Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Lincoln leaned against the deck railing and sipped his bitter brew. The nice thing about coffee was that in most places, coffee was coffee. It tasted the same no matter where he went.
Only, this morning, he needed a double shot of caffeine.
He’d spent half the night going down a new rabbit hole and didn’t like what he’d found.
Someone had done an excellent job of making Stormi look like something she wasn’t to the untrained eye.
But Lincoln was the best of the best. He knew only two other men who could potentially beat him at his own game.
Darius Ford and Wyatt Bixby.
Both men worked for the Brotherhood Protectors organization. One out of the Colorado branch and the other in the Yellowstone office.
“Waking teenagers during the summer is never fun.” Tal stepped outside and handed Lincoln a warm chocolate croissant. “Brad was easy, but the poor kid is feeling displaced and, frankly, unloved by his mother. He’s not a child, but he’s not a man.”
“I know that feeling.” Lincoln stuffed half the treat into his mouth and let the chocolate settle on his tongue while his taste buds exploded. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, which were a jumbled pile of mismatched information that he had no idea how to file. “You’re doing the right thing by supporting and giving him a safe place to land. He seems like a decent boy with a good head on his shoulders.”
“He is. And he’s smart too. He wants to go into the Air Force Academy. I wrote a letter of recommendation, and he got a congressional nomination. His grades are top-notch. I’m sure he’ll have no problem getting in.”
“You sound proud.”
“I kind of am, but then I worry about Marisa. I’m not blind. But they are too young to be so attached. He’s the first boy she’s ever really dated, and sadly, he’s exactly the kind of young man I want her to be with. But not at fucking sixteen. I don’t want her falling in love at that age.”
“Unfortunately, first loves don’t always last.” Lincoln set his mug on the railing. “We all have to have our heart broken at least once.”
“I don’t want my little girl ever to go through that.”
“It might not be her who gets her soul crushed.” Lincoln cocked his head. “And from where I’m sitting, it sounds more like you’re the one who’s worried about giving that kid up.”
“Now you sound like my wife.”
“Speaking of Heather, I need you to do me a favor,” Lincoln said.
Tal raised his hand. “I had nothing to do with last night and I’ve already asked Heather to stop playing matchmaker, to which she scowled and informed me that’s not what she was doing. She feels like Stormi hasn’t made any connections and she knows how you get when you’re working and sulking.”
“I’m going to ignore the comment about my demeanor.” Lincoln shook his head. “But that’s not what I was referring to. I need her not to mention my other job. I can’t have anyone in this town know who I work for. While both Samantha and Zero Gravity are keeping it in the vault, I can’t afford for it to get out.”
“I mentioned that too, and she gets it, but she’s now worried about how this will affect Brad and his father.”
“I understand her concern.”
“What can you tell me about what you have on Norman? If anything.”
Lincoln raked his fingers through his hair. He’d only been working on this case for five days. During that time frame, he’d learned very little, other than whoever leaked the information regarding the potential problems with the rocket launch wasn’t done yet. Lincoln knew that because right before he’d boarded a plane, he came face-to-face with the hacker inside the computer system and he had to admit, whoever this person was, they were good.
But he suspected that person wasn’t Norman. At least not in the flesh. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t hired someone.
“He’s got motivation for revenge,” Lincoln said.
“Once you meet him, you’ll figure out real quick, he’s more relieved his marriage ended than pissed. His only concern is how it affects his son moving forward.”
“Maybe so, but that doesn’t change the fact his wife cheated on him with a colleague and someone he considered a friend. His life has been turned upside down and he’s out a shit ton of money. Not just by divorcing, but if he leaves Zero Gravity, he loses his stock options, among other things.” Lincoln held up his hand. “I don’t care what anyone says, money always makes people do weird shit, me included. However, Norman doesn’t have the computer skills to do what I’ve seen. He’d have to hire someone and while it’s been believed it was someone from the inside, I’m not so sure about that.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I’m not prepared to express my thoughts just yet.” Lincoln lifted his coffee and downed the last few gulps while he organized all the information and contemplated his approach to the next part of this conversation. It could have the potential to start a fight.
Something he didn’t want.
“To be honest, while Norman makes sense on a motivational standpoint and on paper, my instincts tell me he’s not worth my time and energy.” Lincoln folded his arms across his chest. “My bigger issue now is Stormi.”
“Why do you say that?” Tal narrowed his stare as he rested his hip against the railing. “How is she involved in this? And don’t go giving me half answers.”
