Chapter 13
13
I don’t know how I pulled myself together after not one, but two hurricanes came at me with gale-force winds.
Ava knows about the hacks.
But possibly worse than that… she is in trouble. Just like I suspected.
Someone hurt this woman, and I will find out who.
Both revelations were too much to comprehend in the moment. A whirlwind of emotions swirled inside, but somehow, I remained steady as I worked through granting her access to private parts of our infrastructure and tried not to bring up her panic attack again. I knew she didn’t want me to talk about it. I wanted to; I know PTSD when I see it. Two of us four brothers have grappled with it over the years.
Gabriel.
And me because of that summer in Ensenada where my cousin bled out right in front of me and it was all my fault.
I know the trapped breath, the lungs of iron. I know the weak legs and the need to close your eyes and hide in the darkness. I worked with a therapist over the years and I’m much better at managing my physical symptoms than I used to be, but the emotional symptoms stay with you forever.
Ava has been through something bad. She’s not the threat. She’s running from it. One backpack. No official IDs. Needing to be here immediately. It all adds up to a runaway. Whatever is after her, it won’t fucking catch her here. I’m protecting her come hell or high water.
Just like she’s offered to protect me. Fucking hell, how on earth does she know about a hack? Did she gain access without me granting it? Jesus, she’s more talented than I even gave her credit for. More skilled than anyone here. Even possibly me.
I gaze at this woman beside me. A woman who is so much younger but very much my equal. I’ve been looking for a partner to trust for years here at GhostEye.
It pains me that she felt she had to offer me something in return for her safety. I don’t need her to help me to help her. And yet, that she has that sense of fairness, that justice at the basis of her actions… it’s admirable. She’s in trouble, yet she offers all she has to make things equal.
I respect the shit out of that.
And I’ll respect her privacy, too, for now.
We worked the rest of that day together. She had time to show me where and when a breach in our system took place. She showed me the phishing text she sent to one of our cybersecurity staff to help her clone his details and figure out his password. It’s a top-tier phishing attack, but still, that guy is fired.
I already knew about the hack she found but didn’t let her know that. It was the one from six months ago. I observed the way she showed me the unusual network activity with a mixture of emotions. Obviously, she was thrilled to show me her discovery. Less than a day with more access on our system, she found a second.
Finding a hack is like watching a horror movie. It’s mentally and physically stimulating in a way that causes a rush of adrenaline and a dopamine hit from the success; despite the fact that a hack is never good news, it can feel like it in the body.
She tempered that excitement with compassion. Concern. And I almost laughed for a second time when she said she’d work to get the fuckers . If only I could tell her how goddamn hard it would be because I know there have been several other attacks and I haven’t been able to extract enough information to trace them. But I’m not ready to share that with her.
And even if I was, I have to talk to Rio first. We agreed to keep them secret. I can’t do anything about her finding them herself, though. And why should I?
These attacks aren’t just business, they could be personal. I’m about as ready to tell her that as she is to say who’s after her. But at least we have one thing now—I feel a lot more comfortable letting her into confidential access zones. There, she will prove her mettle.
And then, I’ll have to prove mine and do something about this.
But as serious as the hacks are, knowing Ava isn’t safe is nearly all I can think over the following days, as it’s now the usual to work together, and seeing her all the time isn’t going to help me stop obsessing about it.
Finally, I have Wednesday dinner at Julia’s and hope the non-work conversation will change my train of thought for at least a couple of hours. Just me, Rio, Santiago, and Dad will be at Julia’s, and with the most likely shared conversation being horses, I’m sure I’ll be able to forget about Ava for a while.
Not long after we began working above the tack shop years ago, Julia started inviting us brothers around for pierogis, which at first, I must admit, looked to me like the Polish version of empanadas. Once I tasted Julia’s cooking, I knew she put as much love into it as my own mother did hers. I never would have voluntarily chosen cabbage as an ingredient but now I look forward to it. Have been for nearly a decade.
