Seconds to Sunrise

by Nico Rosso

  He moved with her, one step for every two of hers. “Me and my teammate, my team, we’re protecting you.”

  “I never hired anybody.” Her path out remained open.

  “You didn’t have to.” Shadows flickered in his look. “We’re not for hire.”

  “Well, thanks for your help today. I’m going home.” She was only a dozen steps from the exit of the alley.

  “Those blokes who came after you are for hire,” he explained. “And there will be more of them, April.”

  Her name from him slammed into her gut. The raw fear, which had been subsiding, thundered back. Her legs wanted to run again, but she couldn’t.

  He must’ve seen her tensing, and took a step back and raised his hands again. “April Banks.” His voice was even, as if he could calm the storm that raged in her. “My name is James Sant, former Corporal, Squadron D, British SAS.”

  She’d been right, he was military. Former military.

  James glanced up and down the alley and lowered his words to a near whisper. “I work for an organization that’s been tracking the hackers who attacked your site.”

  No one cared enough about her and the other women on the site to put in this much effort. Even the web hosting service told her to scrap the site and start over with new data.

  “We’re all retired special forces. We owe you a debt for that website.” He took a long breath. “We owe your husband a debt.” Was the emotion in his eyes real, or was he as good at putting on an act as he was with his elbow into the side of the man’s head in the parking lot?

  “Let me go.” Invoking Mark just then, with her emotions peaking in all directions, threatened to tear her apart.

  “I told you, I’m not holding you.” James took a symbolic step to the side, clearing space for her. Not that she’d risk walking within striking distance of him. Though the way he moved, it seemed like he was always in range.

  But she still didn’t move. Could it really be safer with him in this alley? She’d seen the cruel eyes of the man who’d first attacked her. James seemed to have way more life and honesty in his face.

  He shifted his awareness around them, even checking the stripe of sky above the alley. “Your website was hacked on nine December. We’d been aware of your work before that. We run parallel operations in a way. Helping people. Your outage was noted. We knew you’d have it back up in a few days, and when you didn’t, understood it must be significant. Our cyber team jumped on the trail.”

  He was right about the date. All his details had lined up. “A lot of effort for my tiny site.”

  “Small but important.” He had an answer for everything.

  “You’re not the cyber team.” His combat boots and leather jacket showed wear. His sharp eyes didn’t spend a lot of time staring at a computer.

  “When we started seeing the sophistication, the established network, we thought it best to keep a security detail on you.” He flexed a fist. “In case they got threatened and retaliated.”

  A chill ran up her back. “How long have you been watching me?”

  “A bit over a week.” He didn’t even look sorry. “And it’s a good thing—”

  “No.” She still held the keys like spikes. “Even if this is real, if those men in the parking lot are who you say they are, it doesn’t justify you fucking spying on me without letting me know.”

  “April.” He pursed his lips and seemed to search for words.

  “That’s not protection.” She wanted to shake him but couldn’t get that close. “That’s an invasion.”

  “Understood.” He nodded. “It was to protect you from them. And from knowledge of us.”

  Was she crazy for believing what he was telling her? But the attack in the parking lot had really happened. And she hated to think of what might’ve happened if James hadn’t shown up. “What’s the name of your organization?”

  He stared at her, piercing. Reading her. His potential danger grew with his stillness. He didn’t blink. “Automatik.”

  “I’ve never heard of them.”

  “You wouldn’t.” A little smirk curled the side of his mouth.

  “I’ve heard a lot.” Through the extensive network of her website forum, from Mark’s service, from her father’s service.

  “We’re quiet,” he whispered.

  “How can I trust you?” Part of her still wanted to run, despite what felt like the truth coming from him.

  “I don’t expect you to trust me.” He stepped forward, dead serious. “Just believe me that it’s safer at my side than out there alone.” His momentum carried him closer. She raised her fist with the keys, and he barely glanced at it as he passed her. He continued talking with his back to her, walking out of the alley the way she’d entered. “You can come or not. It’s your choice.”