“I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you, Stormi isn’t who she claims to be.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“For starters, she’s not a librarian and her real name isn’t Stormi.” Lincoln leaned over and snagged the file on Stormi from the table. He handed it to Tal, going for broke. If he could trust anyone, it was Tal, and right now, Lincoln didn’t trust himself. “This is what I needed your printer and privacy for this morning. I’ve highlighted what I’m willing to share with you, but remember?—”
“Yeah. Yeah. I can’t repeat it. I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to.” Tal eased into one of the chairs in front of the small table on the deck. He flipped open the folder and lifted the color-coded paper. “Do I need to be worried about my family’s safety?”
“From Stormi? I don’t believe so.” Lincoln stared out across the yards and rubbed the back of his neck. After Tal had left the Special Boat Service, Lincoln had found himself at a crossroads. Missions just weren’t the same without Tal. Nor was the team. That’s when Lincoln had gone into a more specialized position, hanging back and working intel from a different vantage point.
However, he still went on missions, and the last one made it clear that it was time to retire.
But he’d also fallen head over heels in love with Samantha. While sometimes he hated to admit that, it was still the truth. After he retired, instead of moving to the States, like originally planned, he opted to propose and settle into life with a woman whom he honestly didn’t know that well, even after five years of dating, and a few years of living together.
Something that still affected his ability to trust his instincts about anyone.
“Dante Norris?” Tal glanced up and blinked. “I remember that story. He was an engineer for Zero Gravity. He worked on the rocket boosters. The ones that exploded. He died a year ago while they were doing some test. I believe he was ultimately blamed for the explosion. But I don’t get the connection.”
“He was held responsible.” Lincoln nodded. “After an internal investigation, the company made a statement that Dante cut numerous corners to bring new technology to the rocket before any other private spaceflight company. According to Zero Gravity, Dante had hopes of not only making a name for himself, but potentially selling the tech to other spaceflight companies as well as the government.” He tapped the paper. “It was all backed up by an independent study, as well as an FBI probe. But get this.” Lincoln reached in front of Tal and yanked out the last piece of paper. “Special Agent Kara Martin stuck her nose into this investigation, even though it wasn’t hers. She dug in places that her bosses thought went a little overboard.”
“But in the end, the FBI signed off on it.” Tal waved a piece of paper. “Says so right here, and until the leak a month ago, Zero Gravity was back in business.”
Lincoln shrugged. “Zero Gravity completely cooperated. They gave the Feds all the pertinent information. The FBI had full access to Dante’s research and testing. It all came down to Dante fucking up and being greedy. There was nothing the FBI could do but sign off.”
“So what has your panties in a wad? And what does it have to do with our local librarian?” Tal sighed, pushing the documents aside and waving his hand over them. “I’m not going to read it. Your color-coding and bullet points give me a fucking headache.” He leaned back and glared. “I’ve missed you, but not that shit.”
“Now you really know how to hurt a man’s feelings.” Lincoln tapped his chest. “There’s so much that bothers me about this case and I’m going down a rabbit hole that I wasn’t hired for. I was to get in, find the hacker, close the breach, build a new system. Simple, right?”
“If you say so.”
“I never intended to spend any length of time on this. I want out from my contract. I don’t want to deal with Samantha for a second longer.”
“I don’t blame you there.”
“David, Norman’s father-in-law, believes it was an inside job. Someone loyal to David. He never once mentioned to me that Dante had a daughter. One that graduated top of her class with a computer science degree from MIT. Neither did Samantha, but I suppose it’s possible she didn’t know and she wouldn’t have any reason to go looking for it.”
Tal lowered his chin and sucked in a massive breath. “Well, now, that’s damn fucking interesting. When did you learn this?”
“That’s where it gets interesting. The daughter’s name was Amanda Norris. She was arrested three years ago for using her cybersecurity company to help a couple of criminals launder money and a few other unsavory things.”
“Okay. And?”
“Amanda and Stormi are the same person.”
“What the fuck?” Tal blinked.
“Yup. Only I didn’t put that together until last night and didn’t prove it until this morning. Which means, our Stormi is about as good of a hacker as I am.” Lincoln scratched the side of his face. “Before I knew about Stormi and was doing a search on Amanda, I got what everyone else got. Amanda went to MIT. Became an ethical hacker. Got married. Got arrested for doing a bunch of shady shit with her husband, using the cybersecurity company they formed together.”
