “I gave you several files before I left. I think one of them was about drugs.”

Portia remembered the day, somewhat. Before she spoke again, she turned to the third member of their little group. “Mr. Mendez. I would like to remind you that everything said in this room is confidential and disclosing it is strictly forbidden. If I learn that you have shared this with anyone, well, you won’t like what I do next.” She gave him the Ice Queen stare.

He didn’t blanch or otherwise freak out. “Yes, ma’am.”

She studied him a moment longer. He didn’t have the same insouciance that Ash did, but she sensed the same underlying energy from him. Like he was going to be trouble. She just didn’t know how yet.

“I have a vague memory of you downloading files for me, but not their specifics.” She’d been barely keeping her head above water at that point. Grief had still been wearing her down and she’d been putting out little—and big—fires constantly. “Do you remember which file it was?”

“Can I use your computer?” His gaze flickered from her to her desk.

Portia considered Ash’s request. “Is this an official job?” Part of her deal with Taryn had been putting Ash on retainer so she could continue to access his skills after he left the company. So far, the hefty fee had been worth it.

Ash sighed. “If I was just offering as a friend?”

Portia’s hands clenched in her lap. Were she and Ash friends? Their relationship was... complicated due to his role in the events leading up to Tommy’s death. But before she’d learned that, she’d thought they were building to a friendship.

She couldn’t do this on her own, as much as she wanted to, since there were just too many problems to solve. Drawing on her experience with Ash—and because of her growing potential friendship with the Jack—she took a leap of faith and nodded.

Mendez watched the whole interaction intently. She felt uncomfortable with him witnessing it, but she was the one who’d requested his presence.

Ash bounced up off the sofa and was seated behind her desk in the blink of an eye. “You wouldn’t believe how often I wanted access to the whole system like this,” he said.

“Oh, I probably would. You mentioned it almost every day,” she said, a thread of humor in her voice, then sobered. “If you plant a backdoor in my computer, I will personally sic Taryn on you.”

“She wouldn’t do it,” he said confidently. He waggled his fingers dramatically and placed them on the keyboard. “She’s a savvy businesswoman.”

She was. A sinking feeling filled Portia’s stomach. “Never mind,” she said. “I’ll look for the file myself.”

Ash paused. His smile faded and his expression turned serious. “Portia, I was kidding. I swear I won’t leave a backdoor in your system. I want— we want—to get this drug off the street as much as you do. Let me find the data.”

Oh god. What should she do? She took a long breath, exhaled slowly. “Do it,” she said and prayed she hadn’t made the wrong decision.

Every fiber in her being wanted to get up and pace. Or stand over his shoulder and watch him work. But that would just stress them both out.

She turned to Mendez. Might as well use her time productively. “What have you found about the Solveig Consortium’s cyberattacks?”

“They’ve gotten more frequent. Starting about a week after the, uh, news broke.”

She swallowed a smile at how delicate everyone was regarding mentioning Dizzie.

“Identifying where every attack comes from isn’t possible, but we’ve got a good system that yields pretty high probability. There was another bump two weeks ago that hasn’t let up.”

“Have any of the attacks gotten through?”

Mendez scoffed. “Our cybersecurity team is very good.”

“That’s a no?” She raised her brow. That was what reminded her of Ash.

“That’s a no. There have been no successful incursions to our system since he did it.” He indicated Ash with a chin lift.

Portia’s lips pursed. Ash’s little trick wasn’t something she wanted to be reminded of. “You’re sure?”

“Double and triple checked. Ash even scoured the system.”

That was a relief at least. “And you’re sure they won’t get through?”

“There are no guarantees. But we dug into who they might be hiring as well. While they’re good, they’re not better than we are.”

“Is everyone on the cybersecurity team as confident as you and Ash are?”

His expression sobered. “Yes. And the team has been briefed on what to watch for and to report any suspected attacks by the Solveig Consortium immediately.”

That was smart. Somehow she didn’t believe that it was the head of cybersecurity who had made that decision. The man in front of her was definitely someone to watch. “How did you end up here, Mr. Mendez?”

“Same as everyone else, got caught by Tremaine Security.”

His words told the story she expected, but there was something off about his tone.

“I’ve got it!” Ash said. “Found the file. And a lot more.”

Portia left the question of Mendez hanging and hurried to peer over Ash’s shoulder.