Chapter 61
CHAPTER 61
PEN
I walk into the apartment to raised voices.
“Lottie, you need to speak to your mother,” Elijah says, his voice getting louder.
It’s been a month, and I know Darra’s been blowing up his phone. Leaving messages everywhere, threatening to go to the press and let them know he’s keeping their daughter hostage. She’s even tried to call me, but I’ve blocked her number for now.
This is an argument that’s been going on for days. Both of them are as stubborn as one another.
“No, I won’t speak to her. How can you say that after everything she’s said and done? I don’t care if I never speak to her again.”
Lottie’s eyes fill with tears, her hands on her hips as she faces her father.
She sees me enter.
“Aunty Pen, tell him.”
I hold up my hand. “Lottie, this is between you and your dad.”
“How can you say that, Aunty Pen? She broke you two up, kept you and Dad apart with her lies. She’s a selfish bitch, and I hate her.”
“Lottie! Do not call your mother that,” Elijah shouts.
“Why not? It’s true. She and Grandpa. I hate them.”
Shit.
I hoped she hadn’t picked up on that part of the argument.
“Your dad and I were never together, Lottie. We were very good friends, but that was as far as our relationship went.”
“But you wanted it to be more. No one is surprised you’re together. Even Granny is happy.”
I shake my head. “The past is the past. It wasn’t our time.”
The words taste chalky, coming out of my mouth.
Is now our time? I really don’t know.
I’m still struggling to understand how Darra played everyone so much. For years, she had two men dancing to her tune, but for different reasons. I’d be happy for Lottie to never speak to her toxic and manipulative mother ever again. But that’s not what Lottie needs. Lottie needs to find peace with her mum, whatever that looks like. Darra is her mother, and whether she likes it or not, she needs to hear her out. Whatever she then decides must be her choice.
“Well, you can’t make me,” she says, turning around and storming into her bedroom, the door rattling on its hinges as she slams it shut.
Elijah turns and storms into the living room, raking a hand through his hair.
“Bloody hell,” he seethes.
I move up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. He stops, spins in my arms, and pulls me against him, his head resting on top of mine.
“I’m sorry you came home to that,” he says.
“Give her time,” I say, looking up, our mouths mere millimetres apart. “Whatever she needs. If she’s going to be receptive, she needs to be ready to listen to Darra’s side of the story. If not, it could make things worse.”
“I know,” he sighs. “It’s just I’ve had Darra calling her solicitor. I’m tired, Pen.”
“Lottie is a strong, independent young woman. She has the right to make up her own mind, and Darra needs to accept that. She had her chance to answer her questions in the summer and didn’t. She has to live with that. When the time is right, Lottie will come around. Until then...”
“For someone with no children, you have an amazing insight,” he says.
A full three-sixty from the morning, Lottie went missing.
My stomach clenches at his words, but I force a smile.
“I was raised by a young, single mum. Life was not all roses.”
He drops his forehead to mine.
“I didn’t mean it. I will keep apologising. You’ve been one of the best things in my daughter’s life. She wouldn’t be as rounded if you hadn’t stepped in when Darra and I were making a mess of it. You’re one of the reasons she’s strong and independent. You are an amazing role model.”
My throat clogs at his words.
“I love you, Pen. I’m glad you’re here with me. With us.”
I raise my hand and cup his cheek, the butterflies finally settling.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love you, too. I have for longer than I can remember. We can get through this together. But Elijah, you’re shutting me out, and that’s not something I can cope with.”
“I’m trying, but old habits die hard. I want to be better. I like who I am around you. I’m looking at making changes. Please don’t give up on me.”
“Never, if that’s what you truly want. But you need to be honest.”
“I’ll try my best. And when I’m reverting back, I give you full permission to kick my sorry ass from here to kingdom come.”
I chuckle until his lips cover mine, his tongue teasing the seam. My hands snake up around his neck, pulling him closer.
We both groan as my phone rings.
Our foreheads touch again before I pull away, instantly missing the warmth of his embrace.
“Pen,” I say.
“Is Elijah with you?”
“Kat,” I say, flicking the phone away from my ear and putting her on speaker. “I’ve put you on speaker. What’s going on?”
“Elijah, why the hell haven’t you been answering your phone?” Kat seethes down the phone.
“It’s in the bedroom. What’s up?”
“We have an incident.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, someone has hacked into the hotel’s systems and has basically blown up my booking system, ordering everything.”
“That’s not possible. The firewall is secure.” Elijah shoots me a look, and I shrug, confused, but I decide to step in. The siblings don’t need to be arguing. This is about damage control.
“What do you know, Kat?” I say, holding up my hand when Elijah goes to open his mouth.
“I have the perpetrator on camera. One of the cleaning staff logged on to the hotel system using one of our terminals.”
“Do you have him in custody?”
“No. We have a good picture. His credentials are fake.”
Elijah blanches. His team run background checks on all the family’s employees.
“Send the picture across. I’ll see what our facial recognition software can find.”
“Already done.”
“Are you reinstalling the backups?”
“Yes. Thank goodness it’s only affected this hotel as far as I’m aware. We’re going to have to try to follow a paper, email trail, and hope we don’t miss anything or anyone.”
“I’ll head over to your office and see what I can salvage. Leave Elijah with the investigative stuff.”
“Thanks Pen. I’ll tell the guys to expect you.”
I turn to Elijah, who’s already pulling up the hotel security footage.
“Oh fuck,” I say, taking in the man’s face, who stares directly at the camera.
“You know him?”
I nod. “But he’s a ghost. A hacker for hire.”
