Chapter 27
Daniel
“Did you tell her?” Jake sat on a stool in my kitchen and leaned over the counter, pointing at me with his glass of whiskey.
“Becca? I told her about Howard backing out.”
I made us both roast beef sandwiches and pushed a plate to Jake.
“So… you’re not going to ask?” he said with a slight smile.
I took a big bite and lifted my brow instead of asking what he was talking about.
Jake shook his head and chuckled. “Come on, man. I spent two hours in her apartment looking through everything. You don’t want to know what I found?”
No. Nope. Say no.
“Fine. What did you find?”
“Nothing.”
“What? Then why—”
“No, I mean nothing. No journals, no freaky underwear, no sex toys or condoms in the nightstand, no jewelry except for a couple of identical silver rings.”
“Okay?”
“That’s weird, bro. There’s nothing there that looks personal.
Nothing old, too, besides a few t-shirts that have seen better days.
And she has a backpack in the back of her closet with three thousand dollars in cash, her passport, birth certificate, and a few changes of clothes. It’s a fucking go-bag, man.”
“You think she’s hiding or on the run? Terry would have found something.”
Jake shrugged. “Just saying, she’s definitely ready. And she’s got a baseball bat under her bed, but that’s not really unusual for a woman living alone.”
“Yeah, I saw that.”
It was Jake’s turn to lift a brow. “When were you in her bedroom?”
Shit.
“I looked under her bed, saw the bat.”
“Uh huh. You stayed the night. Anything happen?”
“You saw her, she’s freaked. Nothing happened.”
“I don’t know, man. She seems like a badass to me. A small one, but still. You know where she was before working for you?”
“Odd jobs, based on her resume. Don’t know more than that. You know how the screening works. She either passed or she didn’t, I don’t get the details.”
“But it’s Terry. You can ask.”
“I’d rather ask her.”
We finished the sandwiches, and I poured myself a glass of whiskey.
“Just be careful,” Jake said. “I like her, but be careful.”
The front door swung open, and Terry walked in. He wasn’t as big as Jake and me, but he still more than held his own when we served together. Now, after years working a desk job and going home to his wife and little girl, he looked like a teddy bear next to us.
We kept in touch with a few people from our unit, but Terry, Jake, Cole, and I were the closest. Cole was bigger and badder than either of us ever were, and not the best at keeping in touch, but he was still a brother we could rely on.
Terry looked at our tumblers and frowned. “Daytime drinking? Go refill because you’re not going to like this.”
Jake brought the bottle from the bar and refilled both our glasses. Terry didn’t drink, so I handed him a bottle of Coke from the fridge.
“Spit it out, Ter.”
“It’s Kernel. He’s all over the code that compromised her devices.”
The room seemed to go black for a second.
“Woah!” Jake grabbed my tumbler and threw it in the sink. I hadn’t realized it was cracking in my hand. “Unclench the jaw, man. I can hear your teeth breaking.”
“We need to call in Cole.” I grabbed another glass, poured way too much whiskey into it, and went to sit on the couch.
I heard Jake sit in one of the armchairs and realized my eyes were closed. Terry was in the kitchen on the phone, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.
“So, you want to tell me who Kernel is and why you almost murdered your hand with that glass?”
“Classified,” I said sarcastically.
Jake scoffed. “Fuck that shit.”
“Yeah. Fuck it all.”
“Come on, man.”
“It was about a month before you were reassigned to our unit. We were on a joint op in… not US soil.”
“That’s where you got shot. I remember, you just came back from leave with a fresh scar when I joined.”
“A friend of mine was compromised. Her and three others. We were supposed to get them back. They were compromised because of Kernel, and the fuckers knew we were coming.”
“Shit.”
“Shot ‘em in the head, except for her. I don't know why. Maybe because she was the only woman and they didn’t have the balls or maybe she fought back. She took a gut shot and bled out in my arms.”
“CIA?”
“Yeah. We grew up together. Natalia. She was brilliant and fearless and I loved her like I love Becca.” I took a deep breath and let it out with a loud woosh.
“Bunch of agents’ names were compromised in a hack.
Four were caught. We had the intel to extract them, but the op went bad.
I got shot because I wouldn’t leave without her body.
I carried her back to the chopper and we took fire.
Three others saw what I was doing and grabbed the other dead agents, against orders. One of them went down. Because of me.”
“Fuck.” Jake ran his hand over the back of his head and finished his glass. “Terry and Cole were there?”
I nodded. “They were in on the op, but only Cole was there with me. He carried the dead agent and ranger like a fucking beast. Terry was here, working with the Agency to investigate the initial hack.”
Terry joined us and sat beside me. “The hacker sold a list of agents under the codename Kernel. That’s when he got on the Agency’s radar. I spent months staring at his work, I’d recognize it anywhere.”
