Damaged Hart: Hart Pursuit Trilogy Book One

by Paige, Violet

  “Can you make us a buyer?” AJ asked. “We could get in on it. We can buy the Project Compass files and your safety.”

  “I don’t see how. He’s verifying all the bids. I can’t create a shell fast enough that he won’t see right through it.”

  “What about your personal accounts?”

  I stared at him. “Are you crazy?” I stopped to lower my voice. “I’m not putting myself in that line of fire. And I’m certainly not linking my inheritance to the black market. No way. Besides, I have things scattered. It’s not all together. I don’t have that kind of time to transfer everything.” I didn’t like admitting how I had separated my inheritance so that it wasn’t vulnerable in one place.

  “Even if it secures your freedom?” He raised his eyebrows.

  “I’d give it all up if it was possible. It’s not,” I snapped. “I would need weeks to set up that kind of plan.”

  “All right. All right. We’ll figure something else out.”

  I was glad he had let it go. We needed to focus on something that would work. A way to keep the sale from happening. Or a way to intervene.

  “I could try to hack into Beechum’s communication equipment. He has something in the cockpit, separate from the jet’s controls that is allowing him to receive orders. Maybe I could send him a message that he has been compromised. We could try to bring him over to our side and land the plane.” I considered what I was saying. “If we tell him we know what’s happening maybe we could be the ones to control him.”

  AJ nodded. “Do it.”

  “Ok. I hope he’s the kind of man who has a conscience.” I had a sickening feeling as soon as I said it, he wasn’t that kind of man.

  I didn’t know where to start my route. I had to close out the marketplace and try to locate the channel Jelly Bean Jack needed for communication with the pilot. My available options were limited. That was the only good thing I had going for me.

  “I’m going to do another sweep of the cabin while you work on that,” AJ explained. “See if I can find what’s knocking out my signal. We need it back up to start talking to forces on the ground.”

  “Good idea.” I didn’t look up from my screen. Every second was precious at this point.

  I could feel the time slipping away from us. With every announcement. Every loop the jet made. Every lie the crew told us. It was being yanked farther from our grasp. I had stopped fixating on the fact that AJ was here. Somehow, over the course of the flight I had accepted this was our experience. No matter how insane and inexplicable it was. We were in this together. Fighting for our lives. Fighting for each other. Fighting to save every single person on board.

  Holy shit. I found it. I stumbled into a communication tunnel that landed me in a DOS text program that the captain and JBJ were using to communicate. I couldn’t believe it.

  There were a hundred things I wanted to say to Beechum, but it was more important for him to listen to reason than for me to unleash my fury.

  I had to work quickly. I placed a temporary block on Jelly Bean Jack’s signal and instead sent my own text straight to the pilot.

  This is Silver Siren. You don’t have to do this. The authorities know what’s happening. You still have a chance to stay clean. Land the plane and walk away. No one else needs to know. We’ll keep this quiet.

  I held my breath waiting for a response. How Beechum responded would affect every life onboard.

  Seventeen

  The summer I was eight was the first time I started to realize there were things that made me different from the rest of my family. It wasn’t like I didn’t know I was adopted. I did. I always had. My parents had been honest about it. They didn’t hide it from me or from anyone who asked. Something changed that summer. Maybe it was because Kelly had just turned one and my parents followed her around like the paparazzi. They said things like, “She has your eyes.” Or “I hope she doesn’t get your mother’s weird earlobes.” And they would laugh and look at each other with a knowing exchange.

  There was an undercurrent that started they couldn’t prevent. A subtle message being created that Kelly and I weren’t the same. She had their DNA and I didn’t. They still said I was smart. They told me I was beautiful and a strong swimmer. They thought I was funny and creative. But I was never going to have my mom’s freckles, or my dad’s high forehead. No one could ever change that outcome.

  Right before school let out for the summer my parents had a conference with my third-grade teacher. They wanted to discuss putting me in an accelerated math program for the following school year. I sat in the backseat on the ride home from school and heard them muttering to each other about how they wondered where my math ability came from. It was there too. The undercurrent. Something they couldn’t take biological ownership for even though they provided me with everything a child could want. Was I walking example of the nature versus nurture debate? Did they see me that way? Were they constantly trying to instill something inside me they worried wasn’t part of my original genetic makeup?

  I had questions that would come and go. Questions that evolved as I got older. Questions I had decided could only be decided if I knew the most basic truths—who my parents were.

  I had fantasies that my birth father was a brainiac math genius who had just invented a life-changing equation, and my mother wore a lab coat and goggles while she solved international formulas. I had no idea what those formulas would be, but that’s what an eight-year-old’s brain does. It goes to extremes to make wonderful scenarios seem likely.

  If I was such a math genius in the third grade it had to be because my birth parents were busy saving the world. As a child that was the only scenario I could imagine that would make them give me up. Giving me up in exchange for saving the world was something my young heart could forgive. Anything else seemed senseless. Cruel.

  But I kept those thoughts to myself. I didn’t tell my parents. I never told Kelly. It stayed bottled up. Eventually I learned how to push it so far down that I almost forgot to imagine my parents in their white coats.

