by Ivy Nelson
He thanked the firemen for coming out and apologized for the false alarm.
"Looks like it was a wise call to make. That was a lot of smoke."
He gave a terse nod. Marissa was already pulling out a wire, plugging her phone into the damaged machine to see what kind of data loss there was.
"I'll go get the better tech," Lance murmured.
On his way, he called Patrick and let him know what was going on.
"I need to get back to Chicago. This is fucking personal. Marissa needs to stay here but I don't want her alone."
Patrick murmured something to his wife then came back to the phone.
"Austin and I will stay with her."
He blew out a breath. "You sure? I really appreciate it."
By the time he ended the call he was back in the server room with Marissa who sat cross-legged on the floor typing away.
"The good news is no data is lost because we have a backup. That should also make it easier to figure out if they were trying to destroy something specific."
He dragged a hand through his hair.
"This really fucking fucked up," he cursed as he dropped to the floor beside her.
"I need to get to Chicago. Austin and Patrick are going to stay here with you. You've got keys, and everything you need here. We'll talk when I get on the ground over there."
She gave him an absent nod, but she was already lost in her work.
He pressed a kiss to her crown and walked out.
♦♦♦♦
Marissa stood and stretched her legs two hours later. Patrick had stuck his head in the door at one point and offered her food or coffee, but she'd waived him off.
Spotting the intrusion had been easier this time. Almost as if they wanted to be found and it didn't have Sebastian Forcythe's messy signature on it. So, who the fuck was it and what were they trying to do?
She'd tried to hack into the system in Chicago, but all of her access points had been closed off. Likely a safety precaution. Lance could fix it when he got on the ground.
She could waste time hacking in, but there was too much to focus on here.
Back in the Solitaire conference room, she settled in and started digging through the backup data to figure out if anything they'd been targeting.
Was it just a chaos attack or were they after something specific? She hated not knowing.
Austin popped in and sat down.
"Is there any data compromised?" she asked as she slid a black coffee Marissa's way.
She shook her head. "Doesn't appear that way. Looks like a malicious program that was designed to overheat the CPU and attempt to start a fire. I'm still piecing together which bits of information were on that specific machine."
Austin shrugged. "I don't know what any of that means. I'm mostly just trying to ascertain whether or not we need to shut down or contact membership."
Marissa paused what she was doing and glanced up at the pretty blonde. "Someone is definitely out to get you guys. But nothing was stolen or copied. This time it looks like they were simply trying to destroy something."
Austin nodded. "I just wish we could figure out what the fuck is going on."
Marissa did too. "I don't understand why both here and his Chicago office were attacked."
Austin stood. "We'll figure it out. There are some powerful personalities among us. They attract attention and make enemies even when they don't mean to. My gut says it's all tied to Nicholas Sutton's feud with Patrick and Elijah and Lance just got caught in the middle. But we won't know for sure until we put a stop to it."
Marissa gave her a tight nod. "I guess I'll keep digging then. Thanks for staying, by the way. I know you're both busy people."
Austin smiled. "It's our pleasure, Marissa. You're obviously important to Lance which makes you important to us."
She shifted uncomfortably. Family was great but mushy wasn't her thing.
Austin laughed. "It's fine. I'm not overly mushy either unless it's with Patrick. I'll leave you to your work. Just holler if you need anything. You have our numbers."
Marissa turned her attention back to her screens and waited impatiently for Lance to call.
She didn't hear from him for almost five hours.
"Sorry, love. Things were crazy as soon as I got here. Have you figured anything out?"
She blew out a breath. "It looks like some membership files were destroyed. Mine, Jodie's, Holly's, a few others. The malware seemed to hunt those specific files and delete them and then it was programmed to kick the CPU into high gear and overheat the server. Was there something specific to the attack on your building? I tried to get in using the credentials you gave me, but I've been locked out."
Lance was quiet as she spilled everything she'd discovered over the last few hours.
When she finished, he chuckled. "Sounds like you've been chugging the coffee, love. We're still digging through data ourselves, but it looks like most of my research into quantum data storage with diamonds was targeted. Kimberly put everything into total lockdown and that auto rescinded your credentials. I'll get it fixed and give you fresh ones. Until then just keep doing what you're doing. Something doesn't feel right about this."
"You mean there would be a scenario where malicious attacks on your servers would feel right?"
He chuckled. "Enough with the sass out of you, little one. I've gotta get back. I love you."
The call ended and Marissa stared at the phone. Had… Did he just? Her heart felt like it skipped several beats as she replayed the last five seconds of their phone call. "I love you?" Was she ready for that kind of admission again?
She shuddered and went back to her data, but it was hard to concentrate when all she could hear in her mind were those three little words.
23
"Have dinner brought in for everyone, please, Kimberly," Lance said as he stuck his head in his assistant’s door.
The efficient woman nodded as she snapped her fingers at two rambunctious children playing near her desk. He was a bastard for asking her to stay but she didn't seem to mind, and the kids were having fun playing in an unfamiliar environment.
