Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Stormi pulled back the main doors to On The Rocks and strolled inside. It smelled like fresh roasted peanuts mixed with whiskey and sizzling meat on the grill.
Her stomach immediately growled, which was better than twisting up in a knot like it had been five minutes ago. Her aversion to people had lessened some since she’d come to Fallport and had been working in the library. But socializing with them, well, that she could still do without.
For the last three years, she’d kept more to herself than she ever had, and that wasn’t hard to do.
She followed the hostess to a table on the side of the bar and checked her watch, wishing she’d been late, instead of ten minutes early.
“Pam will be your waitress, but can I start you off with a beverage?” the hostess asked.
“A tequila on the rocks with a lime.”
“Pam will bring that right over.”
Stormi pulled out her cell. Lincoln wasn’t an easy man to find information on. Not surprising, considering he’d spent most of his life with the British Armed Forces.
Everything he’d told her about his past—about his parents dying and living in foster care—had been true. She’d learned he retired a year ago, but she had no idea the circumstances, and she wasn’t about to hack into the British government—not today, anyway.
Outside of that, the only interesting thing she’d found was that he lived with a woman for three years and was engaged until about six months ago.
And she owned a cybersecurity firm called CyberGuard Solutions.
Lincoln wasn’t listed as an employee or an investor. He wasn’t listed anywhere on the website and Stormi wasn’t about to use her skills to go find out how he was linked to it, because she knew for damn sure he was.
But she couldn’t have a digital footprint linked back to her and knew it eventually would be.
Especially if he was here to find and fix the security breach in Zero Gravity.
She should pay her bill and leave this bar before he showed up, but before that thought could go any further, the gorgeous Brit strolled into On The Rocks with a wicked smile and his damn sexy swagger.
He was a tall drink of danger wrapped in a sweet and salty pastry that no one in their right mind could resist.
He paused at a table in the center of the room, giving Brayden Gibson, a member of the local search and rescue team, a manly hug. Also at the table was Weston Campbell and Blaze Wright, also part of search and rescue. A minute later, Zeke came from behind the bar and shook Lincoln’s hand while the waitress set her drink down in front of her.
“Thank you,” Stormi said.
“You look familiar.” The waitress narrowed her eyes.
“I work at the library,” Stormi offered as she swallowed her fear, wondering if perhaps Pam recognized her from her past life. Pam didn’t look familiar, but that didn’t mean anything.
“Can’t say that I’ve ever been inside a bookstore, much less a library.” Pam continued to squint. “I’m new to town, so I don’t know many people. Are you from the area?”
“No,” Stormi admitted. “Where are you from?”
“Upstate New York.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “Well, I’m from Maryland. Grew up on the Chesapeake. Can’t say that I’ve ever been to the great state of New York,” Stormi said, hoping that nipped whatever this girl thought she recognized in Stormi.
“You’re not missing much, that’s for sure. I was happy to get out.”
“What brought you to Fallport?” Stormi asked, telling herself that knowledge was power. She also hoped to get the girl’s last name so she could dig into her past.
“Sadly, I moved here about a year ago with my boyfriend who dumped me six months ago.” Pam shrugged. “I have no desire to go home with my tail between my legs.”
“Can’t say as I blame you.”
Pam glanced over her shoulder. “Who’s the sexy new guy?” She planted her hand on her hip and gave Lincoln the once-over. “I know all the search and rescue team members and he’s not one of them, though he’s awful dreamy.”
“That’s Lincoln. He’s friends with Tal and from the UK.”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard Tal had a friend who was moving here.” The waitress turned her attention back to Stormi. “Can I get you something else?”
“Not this second.” She pointed toward Lincoln, as if to mark her territory. “I’m waiting on him.”
“Oh really.” The waitress cocked a brow. “Is it a date? Or can I ask for his number?”
Stormi should tell the cute little blonde that this wasn’t a date and she could prance her boobs all up in Lincoln’s face if she wanted to, but a sudden burst of unwanted jealousy bellowed through her veins like a raging wildfire. “That wouldn’t be advisable,” Stormi said, lifting her hand. She wiggled her fingers, waving to Lincoln.