“Jesus, that sounds a little too close for comfort.”
“I know. But according to my research, Amanda died by suicide shortly after being arrested. According to the media, she was consumed by guilt for what she’d done.” He raised his finger. “So, I focused on the husband, wondering if maybe if he had something to do with my hack.”
“Isn’t he still in prison?”
“Doesn’t mean he doesn’t have people on the outside or knew people inside Zero Gravity through his wife.”
“Any chance Stormi is working with her husband?”
“That is doubtful.” Lincoln cracked his knuckles. Something he did when he was a little too excited. “The FBI agent that arrested her and her husband also worked Dante’s case, though it was on the very fringes of it.” Lincoln pulled back one of the seats and plopped his ass down, exhausted from lack of sleep and staring at small portable computer screens. He couldn’t wait to set up shop in his new home.
“Now that’s incredibly interesting.” Tal folded his arms. “Are we talking witness protection?”
“My guess is she’s in WITSEC.” Lincoln stretched out his legs. “My friend Darius, over at the Brotherhood Protectors, his wife, Fenmore, is former FBI. She has some serious connections. I should have a better handle on what I’m dealing with when it comes to Stormi by the end of the day.” He rolled his neck. “But since Stormi is Amanda, well, that presents a whole new set of problems.”
“Because Amanda’s supposed to be dead, and I take it her dick of a husband made some dangerous enemies.”
“It goes beyond that. I have to be concerned that Samantha knew about Stormi.”
“How? She landed in your lap, almost literally.”
Lincoln nodded. “Of course, this isn’t even the scope of what my company was hired to do. We’re supposed to find the threat, close the hole, and make sure Zero Gravity doesn’t have any more leaks while loading a new system. However, Samantha knows me. She knows I’m like a dog with a bone with stuff like this.”
“What else aren’t you telling me?”
“A lot. But you’re going to have to trust me. I certainly don’t want to expose Stormi’s identity, but you should know that Zero Gravity has been a client of CyberGuard Solutions for four years.”
“Excuse me?” Tal leaned back and folded his arms. “That you should have told me at the beginning of this conversation.” He shook his head. “Why are you doing this job?”
“I almost backed out twice. But because Samantha never told me they were a client or that she wrote the security program?—”
“Wait. How the fuck didn’t you know that?”
Lincoln sighed. For a smart guy, Samantha often made him feel like an idiot. “You have to remember, I worked for her. It was her company.” He held up his hand. “Yes. I was an unofficial investor, which fucked me in the end. But she assigned the workload. I didn’t pay attention to what she or anyone else did. And when I caught her fucking Tony on my desk, I walked out and actually never returned to the office. I went back to our apartment, collected my things, and moved in with Bernard.”
“He’s a good man.”
“That he is.” Lincoln nodded. “Of course, after I licked my wounds, I found out all the other shit that she did. But I don’t want to dwell on that. I don’t believe it has anything to do with this problem. However, I’m a little beyond fascinated by what I’ve uncovered since I’ve gone poking around in places I’m not supposed to. Zero Gravity might be slightly sketchy.”
Tal jerked his head. “Seriously? If it’s sketchy, and she installed their security system, she is the problem.”
Lincoln laughed. “She wouldn’t have me poking around in there, finding her mistakes, knowing I would, if she were trying to cover something up.”
“Unless she wanted you to take the fall for something.”
“But what? Because I’ve considered that too.” Lincoln pursed his lips. “I know she’s got all sorts of issues and addictions. It was easy for her to hide them from me when I was deployed all the time. I have to wonder if she didn’t want to get caught, but that’s not the point. CyberGuard Solutions is in financial trouble. She needs this. I know she’d like me to stay on. She’s even offered to have me run an office here in the States. There’s a small part of me that believes that’s why she was trying to hold me to my contract.”
“That’s possible.” Tal nodded. “But I don’t like coincidences, and they are piling up like flies on shit.”
“That’s why I’m going to stall for a bit.”
“That’s a dangerous game where your ex is concerned,” Tal said. “Stormi took one big risk the moment she moved this close to Zero Gravity’s headquarters,” Tal said. “Her father’s worked for that company for years.”
“Ah, but Amanda-Stormi hasn’t had a relationship with her old man, at least not a good one, since she was twenty years old. I bet not a lot of people would recognize her. Hell, if it weren’t for those damn gorgeous eyes, I wouldn’t have. And let’s be honest about that. It’s always the eyes that get me in trouble.”