  I thought it would hurt their feelings, or they would worry I loved them less. Or maybe I kept the secrets because I was afraid they would laugh at me. They always told me they didn’t know who my parents were, but what if they were the ones living with the secret? What if they always knew I was wrong? That my fantasies were ludicrous?

  Secrets. I learned to keep secrets. Loads of them. The result was that I attracted men who liked secrets too. Men like AJ. Men who were comfortable with half-truths and shadows. I swore when he left, he’d be the last one I’d fall for.

  I stared at the port I had created to communicate with Beechum. What kind of man was he? What would have had to happen to a person to make them jeopardize everything for someone like Jelly Bean Jack? What kinds of secrets was he hiding?

  My lungs hurt, I had waited so long for him to answer my message. And then it popped up on the screen.

  Are you comfortable in 2A?

  I gawked at the question. He knew exactly where I was. I looked around for AJ, feeling vulnerable as if I was on platter for Beechum’s consumption.

  You don’t need to work with JBJ. Land the plane. Walk away. I can help you. Please let me.

  God, I knew I sounded desperate.

  What’s your offer?

  He wanted money. There was a price to pull him to our side. Of course there was. I had no way of knowing what portion he was supposed to be paid from the sale. I imagined it was a minor cut. But when the sale was so high, he could easily walk away with a few million in his account.

  I’ll pay more than JBJ. Name it.

  AJ dropped into the seat next to me. “Updates?”

  I nodded, keeping one eye on the screen. “I opened a channel to the cockpit. I’m messaging with Beechum now.”

  “Fucking incredible.” He leaned over my shoulder and the heat of his skin made me want to cry. I wanted to wrap myself around him and pretend none of this was happening.

  I’d r
ather this be our reunion. A second chance that knocked us both over, but wasn’t surrounded with sudden death and darkness. A hijacking. A kidnapping. Why was everything evil interfering with the great love of my life?

  “He wants money,” I explained. “I told him to name his price. I should be able to pay him whatever he wants without having to merge and transfer any of my overseas accounts.”

  My little moment of hope ended. I choked when I read Beechum’s response.

  I’ll pass. Good luck, little siren.

  “Oh shit,” I whispered.

  “What’s going on? What does that mean?”

  “I tried to offer him more than his percentage of the sale. He doesn’t want to bite.” I felt the hopelessness start to take hold. I didn’t know how else to reach him. There was a possibility Jelly Bean Jack had sweetened the deal with more than just money. I didn’t know how to compete with that.

  What else could I do with a computer and dark web access? I couldn’t fight a hijacking with a laptop.

  I looked up just as my screen blinked and the marketplace disappeared.

  “No. No. No.”

  “What’s wrong?” AJ asked.

  I tried to reconnect, using the VPN I had created but there was no signal. Everything was gone.

  “They killed the Internet,” I whispered, horrified that the only connection we had outside of this plane had been snapped in half.

  I buried my head in my hands.

  “No.” AJ’s voice was stern. “You’re not doing that.”

  “There’s no point. We can’t beat them.”

  “Look at me, Syd. I need your help to get to the box.”

  I suddenly looked up. “You know where the device is?”

  He nodded. “Can you help me?”

  “Where is it?” I needed to know how we were going to get to it and unjam it in time.

  “The crew is pacing in front of the rear galley, but I noticed that they are standing guard in front of the long cabinet. That cabinet has a hatch to the cargo hold.”

  “What? I didn’t think you could get to it from up here.”

  “This jet is brand new,” he explained. “The FAA has required all new aircraft have access for safety reasons. And thank God, because if I can get down there, we can end this.”

  I nodded along with his explanation.

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked.

  AJ leaned toward me. His cologne sent my head spinning. I choked back the tears for everything I was feeling. The anxiety. The pain. The fear. The love.

  “I’m going to guide you through it.”

  His hand found mine and I clutched at his fingers.

  Eighteen

  Five Years Ago

  Becca and I sat together on cold aluminum bleachers. She shouted when Travis ran straight toward the goal with the ball. I didn’t know if she was a soccer fan before she met Travis, but she definitely was one now. I couldn’t judge. I had willingly picked up the metaphorical pompoms for AJ.

  I wrapped my sweater closer to my chest. It was supposed to snow tonight. The guys wanted to get the game in before the weather caused the league to cancel.

  “Who plays soccer when it’s this fucking cold?” Becca complained.

  Travis missed the shot and the other team scrambled to take the ball to the other end of the field. I tensed.

  I watched AJ dive in the goal. He was keeper. The scariest and most dangerous position on the team. Every time I attended a game I cringed, worrying he was going to be kicked in the face with a pair of cleats or would launch himself into the metal goal frame. Neither was a good scenario.

  “They should just agree to tie, right?” I questioned the sanity of this entire match. “Couldn’t they do that?”

  She nodded. “This is nuts.” She reached into her backpack. “But at least I brought hot toddies for us.” There was a mischievous smile on her lips.

  “Oh thank God.” I didn’t care what she had put in that thermos. I would drink anything that would thaw me from the inside out.