Jake sighed and looked at me. “Then I guess Terry needs in on what we’ve been investigating.”
“Cole’s out of state. He’ll be here tomorrow night,” Terry said.
Jake and I updated him on everything that we’d been looking into regarding the hack into Mason Corp and how it connected to what happened with Lydia.
“I need to see that code, Danny. I’m guessing it’s him but I need to see it to be sure.”
I nodded. “I’ll get it but we still can’t find any evidence of a breach at HQ. He got our code from somewhere.”
“Your systems are clean, I checked them myself in the last security sweep. Kernel got it somewhere else.”
“Suggestions?”
Jake kicked my foot. “Why don’t you ask Lydia? She seems to be good at finding answers.”
“Funny.”
“I mean I’m joking but kind of not. Cole won’t give us any insight into this, you know that. He’ll just wait for us to point at whoever needs to be dead. Terry is a new set of eyes, sort of, but she might see something we don’t.”
“I don’t like it.”
“You’ll like this even less.” Jake said in a more serious tone. “Becca needs in, too. Whoever’s doing this—you’re on his radar and she needs to know what’s going on.”
“With Howard and everything, she’s about ready to kill the next person to piss her off. I’ll tell her when she gets back.”
“And your brother?”
I shook my head. “Alec stays out of it.”
“Yeah, probably best.”
Terry got up and grabbed his bag. “I’ll get your girl a new laptop. I’m keeping her devices to continue the transmission.”
‘Your girl.’ I liked that.
Jake frowned. “You still can’t track it?”
“No, and I doubt I’ll be able to. Kernel is known for hiding transmissions—same goose chase as before. But I can keep sending him useless information for now.” He nodded to me and left, leaving me alone with Jake and too many thoughts racing through my head.
“When is Becca coming back?” He said, putting his empty glass on the coffee table.
“Tonight. She’s going to fire Brad tomorrow, right before starting the manufacturing stage.”
“Wish I could see it.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“And Lydia? You gonna spend the night there again?”
I sighed. “Don’t know.”
Jake got up and patted my shoulder. “Let me know. I need to be on base.”
I put my glass down and went to my study.
I needed to get my mind off things, and work was always something I could get lost in.
I went over all of the recent notes Lydia prepared for each meeting and checked the schedule for the next month.
Most of the meetings could be delegated to other executives, so I did that, and spent the next few hours reviewing financial reports and sales strategies before calling it a day.
When I lifted my head up from my computer, it was dark, I was starving, and I really had to take a leak.
Thank god for work. I looked at my phone and saw a message from Becca that she got home, another from Jake asking what’s up, and none from Lydia, which disappointed but didn’t surprise me.
I don’t think she ever messaged me first, except when she thought her laptop was hacked, and that didn’t count.
I spent another hour and a half working out in my gym before hitting the shower and pacing near the door.
What do I do now? It was nine p.m., so she’d be up if I went there, but should I?
I didn’t think anyone would attack her or break into her apartment, but I was still nervous about the whole thing.
And guilty. I felt guilty that she was involved in this because of me, when all she wanted was a safe and quiet life.
Fuck it.
I took out my phone.
?? How are you doing?
She answered after a few minutes.
?? Ok. Any news?
?? Yeah, I’ll tell you when we meet
?? Ok
?? Do you want me to come over?
Shit, why did I ask that?
I could see her typing, not typing, typing… she was probably looking for a way to tell me to leave her alone without sounding too harsh.
My phone rang.
“Lydia, are you—”
“I’m fine, Daniel.”
God, I loved her voice. It was always so calm and smooth.
“You don’t usually call.”
I could hear her sigh. “I just thought it’d be easier. Am I good to be alone tonight?”
My turn to sigh. Dammit. “Yeah, I think so. But call me if anything happens. Anything.”
“Sure. Thanks, Daniel.”
I love hearing her say my name. I’m so fucked.
I hung up and made myself dinner. Unlike my brother and Becca, I didn’t have a chef because I didn’t like people in my place.
There was just Ruth, whom I’d known forever.
She came twice a week to clean and organize, and sometimes she’d cook something and leave it for me in the refrigerator, but it wasn’t expected of her.
She did it because she was a sixty-year-old woman who had known me since I was a kid and genuinely cared for me.
My brother and Becca had cleaners and a chef in and out of their places all the time.
Becca didn’t distance herself as much as I did from the family limelight—just barely enough to be unrecognizable to most people.
My brother, on the other hand, loved it.
He was a celebrity, heir to the Mason business our grandfather built, and a cold-hearted guy who fit the billionaire bill.
I smiled at the thought of Lydia interacting with Alec. He wouldn’t like her—he didn’t like anyone—and I knew she wouldn’t be the least bit phased. I’d love to see her put him in his place when he throws a snide insult.
I finished eating, put on my gear, and grabbed my helmet. I need to clear my head.