Chapter 9 #2
"So someone doesn't want this story told." Jase looked at the others. "The question is why."
"Kit, think about everyone involved in the production." Simon pulled out a chair and sat. "Who has something to lose if this movie gets made?"
"I don't know. It's about factory integration during World War Two. Who could possibly care enough to sabotage it?"
"Someone who disagrees with the message?" Hart suggested without looking up from his computer. "Someone with a political agenda?"
"Or someone who wants the role for themselves." Roan's voice held an edge. "Hollywood's competitive. Isn't it possible another actress wanted this part badly enough to try to eliminate you?"
The idea felt absurd. Then I remembered all the auditions I'd won. All the callbacks where I'd beaten out other talented women. The whispered resentments at parties, the pointed comments about luck versus skill.
"I guess it's possible." My voice sounded small. "But to go this far? Risk federal charges for wire fraud and extortion just to get a role? I just don’t see it. I’ve been in all the other actresses' shoes; not even the worst would think that way.
Nair in my shampoo? I could see that, but this? Nope, not going to happen."
"People have done worse for less," Code said.
I looked at his serious face and nodded. "I need to think about this. But the thing is, I know a lot of the women who auditioned for this role. I don’t want to think this about them." I pressed my hands to my temples. "Talk to Angelica. See if we can figure out who might have a motive."
"Good idea. She knows that people can have black hearts." Jase checked his watch. "It's almost nine. Why don't we all take a break? Regroup in a few hours with fresh eyes?"
"I'm good." Code didn't look up from his screen.
"When did you last sleep?" Simon asked.
"I'm fine."
"That's not what I asked."
Code's jaw tightened. He kept typing.
Jase laughed. "He hasn't been back to my house in two days. I'm pretty sure he's living on coffee and pizza at this point."
"I said I'm fine."
"You're useless if you collapse from exhaustion." Simon stood. "Take four hours. Shower. Eat real food. Sleep if possible. That's an order."
"I’m not on the payroll yet.”
"Think like the leader of men you’ve been. You’re acting like an idiot.” Simon headed for the door. "Four hours, Code. Then you can dive back into your digital rabbit hole."
Jase followed Simon out. Roan lingered a moment, looking between Code and me.
"He's right, you know. You need rest." He directed this at Code. "And you," he looked at me, "need to stop blaming yourself for something you couldn't have prevented. Neither of you is doing anyone any good running on fumes."
Then he left too, leaving just me, Code, and Hart in the conference room.
Hart's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and smiled. "That's Roxie. I need to run home for a bit. Emergency at the vet clinic. The server went down."
"Go." Code waved him off.
"I'll be back in an hour." Hart grabbed his jacket. "Try not to solve everything without me."
The door closed behind him.
Silence settled over the room. Just the hum of computers and Code's fingers on the keyboard. I watched him work, his focus absolute, shutting out everything else. Including me.
"Code."
He kept typing.
"Code, please."
His fingers stilled. He didn't look at me.
"How possible is it?" I had to know. Needed to hear the truth without everyone else trying to manage my emotions. "That my friends are going to go through exactly what I'm going through. Don't sugarcoat it."
He turned to face me. His eyes were bloodshot, exhausted, but his gaze was steady.
"Technically, it's very possible, Katherine. It depends on motivation."
"Show me."
"Katherine..."
"Show me what you found."
He hesitated, then pulled up files on the screen. Video thumbnails filled the display. I recognized the backgrounds. My hotel room in New York. The suite in Chicago. That Airbnb in Santa Monica where Marissa and I had spent a weekend planning my publicity tour.
"These two." Code highlighted images showing Chris and Marissa. "They appear in seventeen and twenty-three instances respectively. Most are brief. A few minutes here and there during video calls or meetings in your hotel room."
"But brief is enough?"
"Potentially. With the right editing, you can build a narrative from fragments. String together five-second clips across multiple sessions. Make it look like a continuous conversation."
He clicked to another folder. My heart seized.
"This is Angelica?"
"Yeah."
