Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Why hasn’t anyone taken the bait?” Stormi handed Lincoln a mug of coffee and leaned against the kitchen counter. It had been a week since she’d entered the digital hallway, and Lincoln gave her forty minutes before he chased her out. He was nearly done with the new system. It would be implemented in the next few days. Once that was done, it would be much harder for them to lurk in the shadows.
But what really got under her skin was that they couldn’t find Samantha in Lincoln’s system, but she could feel her presence like an alligator hiding beneath the murky water’s surface, waiting to take its prey in its powerful jaws.
Lincoln took his coffee and sipped. He had dark circles under his eyes. He’d barely slept in days between writing code during daylight hours and setting traps in the evening. He threaded his fingers through his wet hair. “I’ve got a call with Samantha in twenty minutes. Care to listen in?”
“I’d love to.” She glanced at her watch. “But I have to be at the library in an hour.”
“I’ll make sure I send you notes as soon as I’m done with her. She wants an update on the system and where I’m at with you.”
“You mean the hacker.”
He chuckled. “Exactly.”
“Only we both know she can see me along with someone else. Any idea on who that is?”
“It could be Tony, the guy I caught her fucking on my desk when we were still together. He used to be someone I called a friend,” Lincoln said. “Last I heard, they weren’t an item, but I always believed they only pretended to call it off while she tried to get me back.”
“Why continue with the farse after you decided to move to the States?”
Lincoln shrugged. “It could have been Tony’s idea. He’s reached out a few times, apologizing, stating that Samantha told him we had broken up. But I know that’s bullshit.” Lincoln set his mug to the side. “We’re missing something.”
“Yeah, and the investigation into Zero Gravity is coming up empty. Kara told me that they may be given the go-ahead to launch in two weeks.”
“Which coincides with my upload to the new security system.” He pinched the bridge of my nose. “I smell a setup of epic proportions. But I can’t find her anywhere.”
“I bet she won’t show up with whatever she plans on doing to your coding until after the final test.”
“That means she’s taking my coding as I do it.” He folded his arms.
“She’s got to know I’m alive. But how could she know I’m here in Fallport, working with you?”
“Any number of ways. It’s not like we’ve kept ourselves hidden,” Lincoln said. “People in this town have seen us together. Most assume we’re dating. She also knows my type, and you pretty much fit that bill.”
“I don’t appreciate being boiled down to a cookie-cutter role of a female.”
He cocked his head. “I didn’t mean it that way. But before I dated Samantha, I was involved with an MI6 agent. She was in the cybercrimes unit. That’s what I meant by a type.”
“Even so, I’ve only been here now going on three months.”
“All right, but let’s look at this logically. Samantha didn’t assign me this job until after you hacked into Zero Gravity. That was after you moved here and while it was my idea for this being my final rodeo, she didn’t fight me on it. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, she led me down that train of thought.”
“What was your plan of action before you took this job?”
“Long story short, I had negotiated myself down from a five-year contract to two years. I was going to suffer through that, until this landed in my lap, bringing me here.” He tapped his temple. “She knew Tal was here. It was Heather who set us up.”
“How did Samantha and Heather know each other?”
“They didn’t. Not really. They randomly met at a coffee shop when Tal and Heather were visiting. This was before you were arrested, while you were still living in Saratoga and starting your company with Kurt… well, shit. How did you and Kurt get your funding?”
“Same way everyone else does these days. We had investors.”
“Any of them anonymous? Or LLCs out of the UK?”
“Could be,” she said. “Kurt handled most of that.”
“We need to dig up your company’s financials as well as Samantha’s. I bet we find a connection.” He shook his head. “Jesus. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. But I would wager that some of this, at least from Samantha’s perspective, has to do with making sure that I somehow out you as Amanda, while fucking up so badly that we both end up in prison and Kurt gets out. But I know something that they don’t.” He blew out a puff of air. “I need to make a few phone calls before I chat with Samantha and I’m going to need some privacy for that.”
“I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other anymore.”
He cupped her face. “Remember when I told you there were a few things I wasn’t telling you? Well, this is one of them and before I do tell you, I need to handle something first.”
“Am I going to be pissed off?”
“You’re going to hate me,” he mumbled. “But if by doing so, it’s kept you both safe, then I’ll live with that.”
“Both?”
“I need you to trust me.” He kissed her lips. It was kind. Warm. Loving.