  “If I don’t go with you, you’ll still be watching.” Did that make her feel safe, or did it reinforce that she was falling deeper into dangerous territory?

  He stopped and nodded, face still turned away. “Until the end.”

  “Of what?” She knew about endings. They never felt good.

  “Until the end of the bastards who stole from you.” He resumed walking and slipped out of the alley. She could follow, or she could exit the other way, placing her out on her own. But still under his watch.

  An ally in the parking lot fight was an obvious advantage. The hackers had made this a very real, flesh-and-blood battle. She seethed, wanting to punish them. James had mentioned a cyber team. That kind of support could change the whole game. She’d been sifting through internet hash for weeks, trying to track the hackers. More processing power could shut those sons of bitches down.

  She turned and walked out of the alley in James’s direction.

  He waited for her, leaning against a parking lot lamppost. His body seemed relaxed, but she could see the way his broad shoulders were squared under his European-style motorcycle jacket that he was still poised and ready. He stepped away from the lamppost and walked to meet her. Beyond him, her car and cart full of groceries were undisturbed. The two attackers were gone, as was the red-haired man.

  “We mop up fast.” James joined her, the two of them moving closer to the car.

  “Like it didn’t happen.” Fear needled into her again. The attack was terrible, but how different was the world she was in now, where things like that can be erased?

  “But we know it did.” He stopped near her car and looked down. Blood dotted the asphalt. It was where he’d tackled the man. “The ginger cowboy with me should have everything under control, clearing our exit—”

  “April?” Theresa stepped out from the front of the supermarket. “We thought we heard yelling, but...” She sighed relief when she saw April standing unharmed, but still held a worried hand over her chest.

  April stammered. What story should she tell? The truth? But there was no proof anymore, besides the traces of blood. That would only raise more questions. James and his organization definitely didn’t like questions.

  A surprisingly charming smile spread across James’s face as he addressed Theresa. “There was no trouble. Just some kids having a laugh and wanting to ram shopping carts into cars. We scared them off.”

  Theresa looked to April for conformation. James had sounded so natural. How did he come up with that so quickly? April did her best to laugh it off. “They won’t try it again. James scared them good.”

  Theresa’s glance moved between April and James. “You know him?”

  El Paso was a big city, but in the smaller corners like this one, almost everyone recognized each other. April scrambled to find an answer. “Web host,” she blurted. Then she calmed into the lie. “He’s with the security team from my web host. We’re trying to resolve that hack.”

  James casually lifted one of her grocery bags from
the cart. “Most often, we work from our desks, but this job is particularly complex.”

  The keys were still in her hand and she unlocked the trunk. He loaded all her groceries while Theresa watched him, then gazed back at April with marked appreciation. He was a good-looking man. Tall and fit. Angular, bold features. And that accent. If April could’ve just seen him from across a room, rather than first thinking he was there to attack her, she might think he was sexy.

  Theresa gave April another light touch on the arm and it grounded her, slowed her heart rate a little. April placed her hand over Theresa’s and gave it a squeeze.

  “I’ll see you online.” Theresa parted with a smile and a wave and returned to the supermarket.

  With her gone, some of the charm drained out of James. He closed the trunk and held out his hand. “I’ll drive.”

  She gripped her keys. “We drive on the right over here.”

  A smile glimmered in his eyes. “On the wrong side, you mean.” Then he became more serious. “If they have another go, I need to be behind the wheel.”

  How much control was she handing over? The life she’d constructed over the last few years in order to recreate herself had already been shattered by unknown forces. Nothing seemed like it was hers anymore. She struggled to find something private. And safe.

  She gave him the keys. “You already know where I live.”

  He nodded. “I do.”

  “And where I sleep.” Her heavy coat wasn’t enough to make her feel covered. He must’ve seen everything and she’d had no idea.

  “And where you shop.” He slid into the driver’s seat and she got in on the passenger side. She’d never ridden in that position in her own car before. Everything was scrambled. James continued, “Which was how I was able to help you today. And I’m going to go on helping.”