"I'll get you home as soon as possible," he promised before turning on his heel and heading back to the boardroom.
"Where are we in pulling up our backups to isolate the data that was damaged?" he asked the tired crew. One man raised his hand. "We're still sorting through it all to find the right files but so far it doesn't look like anything was stolen. We were able to find the intrusion though and it came from within."
"What do you mean? Like an evil maid attack? “
The guy shrugged. "Not exactly. Moss Tech credentials were used to access the server and leave the malware behind."
Lance frowned. "Can we identify who the credentials belong to?"
A woman spoke up next. "We're working on that now. Might take a few hours to match them up to the right person."
Lance nodded. "OK. Let's keep working. I've got dinner coming. We work through the night if we have to."
Some groaned but most nodded and kept typing.
Lance pulled up the employee database and found Marissa's file to switch her credentials back on. He sent her a text to let her know she was good to access the system.
Twenty minutes later, an alarm sounded on someone's laptop.
"What was that?" Lance demanded, his nerves on edge.
"Sir, you're not going to believe this but the same credentials that left the malware behind just logged into the system again."
Lance jumped up and stood behind his employee. "Who is it?"
Her fingers flew as she cross-referenced the sign-on information with the employee database.
"Marissa Sullivan, Sir. I'm not familiar with that name."
Lance felt his heart sink to his stomach. That couldn't be right.
"It's fine, Kara. I'll handle this. I need you to put your attention back on data loss. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me.
He jogged down the corrid
or to his office and slammed his door, pacing.
What should he do?
God fucking damn it. Was she so hell bent on revenge that she took the Solitaire job to get it? Was she working with Sebastian Forcythe? A million questions raced through his mind. He knew he should confront her instead of jumping to conclusions, but he was worried he would lash out if he called her right now.
He logged into the database and switched her credentials off again, kicking her out of the system.
His phone buzzed.
Something happened and I got kicked out. Help me out?
He ignored the text and dialed Patrick's number.
"Hey, your girl is fine. Must have gone through a gallon of coffee though."
Lance blew out a breath. "Not so sure she's my girl."
Patrick grew quiet. "That doesn't sound great. Let me get some place where I can talk."
Lance waited for the man to acknowledge that he was ready.
When he did, Lance spilled everything.
"Wow. That's pretty insane. You really think she's trying to hurt you?"
"I don't know what to think. I just know I fucked everything up last time by jumping to conclusions. But the credentials don't seem to lie. My gut tells me she wouldn't do that to me, but I can't ignore what's staring me right in the fucking face can I?"
It sounded like Patrick was tapping his fingers against a wooden surface as he contemplated Lance's question.
"I think you should talk to her. You know her and you'll be able to tell if she's keeping something from you. I'm not suggesting you beat it out of her, but maybe your dominance will coax her into a confession—if she has anything to confess that is."
A door slammed in the background and Patrick cursed. "Hang on man. I think she might have overheard me."
Lance's gut lurched. God damn it.
When Patrick returned, he was out of breath.
"She definitely heard us, and she took it the wrong way. I'm going to go out on a limb and say she's innocent and you have a brief window to fix things between you two."
"Ah Christ. Did you have me on speaker or something?"
"Yeah but I'm in the bar, she was holed up in the conference room. I thought I was safe."
"Jesus, Patrick. I gotta go. Keep an eye on her please. She gets reckless when she's upset."
"I'll do my best, man."
When Patrick hung up, Lance tried to call her, but she didn't answer.
He sent her a text.
Whatever you heard it's not what you think.
She sent him the middle finger emoji.
Yep. She was pissed.
♦♦♦♦
Marissa felt like she was going to be sick again as she packed her bag. She'd booked a flight back to Chicago that left in four hours.
Patrick and Austin both tried to talk to her, but she sent them away. Lance had called a dozen times and sent at least four texts. But she didn't have the heart to talk to him. He thought she might try to sabotage him. It was five years ago all over again.
How could she have been so fucking stupid?
As she looked around the room for the last of her belongings, she dialed Elijah Barrett's number.
"Mr. Barrett, it's Marissa Sullivan."
"Marissa. Lance told me about the servers. Are you alright?"
"I'm good. Listen, I've done the job I was asked to do. I was just staying out of loyalty to Lance, but that's..." she paused. "I'm leaving. I would like payment as soon as possible please."
Elijah was quiet for a moment. "I'll be happy to initiate payment right away. I hope you're not leaving us for good. We've enjoyed having you at Solitaire."
She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. She really didn't want to cry.
"I'm sorry. I just don't know what the future holds right now. I'm leaving on the next flight to Chicago though. I appreciate the job."
"You did exemplary work. I'm sorry to see you go. I hope you work things out with Lance."
A sob escaped her. "I don't think that's possible."
"Do you need to talk to someone? What happened?"
Her head shook back and forth. "No. I'm fine. I really need to go. You have my bank details. I just wanted to say thank you for the job."