“How can I do that when you won’t tell me everything?”
“Because outside of when I hacked your system, I haven’t lied to you about anything, except this, and I’ve only done so because I’ve had to. Hopefully, you’ll understand and forgive me.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I promise, we’ll talk about this tonight and I’ll tell you what I can.”
“Why can’t I know now?”
“Babe.” He closed his eyes. “I shouldn’t have said anything to begin with, but keeping this from you has been eating me alive. Whatever this is between us came on so fast, my head is spinning. I don’t want to ruin it. But I have a job to do and part of that includes protecting you.”
“Lying to me doesn’t protect me.” Her heart dropped to her big toe. Not only had she put her trust in Lincoln, but she’d put her father’s legacy in his hands. All her hard work, she’d handed over to Lincoln on a silver platter. She’d given him everything she’d learned. She walked him through the digital files where she believed her father’s research had been stored. Together, they’d found nothing. But what if he’d found something while she’d been holed up at the library and he chose not to share it with her?
“It’s not like I lied to you because I wanted to. I had to.” He blinked.
“No. You chose to and without knowing what it is you’re keeping from me, I don’t know how to process anything going forward.”
He brushed her hair over her shoulder. “I will send you everything I can on Samantha’s financials. Will you try to make that connection for me today? Please? We’ll talk tonight about everything else. Promise.”
“All right.”
“That’s my girl.” He kissed her nose. “Be safe.”
“You too.” Only she had started to wonder if she was safe in his presence anymore.
Lincoln pounded his fist against the motel door a little more aggressively than necessary. However, his emotions had a death grip on his heart. This case wasn’t just about him and ridding himself of his past. That may have been what he thought it had been all about, but Samantha had played him. She had to have known. That was the only thing that made sense, especially since she had ties to Kurt.
The question that weighed heavily on his mind now was if Jimmy knew.
Now that would really fucking piss him off.
The door rattled. “What the fuck?” Jimmy stared at him with wide eyes. “Get inside.” He peeked his head outside before slamming the door shut. “Did anyone follow you?”
“No,” Lincoln said.
“Is my little girl okay?” Dante jumped up from the bed. “Did something happen?”
“Oh, a lot has happened and I need answers, starting with, did either of you know that my boss knew her husband?” He glared at Jimmy. His stomach twisted in one hell of knot. “And don’t bullshit me because if what I believe is happening, my freedom is hanging in the balance.”
Jimmy turned and made his way to the small desk in front of the window. He sat down and leaned back. “What exactly have you learned?”
“You don’t get to answer with a question,” Lincoln said. “I don’t appreciate being used as a pawn. Especially not when I’m the one helping you.” He cocked his head. “Start talking, and then maybe I’ll tell you what I know.”
“Sounds like you know more than we do,” Dante said.
“I’m not so sure about that.” Lincoln let out a long breath and eased onto the corner of the bed. “So, you both already knew Samantha and Kurt had a connection.”
“I didn’t know shit until this man plucked me from the rehab center where my identity was being withheld from the world. I didn’t even know the government had faked my death.” Dante held Lincoln’s gaze.
“Be quiet, Dante,” Jimmy said in a low growl. “Lincoln knows how this works. The left hand often doesn’t talk to the right. He’s gone on missions where he knows he’s only been given half the intel.”
“And I’ve always hated that.” Lincoln shook his head. “If you’ve read anything about me, you’d know that I’ve broken ranks more than once because of that. I don’t like to see good men die because we either don’t have all the information, or we’ve been given misinformation all in the name of protecting the integrity of something greater than what we were sent to do.” He rubbed his temples. “Samantha is doing her fucking best to make sure I go down for something. I’m not exactly sure what her end game is. It could be running on the assumption that Stormi will be able to breach my system and Samantha will give her access to something she thinks she can use to leak to the press, making me look bad.”
“But that makes her and her company appear incompetent,” Jimmy said. “Yeah, I knew about her connection to Kurt.” He turned and tapped his fingers on the keyboard. “Look.”
Lincoln rose and strolled across the room.
“We found images of Kurt and Samantha together when he studied abroad. And again when he took trips to Europe.” Jimmy tapped the screen. “He was even seen with her when the two of you were together.”
“Jesus,” Lincoln muttered.
