Chapter 9
Miles waved Alex into his office, and she smiled, feeling relieved to be back at work. Her forced vacation had been awful. She did better when she was busy, and even though her friends had tried to entertain her, it wasn’t enough.
“Shut the door,” Miles told her, and she bit her lip, wondering what this was about.
She had never been nervous about having a one-on-one with her boss before. Now, she was a complete mess.
“Sit,” he said, gesturing to one of the leather seats in front of his desk.
Her heels clicked across the floor loudly, and she sat heavily in the seat, smoothing out her skirt. Looking at Miles expectantly, she held her tablet at the ready.
“You don’t need that, Alex,” he said softly.
Oh, no, she thought. Here we go again.
Everyone had been treating her with kid gloves since she had been back. Her workload was down, and Miles hadn’t been his usual self. She just wanted everything to get back to normal. She was fine.
Okay, so the nightmares were bad again, but they didn’t involve Sims, which was good. Sometimes, though, Blue Eyes would come in and save her. That was new. No one had come to save her. No one.
She shuddered.
“Alex, are you with me?” Miles asked.
“Oh, yeah,” she replied quickly. “Sorry.”
He stared at her and then shook his head.
“I just wanted to touch base with you. See how you were doing. It just seems like you haven’t been yourself lately.”
“I’m fine,” she snapped and immediately regretted it. Miles was like her father, and he was looking out for her. “Sorry. That came out poorly.”
Miles smiled sadly and said, “You don’t need to apologize. Maybe I’m being a bit too overbearing?”
“Maybe just a bit?” she replied and returned the smile.
“But really…I wanted to know how your return to work has been. How’s your workload? Have you been making your therapy appointments?”
“My workload is too light. I want my full responsibilities back. And yes, I’ve been doing therapy, and I’ve yet to miss Logan’s self-defense class. I’m doing okay, Miles.”
“I know. It’s just…Sims touched you, and I feel terrible. And if the man who kidnapped you had more sinister plans in mind…I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Of all the things that happened, being touched by Sims is not a big concern, and I chose to go on the mission. Yes, the mystery man kidnapped me, but to be perfectly honest, I’m…
” She bit her lip. “…sort of glad he did. What he told me was more information than I got in Sims’ office, and it seemed like he just…
needed someone to talk to. I was there. And…
what am I saying? Is this some weird Stockholm syndrome crap? ”
Miles stared at her. There was a long, uncomfortable silence.
Why has she said that? She hadn’t mentioned any of that in her debrief. Was that her way of trying to protect Blue Eyes? Why?
“You never mentioned this in your report,” Miles said softly.
“I know. I didn’t think of it at the time. I’ve just been thinking, and—”
“Are you sure he didn’t do anything to you?” he interrupted.
Alex knew he thought she might try to hide being raped, so he wouldn’t feel terrible about putting herself in that position. However, he had to know she wouldn’t lie to him.
Right?
It sure felt like she was keeping things from him.
“No, Miles,” Alex said firmly. “He didn’t. I’m okay. Now, is this the only thing you called me in for?” She began to lift her bottom ever-so-slightly from the chair. “Because if it is, I really need to go.”
“I guess I just wanted to check in,” he admitted. “Oh, and I wanted to remind you about the Fourth of July cookout I’m doing. I want you to come.”
Miles was throwing his very first party at the new house he had bought with his wife.
They had been estranged for years but had reconnected over a year ago.
Candice Bryant had even moved back from the West Coast to be with her husband, and Miles was throwing a party.
It was a big deal, especially with all they had gone through with the death of their daughter, Jasmine.
“I’m coming,” Alex promised.
“Good. All my close employees and their significant others will be there: Jack and Kat, Mercer and Ashlen, Gabriel and Sophie. Logan will make an appearance, but since Keira won’t be able to come, he’s not staying.”
“Understandable.”
“Dr. McKay will be there. So will Jade. And Valerie and Joel are coming down.”
“Sounds like fun,” Alex said.
It did, but it would mostly be a couple’s fest.
“Ryan will be there,” Miles added.
“Not you too!” she exclaimed.
“What?” he asked, shrugging.
“No!” she said, waving him off and getting up. “You of all people, Miles!”
Alex couldn’t help it, though; she started giggling as she stood. She tried to hide her smile as she left Miles’ office, but she knew he saw it.