Downstairs, her hand hovered over the handle of the exit. For a brief moment, she'd thought she might find a new home here, but that obviously wasn't meant to be.
"You're making a mistake," a voice said as she gripped the handle and pulled.
She turned to find Austin standing there.
"You don't understand. He doesn't trust me. I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me."
"You didn't hear the entire conversation. Lance trusts you, sweetie. It's himself he doesn't trust. Why do you think he called Patrick first?"
Marissa shook her head. "It doesn't matter. We will always have this divide between us. Some things are just too tough to get over no matter how much you love a person."
Austin lifted an eyebrow. "If you love him, that's bullshit and I think you know it. Don't run away from this."
Marissa held up a hand. "I'm sorry. I know you mean well but I really need to go. Tell everyone I'm sorry and it was nice meeting them."
On the plane, she did her best to hold her sobs in. She should have gone with her gut and walked as soon as she realized Lance was involved. Letting him back into her life was always going to be a mistake. He had entirely too much power to hurt her and undo all the work she'd done on herself in the last five years. Nobody deserved that kind of power over her.
She ordered a mini bottle of whiskey and chugged it, hoping it would make her sleep. It didn't.
At the Chicago airport, she jogged through the airport intent on catching the train into the city.
As she stepped out of the secure area, her heart stopped.
Lance stood, his hands in his pockets, waiting on her.
Fuck. How had he figured out which flight she was on?
"Go home, Lance," she said bitterly as she tried to walk past him.
His hand gripped her elbow and steered her to the wall out of the path of other disembarking passengers.
"I have nothing to say to you," she hissed as he pressed her against the wall.
"Then fucking listen to me." His breath was hot on her neck as he growled in her ear.
"I don't know what you heard but it's not what you think, clear?"
She shook her head and squirmed to get away from him.
"Stop struggling or you're going to attract airport security," he hissed.
"Someone used your credentials to plant malware. You're being set up again."
Her heart dropped as she whipped her gaze back to his.
"And you thought it was me at first. You actually believed it. Even if it was for just a minute. You rescinded my credentials and didn't say a thing to me when I asked about it."
"What did you want me to do? Someone clearly has your credentials, Riss."
"So, you fucking tell me what you're doing and why you shut them off. You don't call Patrick or the cops or anyone else. Your first call should have fucking been to me. Because you trust me. But that's the problem. You don't. And I don't trust you either and we may never trust each other. That's a deal breaker. Now back the fuck up and let me go before I miss the next train."
"My driver will take you somewhere."
"No. Or do you only respect that word when it's convenient?"
That made him back up, a sad look in his eyes.
"Please, Riss. Don't leave like this."
She dropped her head, afraid she might cry in front of him. "I'm sorry. I just can't do this."
Without another word, she brushed past him and marched in the train’s direction.
24
"I don't give a fuck how you have to do it, I want you to find that fucking bastard and turn him over to the FBI."
Lance slammed the phone into the cradle and raked a frustrated hand through his hair.
It had been three days since Marissa l
eft him at the airport and he wasn't handling it well. All he wanted was to catch Sebastian Forcythe and win Marissa back. Difficult to do when she wasn't taking his calls.
He wanted to honor her wishes, but he couldn't stop thinking about the aftermath of their one therapy session.
His assistant buzzed him on the intercom. "I've got Jackson Fischer on the line for you, Sir."
He sighed and picked up the phone.
"Hanging up on me doesn't exactly make me want to help your cranky ass," the cowboy drawled.
"Bite me, Jax. Tell me what you can about Forcythe."
Jax laughed. "You hired me thirty minutes ago, man. Pretty sure you know more than I do. What proof do you have that he's the one attacking your systems?"
Lance sighed. "None. I can fucking plant some though."
"Dude. Not cool. We can do this the right way. You said he was Nicholas Sutton's cellmate. That's something. Let's start there. I know Holly paid him a visit, so I'll give her a call. We'll get this sorted. Will Marissa talk to me?"
Lance sighed. "I don't know. She doesn't want to talk to me, though."
"Tough spot," the man muttered. "You'll figure it out. In the meantime, just be patient."
Lance gave a short laugh. "You don't know me very well, do you?"
When Jax ended the call, Lance stood and stared out the window. He'd been looking forward to having Marissa here with him again. How had he fucked this up again?
On a whim, he picked up his phone and searched for the number for Dr. Hoffman and asked to speak directly to her.
It took some convincing, but he finally got the receptionist to patch him through.
"Mr. Moss, how are you?" the doctor said, sounding irritated.
"I'm wondering if I could make an appointment with you."
The woman was quiet. "You could have done that through my assistant. Why talk to me directly?"
"I fucked up with Marissa again."
The doctor gave a knowing, "ahh. I'm afraid I can't see you then, Mr. Moss. But I can recommend a good therapist for you if you ever decide to see one."
Lance scowled. "Why can't you talk to me?"
"Because I suspect you're just fishing for ways to win my client back and that's not the business I'm in. You'll have to figure that out on your own. I have my patient's well-being to think of, not to mention her privacy."