When I arrive at Julia’s, Rio and Santi are already at her kitchen table having ridden their horses over on the trails. It’s nice to see Rio in a white t-shirt and jeans but he got into his comfort zone just before I have to tear him open and tell him about Ava. He is going to be pissed she knows about the hacks.
Julia threads her arm through mine for our walk through to the kitchen, and she tells me about Arthur’s collection that just sold.
“I have to say, I never thought Phallasea would sell, but now some buyer has snatched up every single one of those Funky Pussies before they even made it on the walls at Café Luna.”
“Did they say who bought them?” I ask.
“No. But they think it’s the same buyer as his last series because they paid upfront in cash, no negotiating for the collection.” She grabs the back of a chair and puts a hand on her hip. “I guess it’s never too late for admirers.”
Santi takes off his baseball cap, scratches his head, and throws the hat on the table where he’s sitting. “You talking about Arthur’s pussies?”
Julie sticks a thumb and a finger into her eye sockets. “Why did I know I’d regret bringing this up?”
“Ah, Jules…” Santi says, “I’m not twenty anymore. I’m past jokes about sex organs. I’ll have you know I have a Georgia O’Keefe in my collection. But it’s a ram skull, not a vagina flower. Then again, sometimes if you look at the skull a certain way…”
Rio deadpans, “Aren’t you cultured.”
“Hey. Don’t underestimate me. I even understand the deep hidden meaning. Her skulls and bones were intended to link Heaven to Earth.” He puts on a sophisticated tone, almost like a British accent if he could do one. “O’Keefe presented the universe through the portal of the bone.”
Julia is wide-eyed and impressed.
“Let me guess,” Rio says, “she was an art dealer. Twenty-something? Blonde…”
“She was brunette,” Santi corrects, leaning back in his seat, with a shit-eating grin. “And buying the painting was worth it.” He counteracts what we’re all thinking. “It looks amazing over my mantelpiece.”
Just then, the doorbell rings.
“Ah, that’ll be your dad.” Julia claps her hands together. “Be right back. Go on, Zo. Sit. Take a load off.”
Rio taps his fingers on the table. “Glad Dad decided to come. He’s been getting on all right?”
“As far as I can see,” Santi comments. “He rode Ginger a couple of times and spends quite a lot of time at the stables asking if there’s anything he can do to help. And he seems to have made a new friend…”
In the background, Julia’s voice sings out, “Ah… Ava… glad to see you here, too.”
Santi tips his head. “Speak of the devil.”
Rio’s sarcasm doesn’t escape me. “Wow. Living on our land. Hanging with Luis. The woman got acclimatized fast.”
Only this time, unlike previously, it doesn’t sit right with me that he speaks of her with suspicion. Not that I know everything about Ava, but I know more, and what I do has brought out a protective side of me. She doesn’t deserve to be looked at like that anymore. The woman needs our help.
He’s going to go apeshit when I tell him.
My dad trails Julia into the kitchen.
“We were just at the bookstore arranging a night for my book club with James, and it didn’t feel right to send Ava home to her ramen noodles.” He looks back at her and chuckles.
When Ava walks in, chairs screech along the floor as we were taught to stand when you greet someone.
She slaps my dad’s arm playfully like they’ve known each other for years. “Hey, I made us a damn good spaghetti yesterday.”
My dad nods. “Not bad for a first try.”
Ava, looking beautiful with her hair swept off her neck in a top knot, gives a friendly wave from behind him. She’s not wearing her hoodie today, not even draped off her lithe and perfect shoulders. She just has on one of those loose and low-cut tank tops that hang seductively off the ends of her perky tits. She’s more delicious than anything else on offer here tonight. In fact, it’s getting harder and harder to concentrate each time I see her. She always wears the same things, and yet each time they seem more tailored to her curves.
Julia rushes to the stovetop and stirs a pot where the scent of black licorice fills the room, and I know her famous fennel soup is for starters.
“More the merrier. I never did learn how to tone down cooking from eight people to one. I’ll be sending you all home with doggy bags even with the unexpected guest. Everyone is welcome here.” She wipes her hands off on her skirt apron. “Go on and sit. Soup’s ready.”
