Chapter Eighteen #4
“I got the fucker’s personal system,” Tris admitted. “The one he kept off the Internet. I’m worried about some of the projects he refers to in there. We might have cut off the head, but there’s more work to be done.”
Kenzie yawned and sat up straighter in bed. “Hey, I never got the explanation of how you figured out Gabby was still working with Huisman.”
“He did?” Ben stood. She was awake now, and they’d told him she was stable. “Scoot.”
She smiled up at him as she made a place next to her. “That’s what he said, but you were all knocked out and on your way here when he showed up. I bet the Agency is going to yell at us for the last-minute plane tickets.”
Ben slipped off his shoes and climbed into bed with her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she curled around him. She fit so perfectly.
“Like I would fly commercial,” Tris said with a sigh. “I took the small jet. My dad didn’t even complain once I found the footage.”
“And I’m pretty sure Zach used one of the billionaire’s jets,” Kala explained.
“What footage?” If he let Kala continue, she would go into a ton of stories about how weird the town of Bliss, Colorado, was, and he wanted to know what Tris had found.
Kala stepped back as though giving the floor to Tris.
He pulled his cell phone and started typing on it. “So I put Gabby, Sosa, and Claire through my dad’s facial recognition program. The one he’s been tweaking. Chelsea’s been working on it, too.”
Kenzie’s Aunt Chelsea was legendary in the intelligence industry.
She’d once been the all-powerful Broker, but now she worked for her own company.
They often did projects for friendly intelligence agencies, and while they were careful with their intellectual property, they would never turn down a request from the Agency team.
“Were you trying to figure out their real identities? I thought Lucy said it was clear the group erased the girls they brought in.”
“I wasn’t doing it for that purpose, though you should know I’ve got an AI working on that,” Tris explained.
“I need it to study their bone structure so we can get a good picture of what they would have looked like as children. But I wanted to see if their faces were in any of the systems. And I got a shock. Because she was in our system.”
Kenzie shifted so she could see Tris. “Our system? The Agency’s?”
Tris’s head shook, and he offered her his phone. “No. Miles, Dean, Weston, and Murdoch. In our security system’s archives. This is from a consultation that happened over a year ago.”
Ben watched the screen Kenzie held. There was an older gentleman in a suit walking into the lush offices of MDWM.
The receptionist greeted him and the young woman he had with him.
He recognized Gabby, but she was dressed younger, her hair in pigtails.
She looked like she was eleven or twelve when he was fairly certain at that time she was at least nineteen.
“I lose her when they go back to Dad’s office. The man she’s with is David Gatton, a businessman from Paris,” Tris continued.
“What was the consultation about?” Ben asked.
“He was looking for his missing wife. Gabby was introduced as his daughter.” Kala took up Ben’s seat. “I’ve looked through all the files they have. Which isn’t a lot since two days later Gatton had them drop the case.”
“He didn’t even ask for his hefty retainer back,” Tristan explained.
“So we don’t have cameras in the individual offices.
Since everyone’s married and somehow still horny, that’s understandable.
But I caught sight of Gabby wandering. Probably looking for the bathroom, but she disappears down the hall where the servers are kept.
She’s gone for at least fifteen minutes. ”
“But that room would be locked,” Kenzie pointed out.
“And yet I believe she got through.” Tris looked grim as he took his phone back. “I believe there was never a missing wife. That meeting was taken to get Gabby in the building, in that room.”
Kenzie shook her head. “But Gabby’s specialty was stealing. She didn’t know the technical things. I could believe she could follow simple instructions, but getting into your dad’s servers wouldn’t be simple.”
“Sosa admitted they lied about their specialties.” Kala crossed one leg over the other, showing off the combat boots she wore.
“It was something Huisman told them to do. Gabby was their hacker, and apparently an excellent one since she got around everything your dad and my aunt had. The question is, what did they take?”
It sent a shiver down his spine.
But that was a problem for another day. And he had them. He had all the days with her.
“I’m hungry,” Kenzie said. “I know they don’t have hot dogs, but Mom said something about the café having those fried dough things.”
He kissed the top of her head and slid off the bed. This wasn’t even close to his groveling, though Kala had pointed out that being Kenzie’s servant was all part of the contract. But this was part of being hers. “It’s called tulumbichk, and I will get you that and some tea.”
The door came open and his future in-laws walked in with smiles and flowers.
Charlotte and Tasha immediately went to Kenzie’s side.
Ian waited back as Ben approached the door. “She okay?”
“She’s great. The doctors told us she’s recovering well. I don’t think the damage is as extensive as what Kala went through, but I’ve got it on our calendar to pick a cardiologist in Dallas,” Ben explained. “I’ll make sure she goes.”
“Good, because she often forgets about herself,” Ian replied.
“I won’t let her.” He was planning on being everything Kenzie needed him to be.
Her partner. Her top. Her husband. “And I’ve already talked to Joseph.
I’m quitting. I’m moving to Dallas and I’ll be happy to consult, but the truth is I’m not a spy.
I was Captain Ahab and my white whale has been defeated by one of the smartest women I’ve ever met. So I’m going to need a job.”
Ian frowned. “And that is my problem?”
“Ian,” Charlotte said.
“Dad,” the twins managed to say in stereo.
“Dad, how can he grovel if he’s in Canada?” Kala asked. “I’ve got a ten-page document detailing all the ways he has to serve this family. He’s going to learn how to make lemon tarts. I have a class set up with Marley Brighton.”
“He can start in the bodyguard unit.” Ian moved to join his wife. “And those tarts better be good. Damn kids always have their hands out.”
Kenzie grinned his way as she was surrounded by her family.
His family. They were going to be his.
“Love you, baby,” he said. “And I’ll get TJ a sandwich and drop it off.”
The words were easier now that he understood what they meant to her. Love for Kenzie was everything. Love was in the grand gestures and the small ones. She lived and breathed her love. It was in her every movement, every gesture.
He stared at her for a moment, just taking her in.
Ian kissed his daughter’s forehead and then joined Ben again. “You do the other thing?”
His future father-in-law had his own requests, though it wasn’t groveling.
Quite the opposite. The task Ian Taggart asked him to complete was all about taking himself seriously.
About understanding himself. About loving himself so he could completely love Kenzie.
“I’ve got an appointment with Dr. Rycroft, and I’m going to take my training classes over again at Sanctum. ”
“You’re ready.” Ian put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you, son.”
Damn. Dare told him it would be this way. “Thank you. For everything.”
For his kindness. For his tough love. He had the feeling he would learn a lot about being a good father from this man.
For raising the person he loved most in this world.
For welcoming him into the best family he could possibly belong to.
“Let’s get these people fed, son. TJ is turning into a goblin.” Ian held the door open. “I’m serious about that. He’s got this crap coming out of his face.”
His future father-in-law was a trip. “I think he hasn’t had a chance to shave. I don’t think he’s turning into a mythical creature.”
“Then you haven’t had to smell the kid,” Ian said as he walked out into the hallway.
Ben turned back and Kenzie was smiling at him.
He winked her way and followed her dad.
For the first time in years, he had a future.