“I didn’t say you could leave, Ms. Thorn,” Miles said teasingly.
“Can’t hear you,” Alex quipped, feeling a little bit better than she did before.
? ? ?
Nate growled as he went line by line through his suit’s code, trying to figure out what Katrina Langely did. Was it properly patched? Was it safe to use?
He was certainly good at math and logic.
He technically should have a degree from MIT with the number of classes he had audited online in his downtime.
However, he just wasn’t as good as Kat. He needed to see the initial code, what had been done with it, and what he could do if he used the flaw to his advantage.
Nate was sitting in the middle of the warehouse Stratton had given him, his suit plugged into a secure laptop.
The lighting sucked, and it was adding to his frustration.
He needed answers, or he’d never be able to start this mission.
He needed someone on the inside of Gray Tower for this information. He needed…
He needed Alex.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he immediately scolded himself.
No! What the hell am I thinking? Am I nuts?
Maybe.
Nate couldn’t approach her again. Not after he had kidnapped her, tied her to a damned bed, and mumbled incoherently while the meds worked out of his system. He had scared the shit out of her. There was no way she’d help him. Unless…
Unless he told her who he was.
That would be a huge gamble. He knew her loyalty was with Gray Tower.
If he approached her, told her who he was, and asked for help in grabbing the suit’s code, she could easily report him, making all this for nothing.
Stratton would be pissed and probably cut contact with him.
Victor would be completely out of reach.
But if he didn’t try, he was dead in the water.
He rubbed his jaw, which had a day’s worth of stubble on it.
He might not look like a wild man anymore, but personal appearance wasn’t on his list of top priorities, although he was enjoying hot showers.
Long, hot showers. He honestly thought he’d never have one again—that he’d end up dying in his own filth.
Shuddering, he concentrated on the task at hand.
He needed help, and Alex was the only way he’d get the data.
Stratton had gone dark, so he couldn’t work that angle.
As much as he didn’t want to involve her, she was the only one who could help him.
He just hoped this wouldn’t come back to bite him later.
? ? ?
“Ashlen, will you marry me?”
Everyone stood there with bated breath as Mercer, who was down on one knee in the middle of Miles’ extensive backyard, waited for her response.
Alex felt a mix of emotions as she watched the couple.
On the one hand, she was happy that Mercer was finally proposing, though she had heard he had been waiting until Jack got off his ass and proposed to Kat.
On the other hand, she was depressed that this would never be her.
She would be alone for the rest of her life, and it didn’t sit well with her.
“Yes!” Ashlen squealed as she threw herself at Mercer.
He grunted, a pained expression on his face. Alex knew that position was hard on him. His knee was messed up from a roadside bomb when he was a Marine. He was scarred along one side of his face and body to prove it.
“Oh, crap. Sorry,” Ashlen said and moved off him.
Mercer grinned, grabbing her left hand and slipping a beautiful diamond engagement ring on her ring finger. She leaned her head to kiss him softly. The kiss turned heated, and there were some hoots and hollers as well as a, “Get a room.” They finally came up for air and started laughing.
Alex had to giggle, and she smiled. She was genuinely happy for her friend, but she was ready to leave the BBQ. It was pushing ten. She knew Miles had fireworks that would be set off soon, but she was exhausted.
Miles’ backyard was sprawling, and he had just about everything one would want: an outdoor kitchen, cabanas, a pool with water slides and a jacuzzi, a firepit, and even a tennis court tucked in the back. The house had acreage, and the place was extremely private.
She moved over to a seat in one of the cabanas, not wanting to talk. It was uncharacteristic of her; she usually hung out with her friends. However, nothing felt right after her kidnapping.
Alex watched the party in her quiet space until Jade Larsen plopped next to her, looking tired.
Jade was a brilliant analyst for Gray Tower.
However, she was a bit of an outcast after an incident where the Conglomerate threatened her family, and she went along with an assassination plan.
She did the right thing in the end, but people were wary of her.
Alex understood why, but Jade was such a sweet woman.
She was glad that Valerie, who was now a part-time analyst, and she got along.
Alex wanted both women in their group, but it was proving to be hard.
Sophie wasn’t fond of Valerie because of how close Valerie had once been with Gabe, and even though they had buried the hatchet, Alex knew there was still some strain.
“Are you being anti-social, too?” Jade asked.