He smiled, nodding his head.
“Do you know what he’d like to drink?” Pam asked as she shifted her weight, nudging out her other hip.
“He’ll take one of these.” She pointed to her glass. If he didn’t like it, she’d drink it, but she wasn’t about to admit to Pam that she had no idea what her date enjoyed.
“Coming right up.” Pam turned on her heel and marched off as if she were running from that same fire that had erupted inside Stormi’s body.
Damn. Stormi wasn’t normally the kind of girl who got her panties in a twist over a man. Not even when she suspected Kurt had been cheating. What did affect her was when he fucked with their business. That cut her to the bone.
Though, seeing the pictures of his indiscretions had made it easier to send that asshole to prison.
But the bigger issue that she should be dealing with, and would be as soon she got home and in front of her computer, was, could Pam possibly know who she was or could she figure it out?
“Hey there.” Lincoln slipped into the booth across from her and smiled. “You look pretty.”
“If I wasn’t wearing jeans and a basic T-shirt, I’d simply say thank you.”
He cocked his head. “And a woman can’t look nice in that outfit?”
“I suppose.” She shrugged.
Pam appeared with his drink. “Your date ordered you this.” She set it down in front of him, leaning over, letting her breasts dangle in his face a little too long. “I hope you like tequila.”
“Now why would my date order me something I wouldn’t appreciate.” He lifted his glass to his lips and sipped. “That’s perfect, babe. You know me so well.”
Stormi rolled her eyes.
“Can I get you folks an appetizer? Or are you ready to order?” Pam asked.
“Shall I?” Lincoln winked.
“By all means, honey. ”
“We’ll have an order of medium wings to share. Then the lady will have the cheeseburger and tater tots, and I’ll do the same, but I want onion rings. Both burgers we want medium rare,” he said.
“Coming right up.” Pam stuffed her pad and pencil back in her apron and strolled off toward the kitchen.
“Looks like you made a new best friend.” He took another gulp of his drink.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “But to add a little context to that, she all but wanted to know if she could have your number.”
Lincoln laughed. “My boys over there were just giving me a little heads-up on Pam, the desperate waitress, in hot pursuit of a husband. I’m told she moved to town a year ago, got her heart broken, and has been on the hunt ever since.” Lincoln leaned closer. “Blaze mentioned she has a type. And that’s anyone who wears or wore a uniform. That shit makes me crazy.”
“I imagine it would, but you could have her for dessert if you wanted.”
“Not interested.”
“You don’t find her attractive?” Stormi leaned back and studied his facial expressions, which always seemed to be in playful mode. He had to be one of the most laid-back men she’d ever met. Even when he was knee-deep in research at the library. She shouldn’t find that utterly fascinating, but she did.
“That’s a relative term.”
“What do you mean?” This was not the conversation she was itching to have with Lincoln. Only, she had no idea how to segue from this topic to his work.
“At face value, taking no context at all, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. But once you learn her backstory, what her goals and motivations in life are, beauty means jack shit. It can actually make a person ugly as hell.” He lifted his lime and squeezed it into his drink.
“You’re judging a woman based on what others have said about her.”
“Perhaps a little. But she did shove her boobs in my face.” He shivered. “That is not the way to get me to notice you. As a matter of fact, it’s the perfect way to turn me off,” he said. “But why are we sitting here chatting about our server for the evening.” He rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. “I’d rather be getting to know you better.”
“You certainly are a charmer.”
“I don’t know about that. My ex would tell you that I couldn’t sweet-talk my way into trouble, much less out of it. She’d also call me the biggest asshole on the planet.”
“I think all exes have tainted views of their past relationships.”
“You’re probably right there.” He smiled as Pam, the flirty-pants waitress placed the chicken wings and two plates on the table, along with two fresh drinks. “Zeke said these and the first round are on him.” She smiled, staring at Lincoln, her back to Stormi. “I just want to say, thank you for your service. I’m sure you’ll make a great addition to the Fallport Search and Rescue team.”