“We have a paper trail that proves Samantha invested in Kurt’s company and that they collaborated together on a few jobs.” Jimmy glanced up. “Including the ones that got Stormi arrested.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Why?” Lincoln planted his hands on his hips. “Outside of jealousy.”
“Why do you say that?” Dante asked.
“Because Samantha showed me code that was written by your daughter years ago, and I could see in her eyes how jealous she was of Stormi’s brilliance. Hell, I was impressed. But Samantha, as smart as she is, doesn’t like to play second fiddle.”
“One thing I do know about my daughter is that she always stressed the ethics when she talked to me about her job,” Dante said. “Because it was such a bone of contention with me. Not just because I didn’t understand it, but because I thought Kurt was such a slime.”
“Did Stormi ever mention anything about Kurt asking her to do anything that could be considered unethical?” Jimmy asked.
Lincoln blew out a puff of air. “No. It all came down to him changing her coding. But both you and Kara are the ones who have the evidence she turned over that helped put him away.”
Jimmy nodded. “She gave us all the original programs she wrote, which didn’t match what was given to us originally when we made the initial arrest. We let her hack into all Kurt’s clients as well as the ones she’d taken on while one of our experts watched. That’s how we nailed Kurt. But to be honest, the only person at the time who even remotely believed her was Kara. Most of us went into it thinking she was looking for a way out of trouble. Or at least a way to lessen her time in prison. We were willing to go with it if it meant getting Kurt, since we believed the tip came from him.” Jimmy held up his finger. “However, we’ve done a deeper dive, and that tip might have been routed from the UK.”
“Fucking Samantha.” Lincoln’s head hurt. This was such a convoluted scheme it was almost brilliant. But it had so many holes. So many places it could go wrong. “I still don’t get the connection with Zero Gravity. Other than Samantha wrote the original code that Stormi breached. And it can’t be only that they figured out Stormi was still alive and she was the one who leaked the documents, shutting down the launch, because what difference does that make for Kurt or Samantha?”
“After I thought my daughter died by suicide, I visited Kurt in prison,” Dante said. “I loathed that man. I believed he destroyed any chance I had for a reconciliation with my kid. After they got married, I decided I needed to try because I realized he wasn’t going away. I’d always thought he’d pushed her into this ethical hacking job, but the more she and I talked, the more I learned that wasn’t the case. It was still a struggle, but we were getting closer. However, Kurt was in her ear, telling her that I was judging them. Judging him. That all I ever did was make her feel bad about herself and her life choices. That I’d ripped her from her childhood home and destroyed her dreams.” Dante swiped at his cheeks. “Maybe I did do that, but I was trying, and I was giving that asshole a chance, yet he would twist my passion for developing a more energy-efficient rocker booster as being a shitty father who didn’t care about her or her dreams. He’d lied to her more than once, saying that I couldn’t come visit because my job meant more to me than her. Only, he was the one who told me not to come because she wasn’t ready to spend time with me.”
Lincoln paced in the small room. “That explosion was blamed on your faulty boosters.”
“They weren’t faulty. Zero Gravity didn’t use them. Well, they did, but they fucked with them, using an older prototype, but I can’t prove it. Not yet anyway.”
Lincoln paused. “That’s what Stormi’s been looking for, but she doesn’t really know that’s the piece of the puzzle. We’ve been roaming those digital hallways, looking for anything to clear your name. It would have been nice to know that. I could have narrowed the search.”
“Come on. It will be hidden in an encrypted file somewhere,” Jimmy said. “You’ve always been looking for a needle in a haystack. But you’re right. The real question is, what does Samantha and Kurt have to do with this? We’re not exactly sure outside of these four images.” Jimmy tapped on the keyboard. “Samantha has been seen with David or his daughter twice in the UK and twice in the States. The first time was eight years ago when David went to Europe. Here they are in a café. It appears to be a heated conversation. It lasted twenty minutes. About a year later, Samantha came to the States. She starts by meeting with Jeannie. David shows up around a half hour later and he looks pissed. Fast-forward to three months before Stormi was arrested. David and Jeannie fly to Europe. They both have a sit-down with Samantha. It’s all nicey-nice. A computer is opened. Files are passed around. But it’s the last meeting a month later that’s really interesting when Kurt shows up.”
“Seriously?” Lincoln leaned forward and stared at the image. “Why didn’t you fucking tell me all this last week?”