We all take our seats around one end of Julia’s long farmhouse table. Ava sits next to me, and the scent of that men’s cologne of hers washes over me. It’s strange how good it smells on her. I know a lot of redheads don’t get along with the heat, and she’s no exception, so her walk here in the sunshine warmed the woody scent and makes the masculine perfume sweet. Maybe it’s her deodorant. But I love her smell. This week while working, I found myself leaning closer than necessary when she wanted me to see discoveries on her screen.
She offers a shy smile as she inches her chair closer to the table, and for some reason, I wish we were still at the table in the offices above the stables.
Julia pours out bowls of soup, as is the traditional first course when we come to hers. She places one on each placemat then sits down. I’m starving after skipping lunch, and Ava is, too, I imagine. She wastes no time grabbing her spoon. Without even thinking, I put my hand on her wrist to stop her.
Sparks fly up my arm and drop right back down again through every nerve in my body, and they’re clearly being reminded of the night I tended to her. Flashes of her milky skin run through my mind as our gazes meet. I’m sure it isn’t long that my fingers are wrapped around her delicate bones, but it’s long enough for me to see her eyebrows rise over those golden-brown eyes of hers and for her lips to part in surprise.
I pull my hand away and still feel her warmth on my palm.
I clear my throat. “Ava can’t have nuts.” I swallow hard, but not hard enough to feel heat creeping up my neck. Thank God I don’t go red.
Julia’s smile is wry and aimed right at me. “Well, luckily there’s nothing of the sort in the soup or main course.” She turns her grin on Ava. “Unfortunately, I used almond meal in the dessert.”
I steal another glance at Ava whose eyes meet mine briefly before giving me a thin-lipped smile and picking up her spoon again. She sits up straighter, and her shoulders ease back, her tits pushing out in some sort of goddess-like silhouette. We need to work separately for a few days. This is not good.
Ava already knows so much more about how vulnerable GhostEye is. I’m getting a clue as to how vulnerable she is, too. Feelings have no place in solving these problems. Feelings have no place in this situation period. She works for me and is a hell of a lot younger, even if we weren’t about to navigate a shitstorm together.
The room fortunately soon buzzes again with comfortable conversation. Compliments over the following dishes Julia so lovingly put together and shoot-the-shit catch-ups. We see each other often, and yet so much seems to happen in between. We finish the main course, and my dad gets up to help clear the plates.
Julia places two in the sink. “So how is my boy Gabriel doing? Or can you even tell me? ”
Dad takes Ava’s plate from in front of her. “He doesn’t need that kind of privacy anymore but he still never talks about his work anyway.”
Julia is always supportive of my brother who used to be in the Special Forces and never really found a sure path forward.
“As long as he’s safe.”
A complacent laugh leaves my dad’s lips. “I’ve had to accept I won’t know either way, but he’s alive. That boy has always been aloof.”
“And you, Luis? And Ava, of course,” Julia asks, leaning against the counter. “How are you finding Echo Valley so far?”
They look at each other as if sharing some secret. I never would have expected Dad’s first friend here to be a twenty-five-year-old hacker girl. But then again he’s always gotten along with people of all ages. As a rancher, he took them in young and watched them grow into men. And I guess until a year ago, he lived with my sister. Shay lived with him all her life until only about a year ago when she moved in with Logan and turned up married all in the same day. We’re all happy for her and my nephew, Antonio, but I’m sure Dad misses her. Maybe he sees a bit of Shay in Ava.
Then again, Ava is bright sunshine, and my sister? She sure knows how to rain down if need be.
In any case, I appreciate how comfortable Ava is in my father’s presence. Maybe she feels the warmth of her uncle in my father.
“The town couldn’t be more welcoming,” Dad says. “Coming from Starlight Canyon where folks are tight, I worried it might be hard to make friends, but not at all. The opposite really. James at the bookstore already offered to tell people about my book club.” He rubs his hands together excitedly.
Santi puts his elbows on the table and fingertips together. “I take it you’ve joined the Smut Squad then, Ava?”
She giggles. “I just wish it could meet more than once a month.”