“Thank you.” Lincoln piled a few wings on a plate and placed them in front of Stormi, keeping his gaze fixated on her and nowhere else.
If this were a real date, this man would have her hook, line, and sinker. Hell, she wouldn’t kick him out of bed, that was for damn sure. Hopefully, she wouldn’t find herself in a predicament where she had to actually say no, because that might be impossible, considering it had been over a year since she’d had sex with anything other than hard, cold plastic.
“Babe, is there anything else you need?” He placed his hand over hers and ran his thumb over the inside of her wrist.
Her skin tingled under his touch. “I’m good.”
“Your dinner will be up in about twenty.” Pam scurried off.
“How is it that you can be mean, without actually being mean?”
“I don’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings, but I did want to make two, maybe three points clear.” He tapped his finger on the table. “The first one is that I’m not interested in her, at all. The second one is I’m sitting in this booth with you and that’s where my attention will lie.” He took a wing and gobbled up half of it.
“And what’s the third?” She waited patiently for him to finish chewing while she tried desperately not to stare at his sweet, delectable lips.
“While you’ve made it perfectly clear this isn’t a date, I wouldn’t mind changing your mind about that.”
She arched a brow as she nibbled on her food, contemplating how to respond, while her heart hammered wildly in her chest. Dating him was out of the question. Pumping him for information, that was a different story. But how did she do that?
Glancing up over her wing, she swallowed as he reached across the table, took her hand, and sucked on her fucking finger.
Why the fuck did he have to order this appetizer?
“Sorry. I couldn’t resist the temptation.”
“Try to,” she managed.
His right eye twitched. “I can’t tell if you’re mad and trying to find a way to turn me down nicely, or if you’re considering letting the flirting continue because you’re enjoying it.”
“What I’m enjoying is this wing. I lived in New York and it’s hard to find good Buffalo style wings. This is pretty damn close.” She tossed her bone on the plate and snagged another one.
“Ah. You’re an avoider.”
“My ex-husband called me that all the time.” She shrugged. “Perhaps he was right.”
“You were married?”
“Does that bother you?” She resented how much damn fun she was having and if his lips landed on hers, she’d suck on his tongue. Those kinds of thoughts she needed to banish from her mind.
“No. But I guess I’m a little surprised since you’re so young. How long were you married and when did you get divorced?”
“I got married at twenty-five and divorced by twenty-seven.” So much of her fake history was blended in with reality. This was a little too close to her real life and she hated talking about it, but it seemed necessary.
“Do you mind if I ask what happened?”
She wiped her fingers on a napkin and pushed her plate aside. “We were young and stupid. Didn’t know each other long enough or well enough. He was all about being social and going out with friends and I would much rather stay at home with a book or a movie. At first, our differences seemed cute. We joked about how opposites attract and I’d make an effort with his friends, and he’d stay home. But that only lasted about a year. He wanted to have parties every weekend. Or have me cook for his poker buddies. And the trips.” She waved her hand dramatically over her plate. “I hated going on vacation with his snotty friends and their stuck-up wives. We started fighting all the time. He’d go out. I’d stay home. One day, he told me he was in love with someone else and I told him not to let the door hit him on the way out.” Damn. She had no idea she could lie that well. However, the emotion behind the words wasn’t phony.
“That was three years ago. Have you dated anyone special since?”
She shook her head. That was at least the truth. “Your turn. You keep mentioning an ex. Tell me about her. I take it she’s who Heather fixed you up with.”
“Good deduction skills,” he said. “Unfortunately, I’m still tied to Samantha for a little while.”
“How so?”
“I do contract work for the company she owns. To make a very long story short, I have one last job to do for her, and then I’m in the clear. That can’t happen fast enough for my liking.”
“Why’d you break up?”
“A plethora of reasons, but the main one was she cheated on me with someone we both worked with. That’s a deal-breaker for me.”
“Probably for most people.” She polished off her first drink and brought her second one closer, though she’d sip it for the rest of the evening. The last thing she needed was to get drunk. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“Better that I found out before we got married.”