“Yeah, you did say you fell in love with Samantha based on those orbs of hers.”
“Please don’t remind me that I ever used the L-word and that woman’s name in the same sentence.” Lincoln shivered as he rose. “Mind if I borrow your son? I want to go to the library.”
“You don’t need my child to do that. But yeah, I’m sure he’ll be happy to go with you. However, as strange is this is going to sound, I don’t want him there all day. That boy should be outside, throwing a ball around. Or chasing some girl.”
“What a double standard you have.”
“Try having kids and you might understand.” Tal pulled out a key fob from his pocket. “It’s not much, but you might as well use my old Jeep until you can manage to buy yourself a vehicle.”
“Thanks, because my next question was, can I borrow?—”
“Get out of here.” Tal slapped Lincoln on the shoulder. “Let me know how I can help. Or anyone else from search and rescue. You already know Ethan, Rocky, and Brayden. But there’s an entire group of men and woman, all with skills that might come in handy, at your fingertips.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He turned and strolled through the house. Time to head to the library and make some small talk.
Since her father died, Stormi had entered Zero Gravity’s computer system twenty times or so. She started off small and checked out what she’d call low-level threat areas—places where she’d most likely go undetected. There wasn’t anything useful where she played—no client data, no proprietary information. She had been on a fact-finding mission.
It was all about learning the coding. Learning the system. Learning where back doors might be found.
In the beginning, all she had was her intuition. A little tickle in the back of her head that needled her mind. No way would her father cut corners to make a name for himself. He didn’t give a shit about stuff like that. While he believed in space exploration, he cared more about safety, not money or name recognition.
Do it right.
Not fast.
That was always his motto.
It didn’t matter if you were the last person to bring something to the table. What mattered was if you had the legs and the strength to maintain whatever you created. If you didn’t have that, you had shit.
When Stormi first broke into the rocket ship data hallway inside their mainframe, she was able to unlock the filing cabinet that stored the proprietary information regarding the thrusters and engines—basically, what makes the rocket, or in this case, the spaceplane, lift off the ground. This had been what her father had been working on. He’d been testing the system when it essentially overheated, exploded, and killed her dad and five other people.
Only, that couldn’t be what happened. Her father would beg the company to pull the plug if there had been any safety issues at all. Hell, he’d go to the media himself if he had to.
However, her instincts weren’t enough, and she had to face one big fat reality. She didn’t really know her father.
Unfortunately, her little game of leaking information forced Zero Gravity to bring in the big guns. She couldn’t be entirely sure if that person came in the form of one sexy ex-military British man, but she didn’t believe in coincidences.
During her last trip into the mainframe, she found that Zero Gravity’s new team used her father’s design, or at least it looked like her father’s designs. That meant there was nothing wrong with them. So, what the hell had happened when the damn rocket went up in flames? But she’d been chased out before she could pull any of that data out with her, and now she had to take a step back.
At least for a few days.
However, she had stopped the launch and even though it pissed off the one person who was on her side, it was the only way to bring attention to the spaceplane. To bring in outsiders to examine it and either prove it was faulty or that it was her father’s original work. That somehow it would help prove someone had sabotaged the last rocket.
That it wasn’t her father.
She didn’t need to speak to her father to understand the kind of man he was. He was a rule follower, and it’s one of the many reasons he hated her job. He thought an ethical hacker was an oxymoron, and in many ways, it was. But without someone like her, people like her ex-husband would always come out on top.
Sadly, in the case of Zero Gravity, she might have fucked herself when it came to getting back in their system.
Now, she had to decide whether spending time with Lincoln was a good idea or whether she should continue playing the introverted librarian.
It wasn’t that much of a stretch.
She glanced over her computer screen from behind the main counter at the public library and groaned. As if on cue, the man strolled through the doors with Tal’s teenage son.
Game on.
She squared her shoulders, pushed her black-rimmed glasses up her nose, and smiled. “Good…” She lifted her wrist and glanced at her watch. “…afternoon.” She waved her hand toward the far corner. “Suzie’s finishing putting the returns away and prepping for the afternoon toddler reading group if you want to go help her, Chad.”
“Sure.” Chad nodded like a bobblehead before racing off.
“He’s a good kid,” she said.
“He told me this is your favorite.” Lincoln set a to-go mug on the counter along with a paper bag. “His dad thinks he comes here because he has a crush on you. But could it be because he’s got the hots for someone closer to his own age?”