The number of thumbnails made me dizzy. Dozens of images. Angelica laughing during FaceTime calls. Angelica curled up on my hotel bed watching movies. Angelica getting ready for a premiere, trying on dresses, asking my opinion.
"How much footage?"
"Approximately fourteen hours total." Code's voice stayed clinical. "That's more than enough to create convincing deepfakes. Train an AI model on her voice, her mannerisms, her expressions. With this much source material, they could make her say anything."
My legs gave out. I sank back into the chair.
Fourteen hours.
Fourteen hours of Angelica being herself, trusting me, never suspecting that someone was watching. Recording. Planning to use her openness against her.
"This is my fault."
"No."
"I left my laptop unguarded. I was careless. I brought this into her life." My voice cracked. "She's been nothing but kind to me. She dropped everything to help me. And I repaid her by making her a target."
"Katherine, listen to me." Code crossed the room and crouched in front of my chair. His hands covered mine. "This is not your fault. You couldn't have known."
"I should have been more careful."
"You were targeted by someone with military-grade resources and expertise. No amount of consumer-grade security would have stopped them." His fingers tightened on mine. "They chose you. They planned this. You're a victim, not the villain."
Tears burned behind my eyes. I refused to let them fall.
"Angelica's going to hate me."
"Angelica's going to want to hunt down whoever did this, rip off their leg, and force them to choke on it." Code's lips curved slightly.
“I don’t think it’s their leg that she would be ripping off.” I grinned.
“I’m trying to be a gentleman. Trust me. She's the last person in the world they should have targeted."
"Why?"
"Because the wrath of the Drakos family is a really bad thing.
" His voice held certainty. "Angelica has seventeen siblings. A quarter of them are in law enforcement or military. The others are just scary in their own ways. When they find out someone’s threatening her, they won't stop until that person pays. "
The image made me smile even bigger despite everything. An army of Drakos siblings descending on whoever made those videos. Bruno from Homeland Security. Jase the former SEAL. Renzo who'd survived living on the streets of Lima. Malik who looked like he could bench press a car.
"You're not alone in this," Code said. "And neither is Angelica. We're going to find who did this. We're going to stop them. And we're going to make sure they can never hurt anyone again."
I looked into his eyes. Saw the determination there, the protective fury barely contained beneath his exhausted exterior.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
The intensity in his voice made my breath catch. He meant it. Every word. This wasn't just a case to him anymore. It was personal.
We stared at each other. His hands still covered mine. The space between us felt charged, electric. His gaze dropped to my mouth.
My pulse hammered in my throat.
Code leaned forward slightly.
I leaned toward him.
"You two better get moving!" Jase's voice boomed from somewhere downstairs. "Brunch starts in half an hour and Bonnie will kill me if you're late!"
We jerked apart like guilty teenagers.
Code stood quickly, running a hand through his already messy hair. "We should go."
"Yeah. Definitely." I stood up too fast, nearly tripped over my own feet.
He steadied me with a hand on my elbow. The touch sent heat through my entire body.
This was dangerous. I was in crisis. He was helping me. Getting involved romantically was a terrible idea that would only complicate everything.
But God, I’d wanted to close that distance. See what would have happened if Jase hadn't interrupted.
"Come on." Code released my arm. "If we're late, Bonnie really will kill Jase. And then Angelica will kill me for letting it happen."
We headed downstairs in silence. The almost-kiss hung between us, unacknowledged but impossible to ignore.
At the door, Code paused. "Katherine?"
I turned back.
"What I said about the Drakos family? About them protecting their own?" His eyes met mine. "That includes you now. You're under their protection. Which means you're under mine."
The words settled over me like a shield.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. Wait until we catch this bastard."
He held the door open. I walked past him into the cool morning air. The sun had fully risen now, painting the parking lot in golden light.
Everything looked peaceful.
But I knew better now. Underneath the surface, danger lurked. Someone watching. Someone waiting. Someone who'd already hurt people I cared about and might hurt more if we didn't stop them.
But I wasn't alone anymore.
I had Code. I had the entire Drakos family. I had Jasper Creek circling the wagons to protect one of their own.
And somehow, that made all the difference.