Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
First place. Leading by ten points. Already being called the Most Elite Hacker in the world on social media even though there were still twenty-four hours left in the competition.
How was this happening? How was Gwen kicking Jasper’s ass? Jasper was supposedly one of the best hackers out there, and now he was being bested by his daughter.
“What if The Knight comes after Gwen because he thinks she’s a worthy adversary?” He peeled off his shirt and tossed it onto Harper’s bed Saturday morning. “It’s too hot in here,” he complained when Natasha shut and locked the bedroom door, giving them some extra privacy.
He’d begun pacing back and forth when he’d learned Gwen had taken the lead an hour ago at eight in the morning.
Wyatt and Natasha had reluctantly gone back to their hotel to get some sleep to keep up with appearances if The Knight had bugged their room, but they hadn’t wanted to stay long, so they’d come back to Harper’s suite.
“I don’t think that’s The Knight’s end game. He wants payback for Romania, and Gwen doesn’t fit into the equation.” Natasha motioned for him to sit, but he couldn’t stop pacing.
Sweat dotted his back. The heat was too damn high in the room.
“Gwen’s been working from her hotel room,” she said as a reminder. “And you have four more guys who will be here soon for backup.”
Bravo Team was only an hour out, and Natasha was right, it’d be nice to have almost the entire team in town to help.
Liam could be on overwatch as an extra sniper if needed, plus he had a ridiculous number of other skills he’d bring to the table.
Asher as leader, assaulter, EOD expert, or breacher, would be a great addition.
And although Knox was their best medic, he also knew how to deactivate a bomb if The Knight had plans to go kinetic on them.
Owen was basically good at everything, and if shit hit the fan and they needed a rapid extract, the man would commandeer a jetliner if that’s what it took to save their arses.
So, having the nine of them there, why in the bloody hell was his pulse still going so damn fast? It was racing like one of those horses at the tracks his mum used to secretly bet on.
“She needs to quit this competition so we can bring her in. Have her here with us.” He stopped walking and faced her, his nerves tangled the fuck up.
“Do you think she’ll walk away from the competition when she’s less than a day away from a five-hundred-thousand-dollar bounty?
” Her eyebrows slanted as if an idea struck her.
“That’s how we talk to Jasper!” She reached for his arm, an excited smile on her face.
“You. You’re the, uh, missing link.” Her smile broadened. “Don’t you get it?”
“No.” He shot her a puzzled look.
“Your alias Link. Jasper knows Link is one of the best hackers out there, and if Jasper has to win the competition because of whatever game The Knight is playing, he might be open to your help.” She let go of him and lifted one shoulder.
“It doesn’t hurt that he was also clearly attracted to you at the bar. ”
“So, I’m supposed to do what, exactly?”
“Invite him into the back of your ride to talk. I’ll be inside waiting. Finn can drive. We question him in the back of the SUV. MI6 will probably be following, but since he’ll willingly get into the back of the car, the agents will only follow. Then we lose their tail.”
“You’re so sure Jasper will go with me?” He knew they could get him to talk once they were alone, but he wasn’t so sure he could get him into a car without using a gun. Of course, that’s what contingency plans were for. “He may not trust me since he saw us together at that club.”
“We have to at least try and if not—”
“Use my gun without anyone noticing.”
She grabbed her mobile. “According to these tweets, Jasper has been working out of that firehouse. Probably keeping himself surrounded with people to prevent being killed by The Knight.”
The firehouse. It’d been an unforgettable night because he and Natasha had reconnected, and she’d strutted right up to him and kissed him, taking him by surprise. Not even a week had passed since that night.
“Before we go out there . . .” She traced a line down the center of his naked chest with her index finger. “I’m sure Harper wouldn’t mind seeing you like this, but just in case, you may want your shirt.”
He clutched her wrist and brought her palm to his mouth, momentarily forgetting everything going on in the world. “Thank you for the heads-up.”
A soft blush touched her face. “Well, when you’re half-naked, my thoughts get a bit muddled, and I imagine you might have that effect on others as well. And we need Harper at one hundred percent.”
He allowed their hands to fall and dipped in for a kiss.
“You’re vibrating,” she announced against his mouth.
He hesitantly pulled back and cocked a brow. “Am I?” He wanted to stay close to her, but he grabbed his mobile from his pocket. Personal, not work phone. He looked up at her, a knot forming in his throat. “It’s Charlotte.”
“You going to answer it?”
He gulped but brought the phone to his ear.
“Wyatt?” Charlotte’s voice was breathy upon answer.