She tilted her head. “You’re kidding, right? Tal doesn’t know about him and Suzie?”
“Not really.” Lincoln chuckled. “How hot and heavy is this teenage romance?”
“I wouldn’t describe it as any of those things. But they do like each other. A lot. How does Tal and Heather not know about this? Technically, only Suzie is on the volunteer list, but we don’t mind Chad helping out. He’s quite knowledgeable and he’s good with kids.”
Lincoln glanced over his shoulder and ran his fingers through his hair. “Not sure what to do with that juicy piece of intel. I don’t want to toss the kid under the bus, but I’m sure his folks would like to know his real reason for being here all the time, especially when my buddy is a little worried about his lack of desire to do all the other things he enjoys this summer.”
She raised her hands. “Not my place or my business, unless they do something inappropriate in this building and neither one has. Not yet anyway.” She took the paper mug and lifted it. “Thank you for this. The coffee here sucks.”
“You’re welcome.” He nodded. “Is there a private room I can use for a few hours? I have some research to do. I brought my own computer, so all I need is a table and little privacy. The house I rented won’t be ready for me to move in for another few hours and my stuff isn’t coming until six tonight anyway.”
“Sure thing. Why don’t you follow me.” She snagged a set of keys from under the counter to room four. The one thing she hadn’t been prepared for when she decided to move to Fallport was how utterly small it was and how everyone knew each other and their business. While Lake George could be considered a small town, it was spread out. She hadn’t lived in the village. No, she grew up on Assembly Point and in the winter months, it was often isolating.
Probably one of the reasons she’d learned to love being alone.
Until her mother died and her father took the job with Zero Gravity, moving them to their offices in Maryland. She loved living on Chesapeake Bay, but she missed the Adirondacks. So much so, the only colleges she applied to were near that area.
Getting into MIT had been a dream come true.
Starting Fortress Technologies with her husband and moving to Saratoga Springs, which was closer to her childhood home, had been a dream come true.
That was until it all came crumbling down.
“You can have this room for the next four hours.” She stuck the key inside the hole and pushed open the door. “The Wi-Fi code is on the table. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“I do need to get a library card.” He winked.
“Hand over your driver’s license, and I’ll bring one back as soon as I can.”
“Thanks.” He took her hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed it. “One more thing. Does the library have any books on the history of Zero Gravity? Specifically, their plans for spaceflight?”
Her heart jumped to her throat. Her skin prickled. “There are a slew of books on Zero Gravity. I can show you where they are located and you can pick out which ones tickle your fancy,” she said. “To be honest, that’s an area that I’m not overly familiar with. Technical things go right over my head. While I love all books, nonfiction included, anything that requires that kind of brain power gives me a headache.”
“Really? I’m fascinated by the concept of spaceflight. Have been since I thought the moon was made out of cheese.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in a rocket ship. Not for the good of mankind and certainly not for the pure fun of it. I don’t even like to fly.”
“When I first joined the Special Boat Service, I wanted to be a pilot, but Tal had other plans for me and since he saved my life, I followed him like a sad pathetic puppy.” Lincoln chuckled. It was rich and deep and filled her stomach with butterflies. “I did eventually take lessons a few years ago. It’s amazing. Planes are incredible pieces of machinery. I’ve studied them much like I have computers. Now I’m doing that with rockets and shuttles. The idea that someday we all could be taking trips to space blows my mind.” He raised his hand and made an explosion sign from the side of his temple, smiling like a big kid. His excitement was palpable. And genuine.
Perhaps he was just a geek who enjoyed all things technical.
She could relate to that.
“The books you’re looking for are around the corner.” She stepped outside the room and pointed down the hall. “Just go down there and take a left by the bathrooms. The books on Zero Gravity are on the second bookstack. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, I’ll be at the main desk. Just come find me, and I’ll do a search and see if we have something somewhere else in the library.”
“Thanks, I really appreciate your help.”
“Anytime.” She smiled. “I better get back to my post.” Turning, she double-timed it back through the library, hoping her body didn’t tremble on the outside like it did on the inside.
Tonight, she would have to do a deep dive into Lincoln. She wasn’t as concerned about his past. But she needed to find out more about what he was doing in Fallport. Specifically, what company he worked for and if he was working with Zero Gravity.
Hell, she had half a mind to hack into the library Wi-Fi and watch what the man was doing. But if he was half as good as she was, he’d either bring his own secure line to do his work, or he’d lay a trap.
Fuck.
She needed to know one way or another.