  “Old Southern recipe,” she explained. “All bourbon with a dash of hot black tea.”

  “Gimme. Gimme.” I held out the Styrofoam cup she had packed and watched as she filled it to the top.

  We toasted each other and turned our attention to the field.

  “You know that place next to us is up for rent now,” Becca commented. “I’m sure you’ve seen it.”

  I almost spat my hot bourbon out. “What?” I hadn’t told her about the night AJ and I spent making out in the empty space.

  She giggled. “It’s right next door. An investor bought it soon after we moved in. Updated the bathrooms and tore down the wallpaper. He turned it into a rental. I thought he was going to move in. He’s kind of an older silver fox type. Just thought I’d throw it out there in case you and AJ were looking for a place.”

  It wasn’t as if we hadn’t talked about moving in together. We had. We were either at his place or mine. It was rare we spent a night apart. Even if one of his cases kept him out late, we found a way to see each other.

  “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “What? That’s it? Don’t you want me to give you the details?” Becca tucked her messy blond bun back under her beanie.

  “I need to talk to AJ.” I shrugged. “But don’t you think that might be too much being right next door?”

  “God no. We can cook out. Wine nights. We could start a book club on the row. It would be great. I would love for you to be next door.”

  I realized it wasn’t that I didn’t want to live next to Becca, I didn’t want to push things with AJ before we were ready. It was one thing to sleep over. To keep a change of clothes in his dresser or an extra toothbrush and contact case in his medicine cabinet. It was something entirely different to merge everything we had under the same roof.

  I didn’t know that either of us was in that place. It suited Travis and Becca. I didn’t know if it suited us, yet.

  “That would be nice,” I answered carefully. She didn’t seem worried about the two of us working at DataCorp and living next door.

  “I think the guys would love it too. It was actually Travis’s idea when we heard the owner wanted to find renters.”

  “Really?” I was surprised.

  She grinned slyly. “He thinks the four of us should hang out together more than we do.”

  “He does?” I didn’t know who this version of Travis was she was talking about. We didn’t talk much when we went to dinner. He usually seemed bored, or ready to leave.

  Soccer nights like this one were when he was the most animated. It was clear he loved sports and anything involving them. I didn’t push Becca about it. She was happy with him.

  Now that AJ had graduated from the Academy and was on a regular schedule at the Bureau, he and Travis spent more time together. They went to football games. Bars to watch college basketball. I heard something about a poker group they were trying to organize.

  I took another sip of the bourbon, welcoming the way it warmed my throat. I had to be careful, or I’d be drunk before AJ stepped off the field. Becca’s recipe was strong.

  “He just never seems that into us,” I commented. “He wants us to hang out, really?”

  Becca moaned. “What? Of course he is. If you live next door he’ll get to do more guy stuff with AJ. And you and I can hang out more. It’s perfect.”

  “Maybe a little too perfect,” I mumbled.

  I realized in Becca’s head it sounded like a suburban dream, but I wanted to bask in the newness of what AJ and I had. I didn’t want it to drown in Tuesday pork chop night and Friday night cocktails on their patio. I liked what we had. What we did.

  I felt protective of us. Maybe it was selfish not to let anyone inside our bubble, but I loved our spontaneity. I loved that we ate out or when AJ liked to cook for me. I loved when we decided to pack up and drive to the mountains for a weekend. I loved the new bars we tried, or the Sundays when we woke up and decided to or
der delivery and watch old movies in bed all day. We had tickets to a concert this weekend. If we lived next to Becca and Travis did they assume that all our dates would be double dates? Is that how this worked?

  I smiled when I heard the referee blow the whistle. The game was over. I had no idea who won. It didn’t matter as long as we could finally get out of the bitter cold. I saw AJ wipe the sweat from his brow. I felt the same quiver every time his eyes locked on mine. It sent something through me that felt cataclysmic.

  He climbed up the bleachers and planted a kiss on my mouth.

  “Mmm,” I purred when I tasted his salty lips.

  “You’re freezing.” He looked worried.

  I nodded. “Take me home and warm me up?”

  “And drinking?”

  I giggled, holding up the cup. Becca piped in. “I had to do something to get us through this game. Why couldn’t they just cancel? The fans were about to riot,” she joked.

  As soon as she said it the snow began to fall. I glanced upward, and the flakes fell on my nose and cheeks.

  AJ wrapped a heavy arm around my shoulder, leading me off the metal bench. “We won. So I’m glad they didn’t cancel.”

  “You did?”

  He laughed. “I love that you’re here, but you didn’t keep score?”

  I bit my lip. “It’s hard to watch when I think you’re going to get your face smashed in.”

  He groaned. “That’s not going to happen.”

  Becca crossed her arms waiting for Travis. He was the team captain and had to stay behind to record the game with the club’s referee to make sure it was in the books.

  “Bye, Becs.” I waved.

  “Don’t forget to talk to AJ about the townhouse,” she yelled.

  Damn it.

  “What’s she talking about?” We walked through the parking lot. I couldn’t believe how quickly the snow started to coat the cars and lamp posts.