“Yeah, are you okay?” His forehead tightened, eyes on the carpet.
“No. My son follows his sister’s Twitter account. He said she’s in some type of hacker competition. I’m on my way to Heathrow. Are you in Montreal? You said you were going to Canada, but . . .”
Shit. “Yeah, I’m here.”
“You knew she was involved in this, didn’t you? That’s why you called me last week. How could you not tell me?”
Was she kidding?
“Have you seen her? Is she okay? Does she know who you are?”
“I have seen her, but no, she has no clue who I am.” Thanks to you. “And you shouldn’t come here. Stay in London.”
She was quiet before whispering, “Is she in trouble?”
“She’ll be fine, but if you come here, it’ll only create more problems.” A headache he couldn’t handle was beginning to creep up on him.
“I’m coming. I have to, but if you think for one minute you’re going to have my child hate me again by telling her the truth, then I—”
“Hate you again? What are you talking about?” His gaze journeyed to Natasha, and a sense of calm washed over him with her there.
“I wasn’t completely honest with you.”
Not a surprise. “What are you saying?” He didn’t have time to deal with Charlotte, but if there was something he needed to know about Gwen to keep her safe . . .
“Gwen got into some trouble when she was sixteen. She hacked into the school’s records to expose fraudulent spending.
She did it again at her new school the next year.
Arthur managed to sweep it under the rug and made her promise she wouldn’t get involved in that hacking nonsense anymore, but it looks like she hasn’t stopped.
I don’t know, she called herself a hacktivist. Arthur demanded she stop, or he’d cut her off when she was eighteen, and that’s when she decided to go to school in Toronto.
She said she’d only stop when we were finally honest with her. She didn’t want to live in, um . . .”
He thought back to Gwen’s tweet. A house of lies? He looked up at Natasha, worry in her eyes
“I think somehow Gwen knew the truth.” Charlotte paused. “I think she knows Arthur’s not her biological father.”
Wyatt immediately went to the bed and sat, his legs feeling like he was back at BUD/S during Hell Week, numb and sore. “I don’t understand.”
“Gwen’s really smart. She’d once asked if she was adopted when she was ten because she had nothing in common with us.” Pain sliced through her tone, but could he even feel bad for her?
“I, um.” He tore his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything.”
He hesitantly stood, worried his knees would give out. “You shouldn’t come.”
“Is-is she in danger?” Charlotte’s voice was timid.
Mouse-like. Gwen was nothing like her mum, was she?
The woman he’d met at the salsa club had a strong backbone.
“I’m coming. If you’re there for your security job, that means there could be trouble.
And Gwen won’t trust you without knowing the truth first.”
His stomach dropped. “What are you saying?”
She paused. “We need to tell her, Wyatt. She needs to know you’re her father, but we do it my way.”
“But you don’t know for certain.”
The silence ate up the space, and his heartbeat quickened with every passing moment. “Another lie?” The blood rushed from his face. “You didn’t just tell Arthur there was a chance she was mine, you told him she was mine.”
“I had blood work drawn after Gwen was born. Tests run,” she confessed. “You were already married to Clara at the time, and we decided it’d be best if you never knew.” She was crying. Regretful tears. But this was . . . “Arthur didn’t want you back in our lives. He was still so angry at the time.”
“Charlotte.” He dropped his eyes closed, every fiber in his being locked tight. Anger, pain, and hurt ripping through him.
“Cancer changed him, though. He told me I should tell you. Tell her. But not until after he was gone. He wanted to live his last moments as her father. He didn’t want her to hate him for lying.”
Arthur raised her, he was her father in all the ways that counted. But what caused Wyatt the most pain was that he’d never been given the choice to raise her himself. The decision had been taken from him.
When he opened his eyes, liquid burned his gaze, obstructing his view of Natasha.
Were these tears?
“But you didn’t tell me after Arthur died,” he grit out. “You kept up the lie.”
“I wanted to after the wake, but then you just up and left, and Gwen doesn’t need another father who will leave her. And after the wake, she and I grew close again, and I realized if she learned the truth, she’d never forgive me. I’d lose her again.”
He cupped his mouth, worried he’d lose his cool. Yell or cry, he wasn’t sure. He wanted to do both.
Natasha stood off to his side and smoothed a hand up and down his back, attempting to soothe his nerves that didn’t feel quite fixable.
“My flight gets in at eight thirty tonight. I’ll let you know when I’m there.” Charlotte ended the call before he could say more.
He blinked back unwanted tears he refused to let fall and turned to face Natasha. “They both knew. All these years, they knew Gwen was mine, and they lied.”