“Because we don’t know what it means, exactly. We don’t know what stake Samantha has in Zero Gravity or the launch. She has no money invested in the company and if your program fails, she fails. So this doesn’t make sense.”
“Only, it’s all starting to make perfect fucking sense.” Lincoln raked his fingers through his hair. “My program isn’t going to fail. When Samantha first sent me here, she made a big deal about me finishing the security program. But she knew I wouldn’t let go of the idea that someone hacked the system. She knew I’d want to set a trap, or at the very least find the person. Especially, once I learned it was her program to begin with. They needed to know who was poking around inside and who leaked the information. They knew it was directly linked to the rocket launch; therefore, they suspected it was Stormi.”
“Kurt did tell me how shocked he was that Stormi hung herself. That he struggled to believe it. He even leaned closer and flat-out laid out a scenario how the FBI cut her a deal and she sent him up the river, when it was her all along,” Dante said. “I had to admit, that made me pause. My girl is a lot of things, including one big old introvert with an old soul. But suicidal? Never.”
“Jeannie showed up at the library last week. She spoke to Stormi.” Lincoln arched a brow. “I’ve been seen around town with Stormi. Hell, she might as well be living with me. Everyone believes we’re a couple, including Jeannie’s son. Whatever their plan had been, it’s shifted.” He pointed toward Dante. “Who at Zero Gravity would be given credit for any new technology when this investigation is over and the launch is rescheduled? Because I would bet they will be using the rocket boosters you invented. The ones that supposedly blew up.”
“Everyone on my team died in that explosion,” Dante whispered. “A man by the name of Jasper Booking heads up a second team, but I couldn’t tell you anything about his boosters or if they were even viable.”
“What about Jeannie?” Lincoln asked. “Aren’t you the one who said she’s smart and has a degree in physics?”
“Yeah, but her father has never wanted her to be a part of the business. He’s so old-fashioned. Doesn’t believe a woman’s place is anywhere but the kitchen,” Dante said.
Lincoln pointed to the laptop. “She’s got something on her father. Something that has to do with Samantha. Maybe even Samantha and Kurt. We find that, we find whatever is driving this.” For the first time in a few days, Lincoln felt as though he had something to go on. A direction that might land them with answers and a way to finish this once and for all. “What’s happening to Stormi and me is payback for different things. We’re collateral damage in a different game, but whatever game that is, I was needed for that final battle. Now all I have to do is build my Trojan horse and find that one missing piece.”
Dante jumped to his feet. “You have to protect my daughter. She can’t get hurt in all of this. She’s been through enough.”
“I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise.” Lincoln pulled out his cell.
“What are you doing?” Jimmy asked.
“I’m calling a friend of mine with MI6. I have a sinking feeling that Samantha might have crossed the pond.” The cell rang twice.
“Hey, Lincoln. How’s America treating you?” Victoria asked.
“Other than my ex is still fucking with my life, great,” Lincoln said. “I need a favor.”
“Of course you do.” Victoria laughed. “How can I be of service?”
“I need you to find out where in the world Samantha is.”
“Okay. Let me run her name through Interpol and I’ll call you if I get a hit.”
“Thanks. I owe you.”
“You’ve been owing me for years.” The line went dead.
Lincoln turned his attention to Jimmy. “Even if Samantha didn’t cross the pond, I don’t think you’re safe here. Find another place to hide out. Preferably a little farther away.”
“I can do that.” Jimmy nodded. “But I need to know what your next move is.”
“I’m going to finish the program. Early. I’m going to install it, but I’m going to do it without telling Samantha. She’s going to be pissed, and that’s the point. I want to watch her go in and change my code while Stormi and I have a little fun messing with her and hopefully find what we’re really looking for, because that’s what she’ll be protecting. It’s there somewhere. It doesn’t just disappear. I’m also going to hack into David’s and Jeannie’s home computers.” Lincoln smiled as his heart raced wildly through his system. “I need the FBI to back me up on this because it’s technically illegal.”
“I’ll get someone to sign off on it.” Jimmy nodded. “But Samantha’s not a US citizen. Not a whole lot we can do with her.”
“I’ve got friends in high places with MI6 and other government agencies in the UK. I’ll handle her.” Lincoln lifted the shade and peered out the window, making sure no one was in sight. “Watch your backs and let Kara know what’s happening.” He slipped out the door. First stop, the library. He needed Stormi to take the rest of the day off.
He couldn’t do this without her.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t kill him first.