“You were engaged?” she asked as if she hadn’t learned that from diving into his boss’ social media posts. She found it odd that a cybersecurity person would have that kind of digital imprint. Of course, it wasn’t a big one and it was used more for marketing than anything else.
“Not for very long, but I did spend five years with Samantha. It wasn’t all bad. Just the last year. However, I suspect she was sleeping around with other men while I was deployed, so there’s that.”
“Not cool.”
“Nope. It’s not. But it’s over and not something I like to dwell on.” He tilted his head and narrowed one eye. “Tell me something. Aren’t you at all concerned about your job as a librarian with the advent of the digital age? I mean ebooks are all the rage. And how many people, outside of old relics like me or parents who want to bring their kids to story hour, actually go to the library anymore?”
“Lots of people. My job is still useful and I’m learning every day about new technology.” She plastered on her best smile. “We have digital libraries that require a library card. I have to help people with that. And book clubs use the library all the time. Not to mention that college and high school libraries are still in big demand. I could always go work there if I had to. Adapt or die, as they say.”
“That’s an excellent attitude, but libraries will become virtual. I can see in the near future that consumers won’t even have to leave their homes to check out a book.” He held up his hand. “Not that I would be for that, because I love the feel of a book in my hands, and I get drunk on the smell of the library.”
“I know, right. It’s intoxicating.” Almost as much as the way a keyboard felt on her fingertips. “However, ebooks haven’t completely taken over the marketplace.”
“Oh, but they will. Just like cell phones have replaced landlines and streaming is killing cable.”
“Next thing you’re going to tell me is that AI (Artificial Intelligence) voices will take over for audiobook narrators.”
He laughed. “Already happening. I listened to three last month. The voices were pretty good too.”
“Now that just breaks my heart.” She fanned herself. Only, all it did was make her pulse soar. She loved the idea of AI. It fascinated her on so many levels. And it was all around them. Some of the most basic daily functions today used some form of AI, even if people weren’t aware they were engaging with it. But humans would do so many destructive things with AI. They always did. Not because AI was inherently bad. But because people were inherently greedy and had an insatiable thirst for power. “What about you? Aren’t you worried that AI will take over your job? Replace what you do?” She raised her hand and coiled her fingers through her hair, tilting her head ever so slightly. “And what is that exactly, because I surely don’t understand.”
“The interesting thing about what I do in the private sector is that I’m the reason we need people like me.” He winked.
“I’m not sure I follow.” Only she knew exactly what he meant.
“It’s simple and frankly, a problem as old as time.” He smiled as if he’d unlocked the key to the human race. “Man created weapons. Humans have stated over time that their purpose was to defend. Or perhaps to survive. But in that quest to protect ourselves from the big bad wolf, we continue to use technology as a measuring stick of growth. Of our evolvement. However, all these big so-called advancements come with a big price. Going back to my weapons analogy, what started as a way to hunt food and protect our homes has turned into a way to destroy the world.” He tapped his cell. “The things I can do behind technology are pretty scary. Used for the right reasons, they keep your data and our world safe. But when is enough enough? We’ve passed that line with weapons probably even before the nuclear bomb was built and used. And yet, we’re still developing weapons of mass destruction. Technology could be a worse weapon because it holds the power to turn us against each other in different ways. I’d like to believe I’m part of the solution. Only, the fact that I exist kind of makes me part of the problem.” He lifted his drink and downed it like a shot.
“I didn’t understand a word you just said and now I have a headache.” She rubbed her temple as Pam placed their dinners in front of them. It was a lame attempt to pretend his words confused her, when in reality, they excited her.
“Can I refill your drinks?” Pam asked.
“I’ll have one more.” Lincoln nodded. “Stormi? Would you like another?”
“I really shouldn’t, but after that jumbled monologue of stuff I didn’t understand, I could use one.” Stormi smiled, lifted her drink, tipped back her head, and pounded the last few gulps. She shouldn’t have, but it was the only way she’d get through the rest of the night, and she wasn’t quite ready to call it quits.
“Coming right up.” Pam turned and swayed her hips while she glanced over her shoulder.