“I can’t read that fast,” Dad says, but with no apologies.
Santi is sly about it. “I suspect those are the types of books you like to read nice and slow anyway.”
Ava lets out a bigger laugh. “You guys could join us.” She lands her gaze on my brothers one by one, going around the table with some sort of non-verbal invitation that eventually comes to me.
But when our gazes meet, her smile gets nervously stiff, and she drops her gaze bashfully. She’s fucking gorgeous when she gets all shy.
I’ve never tried reading a spicy book but I could see them becoming a quick addiction if that woman was the narrator.
“I’ll tell the stable hands about it,” Santi says. “I’m sure you’ll get some attendance from that lot. Hell, maybe I’ll come, too. Not that I want to be talking about that kind of shit with my dad…” He reconsiders and changes the subject because whatever goes through his head is too weird to allow there for long. “Anyway… speaking of the stables… Zo, what happened the other day when you stopped gun training?”
I notice Ava’s hands ball up into fists on her lap, and she turns to me with steady eyes, and yet I know a plea when I see one.
“We were trying to concentrate,” I answer.
Ava’s fingertips relax, and she rewards me with a gracious smile .
“Well, we’ll have to work out a schedule if you two are up there more often now. I have two thoroughbreds not fit to race, so Bran’s training them as hunters to head to England before too long. They need to be comfortable with gunfire.”
“I can’t believe that’s still legal,” Ava says, not hiding her disgust.
“It’s not. But I have a few clients overseas who run kill-free hunts and they still do clay-pigeon shooting and target practice on horseback to replicate the idea of hunts. I’ll tell you, those horses have to be competent. And fearless. People think it’s hard to train a racehorse, but a hunt horse? Not every horse can do that. But Bran is incredible. Speaking of, are you still coming on Friday to the stables, Ava?”
Fucking Bran.
“Yeah. Of course.”
Julia claps her hands together. “Right. Time for dessert. Sorry about the nuts, Ava. How about some mint tea? Join me in the veg garden and we might find some late berries? I have some cream?”
Ava gets up. “Sounds great.”
“Mind if I see what you have out there?” My nosy dad always wants to see what and how other people are growing.
“Of course.”
Santi pushes his chair back. “I’m going to check on the horses.”
The four of them head out the back door, leaving me with Rio who is staring at me flatly. “What’s going on with you and Ava?”
Having a twin is a fucking nightmare sometimes. It’s futile to deny there’s an attraction because that’s what he means, but it’s irrelevant. It will fade, and I’ll never go there .
His gaze searches me. “You gave her access to confidential areas.”
I don’t waste time. “She knows about two of the Mexico hacks.”
“The fuck?” He wipes a hand down his face, tattoos flexing over his forearm like he’s containing himself. “Does she know that we knew about them?”
“Of course not.”
“This is bad, Zo.”
“Or not. She could be useful.”
“Or she could let it slip to the wrong person and we’re in breach of contract with Thad. We lied to him.”
I consider how I’ll explain that I know Ava won’t do anything to ruin us. “She has good reasons not to put GhostEye at risk.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“She’s… been in danger. Or is. And I know she needs my help. So putting the company at risk would be a surefire way not to get it.”
“What the hell do you mean she’s in danger?”
“I don’t exactly know.”
His words are a warning. “ Hermano , don’t get fooled by that red hair and pretty face.”
“I’m not a fool.”
“But if there’s a woman who could make you one, it would be her.”
He isn’t wrong. She has it all. Brains. Looks. A body to die for. I shake myself of the thoughts.
“She had a panic attack when that gunfire went off, Rio. A full-blown, hide-under-the-table panic attack. She’s been through some shit and she came here because she believes we’re the good guys.” I say the words like a command. “We are the good guys. ”
He considers for a moment then stands down, giving the slightest nod.
“I’m going to help Ava. I don’t know what or how but I’m going to make goddamn sure that she’s safe here. And she’s a decent enough human to help us in return. I don’t see how you can argue with that.”
He stares at me for what feels like an eternity. “So you trust her?”
Do I? No. But it feels like something close.
“I believe her.”