He’s also supposed to be on our team.
“You know who he is?”
“I do,” I admit, not wanting to lie to Elijah but knowing I can’t give him any more information.
What the hell?
I recognised his coding style from the code inserted into the Frazer Security code, but to have hit the Frazer Hotel chain as well...
Something is definitely going on.
“You go, see if you can help Kat reinstall the backups. Ensure nothing else is amiss.”
I step forward and into Elijah’s arms, our lips meeting.
Elijah pulls back and cups my cheek. His eyes stare into mine.
“Take care. I love you.”
I smile up at him.
“I love you too. Watch out. Someone is out for you. This cannot be a coincidence.”
I call a taxi and make my way to the Frazer Hotel Kat mentioned.
My phone rings, Caller ID unknown.
“Tailor?” a man says.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Saving your bacon and probably several hours of work.”
“I got your message. Subtle! ” I add with an influx of sarcasm.
Seeing his face staring back at me was not something I expected. Not when we’re supposed to be on the same team. We’ve also been trained to remain undetected. He was taking a big risk.
“Mind telling me what the fuck is going on and how you’re involved?”
“I was trying to prevent a disaster without tipping my hand. I thought the email delay was quite genius.” His smug tone makes me want to hit someone. “A thanks for the heads up, would be nice.”
“You always were a little prick , Needle.”
He chuckles. “Not very original.”
“I wasn’t trying to be. I’m stating a fact.”
“Look, I knew you’d handle the code issue. It’s your level of expertise, after all. I couldn’t give myself away. I’m deep undercover, you know that. Seamstress would not have thanked me for blowing years of prep. Not when I’m this close.”
I know he’s right, and I appreciate what he’s done. But thank you is not something one says in our line of work. The connotations are too high. Owing someone.
“What the hell have you found yourself caught up in?” I ask, suddenly concerned he’s putting himself in danger.
We might not be friends, but he is good at his job, and our country needs people like him to provide the intelligence to keep the rest of us safe.
“Okay, now I know you’re involved. Who is behind it? Which organisation?”
“That’s the thing, I don’t know. I keep hitting a brick wall. We followed a lead, but it went nowhere.”
“What do you mean?”
“I intercepted a message. Something about teaching that young whippersnapper his place . He was told to stand down, but it was clear he ignored them. Told them he’d see him finished the same way he did his father.”
My stomach drops, and I swallow the acid that hits the back of my mouth.
“Tailor? You still there?”
“I am,” I choke, trying to breathe past the lump in my throat. I switch on my gadget to prevent anyone from listening, including the driver.
“Does that mean something to you?”
“Robert Frazer died in a car accident seven years ago. It was reported as an accident, but it wasn’t. He was run off the road.”
There’s silence on the other end of the phone.
“You think this could be linked?”
“I don’t know. When you intercepted the message, did you get anything else?”
“I tracked the IP address, but it made little sense. It’s a stately home. The guy who lives there is a fossil. I just assumed it had been routed. When the team investigated, he didn’t have the equipment, and there was a full browser history. There was no sign of any foul play.”
I squeeze my temple points, trying to stem the headache forming.
“And the name of the fossil?” I ask, already guessing the answer.
“Sir Leonard Crawley.”
“That cantankerous old bastard.”
Needle draws in a breath. “I take it you know him?”
“The man tried to use his position to threaten a friend of mine last year. Elijah stepped in,” I tell him, wanting him to know what he stepped into. “He has a nasty reputation for making unwanted advances.”
Needle sucks in a breath.
“He also doesn’t pay his bills. I warned him I didn’t work for free. Which gave me the perfect opportunity to call.”
He can’t risk exposing himself undercover, not when he’s spent years positioning himself. Genius. By letting us find out about the sting on Elijah’s company and work it out ourselves, he covered his back, just made his mole look incompetent.
“There’s a flash drive under the second desk of the hotel library. It will reverse the virus and reinstall what it deleted if the backups aren’t sufficient. Save you some time.”
“I’ll retrieve it when I get there.”
He chuckles again. “You’re welcome.”
“I’m out of the game.”
“You’ll be missed. You’re one of the best.”
“Anything else?”
“Take care. If this guy is behind this, he’s not working alone. He knows how to cover his tracks. As I said, they came up empty-handed when the team went in. All I’m saying is, be careful.”
“I will,” I say, my brain now firing wildly, trying to link together what I’ve learned.
“Before I go, just so you’re aware, it’s outside my remit, but I caught wind of it. I don’t know what he has planned. But someone is going after the youngest Frazer.”
My heart sinks. “Lottie?”
“No, Harper Frazer. There’s chatter but no details.”
“Shit,” I hiss.
Harper is finally getting her life together after her father’s death. The last thing she needs is to be derailed by some old man with a vendetta.
“Thank you, Needle.”
“There she goes,” he chuckles. “Don’t worry, I’ll only come calling if it’s a life-or-death emergency.”
“Make sure it is.”
He ends the call as I pull up to the hotel.
Kat is waiting at the entrance.
“It’s okay. I can fix this,” I say. “We just need to take a detour to the library.”
Kat frowns but leads the way.
When we arrive, I feel around under the desk, smiling as I pull out the flash drive. I look up at the camera in the corner, knowing Needle will be watching. It’s what we do. When I said he was a ghost, I wasn’t lying. I was, when I was working with him.
“What’s that?” Kat asks.
“The vaccine,” I say. “I want to check it first, but it should reverse the virus.”
She stares at me.
“I don’t want to know, do I?”
I shake my head. “No, you definitely don’t.”