Stormi had met a dozen men and women like Lincoln over the years, all wishing to get out of the game, all knowing they were trapped by the lines of code that called to them in their sleep.
It was as strong as any drug.
And just as powerful as money.
People like him wanted to make a difference in the world. They wanted to protect the innocent. Prevent the world from going to shit because of the advances that on the one hand made them feel safe, but on the other made them weak and vulnerable.
It was the ultimate paradox.
A matrix.
Technology was the very thing that brought about an easier way of life. Yet, it was destined to be mankind’s destruction.
That was if you believed the techie philosophers of the world.
Sometimes she did, other times she didn’t.
“Sorry about that.” He plopped an onion ring into his mouth. “Looks like I’ve let my current case creep its way into our date.”
“How so?” She sliced her burger into two halves. The longer she kept him on this topic, the better. While she was ninety percent sure Lincoln was the man poking around the digital halls of Zero Gravity, she wanted to be proof positive.
“I don’t want to bore you, much less make your head hurt worse.”
She batted her lashes and smiled as sweetly as she could. “I really am fascinated. It’s just for a computer geek, you’re a little more philosophical than I anticipated.”
“Tal says my biggest problem is that I analyze everything like I’m a combination computer chip and detective.” Lincoln chuckled. “Thing is, I don’t trust my ex and she lied to me about this job.” Lincoln held up his finger. “That’s problem number one, but if I believe what she told me about it after I confronted her, it’s not that big of a deal. Problem number two is that I stumbled onto something that I know I wasn’t supposed to and I’m not sure if my ex knows anything about it. If she does, this is one fucked-up game, and I don’t like where it’s headed. And my final problem is I have no idea how to play the shitty hand I’ve been dealt.”
“You’ve literally told me nothing and it sounds like a bad spy movie.” She lowered her chin, licking her lips. “Does this have anything to do with Zero Gravity?” She held up her hand. “I only ask because of all the time you spent in the library researching them.”
“I can’t confirm or deny.”
She clasped her hands and placed them on the table. “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing.” He let out a long breath before raising his drink.
“Come on. I might not know much about computers, but I have a world of information at my fingertips. There’s got to be something I can do to help you figure out what card to play.” She cocked her head and swallowed her pulsating heart. This had to be the dumbest idea she’d ever had. Besides having no proof that Lincoln was indeed the hacker she’d seen in the digital hallways, even if he was the one, he’d been hired by Zero Gravity.
“Besides, if it has anything to do with Zero Gravity and their launch, I wouldn’t mind seeing them grounded for life.”
“And why is that?” He held her stare with an unwavering gaze.
This was not how she planned on playing this, but currently, the old idea of keeping your enemies close kept tickling her brain. Only, was Lincoln the enemy? “I might have only met Marisa’s boyfriend once, but he seems like a nice kid,” Stormi said. “Between that, and watching you do all that research, I decided to check out the company, and I read the articles about the explosion last year. I also read the leaked content. Sounds like something weird is going on. I can help you, at least with the research part. I’m good at that.” That last part was a calculated risk, but one she believed was worth taking. She needed to find out what the hell Lincoln was up to, why, and how she could use it to help not only shut down Zero Gravity, but save her father’s reputation.
“I honestly can’t comment on any of that and I’m sorry, but I can’t use your help.” He took her hand. “I do appreciate your wanting to.” He pressed his lips against her skin. “It’s getting late and I’ve got early conference calls. Tal told me you lived in town and that you could have walked here. Did you?”
She nodded.
“Well, then I best escort you to your front door.” He waved to Pam, who scurried over, only to frown when he asked for the check, which he paid for in cash. “It’s a nice evening and I could use some fresh air.”
Stunned, she took the hand he offered. She needed a moment to collect her thoughts. No way would she let him blow her off like this. She’d let him walk her home and she’d do her best to offer support. A lending ear. Hell, she’d even suggest a second date. Anything to learn more about what he was doing. He spoke way too cryptically and she had to know what the hell was going on.
Her father’s legacy was too important.