  He put the car in gear and drove out of the parking lot. Was James her new stability? One man and a shadow organization somewhere behind him? Until a few weeks ago, she’d controlled everything. Now she was a passenger in her own car and didn’t know where she was going.

  Chapter Two

  Pain spread from James’s elbow where he’d smashed it into the attacker’s skull. The sensation would dull to an ache soon, but this detail wasn’t going to get any simpler. In a split second, a simple protection assignment had escalated to the point of spilling blood.

  April sat in the passenger seat, looking focused and not completely torn apart by the assault.

  “You handled yourself well back there,” he told her.

  She rubbed her knuckles. “You’re lucky you didn’t get the business end of my keys.”

  He stood about a foot taller than her, yet she’d still filled that alley with her presence. “With those other blokes, I mean. They were the real problem, and you didn’t back down.” Automatik had given him this operation because they knew how valuable the stolen website assets were. But the damn cyber intelligence wing couldn’t track the hacker down fast enough to avoid this upturn in violence.

  James navigated the El Paso streets he’d memorized from maps when he’d first been assigned to April’s security. He’d read her dossier, watched her from a distance. Her smarts and determination were evident in the website she’d created. Her heart showed in its purpose.

  “My dad was army. Showed me some moves when I was in junior high and high school.” Her hand trembled slightly as she smoothed her sleek black bob haircut. “I looked Korean enough for the bullies.”

  Her file had indicated that her father was American and her mother Korean, married when he was stationed there. But there was no mention of what fighting skills April might have. “We’re dealing with a class of bastard above what you’ll find on a school yard.”

  “I could see that.” Her mouth thinned to a line. “What were they really there for?”

  There were a few possibilities for what those men would’ve done with April if he and Raker hadn’t intervened. None of them were good. “The goons might’ve been hired to intimidate you away from trying to track the hackers.”

  “Or?” Her jaw was set. Dark brown eyes cut into him, seeking.

  Did she really want to know? She’d already agreed to go with him. There was no use in scaring her further. “Or they might’ve been there to eliminate you.” But he couldn’t lie to her.

  Her eyes unfocused and gazed out past the car, past the landscape. “In broad daylight.”

  “These jokers weren’t skilled.” The fight still pulsed through him. Though the adrenaline of conflict waned, an undercurrent of anger remained. If she hadn’t run when she had, he might’ve stayed on the unconscious assailant, pummeling him. He steered the car off the busy streets and into a neighborhood. Simple houses and shade trees. “The next batch will be.”

  She took a ragged breath.

  “But you’ll be safe,” he reassured. His phone buzzed in his jacket. He threaded an earbud out of the pocket and clicked on the cord to listen.

  Raker twanged, “Didn’t take much to crack these yokels. Especially after you dropped the hammer on the one guy. A windowless van ride to an abandoned warehouse got them.”

  “They sang?” James felt April watching him, wanting the answers.

  “Couple of locals. Outstanding warrants. Taking jobs for drug money.” Road noise on Raker’s end told James that he was already on the move. “The gig was set off by a text and money wired to a check cashing place.”

  “What were their orders?” He gripped the steering wheel with one hand, hating to think of her coming to harm. She was his assignment, a good person who didn’t deserve to be in the crosshairs. Were the hackers scared enough to have her killed?

  “Just to send a message,” Raker answered. “Rough her up. Get her scared, and to let her know worse was coming if she kept pushing.”

  “Understood.” He had to remain sharp. The hackers would play another card. April raised her eyebrows in a question, wanting his information. He held up a finger to delay her. “They’re out of circulation?”

  Raker chuckled. “Local PD has them. Anonymous tip had them breaking and entering the warehouse. They’ll stick to that story, unless they want to implicate themselves and add today’s charges.”

  “Thanks, partner.” He and the former Green Beret had been teamed up since James had joined Automatik two years ago. They could work in the field without words and shared what stories they felt fit to tell over pints after the shooting was over. Their trust was proven, yet there were still black chapters from James’s past that he’d never told his friend. “See you at the safe house.”

  “Just keep your hands off the glazed raised and we’ll be okay.” Raker hung up, and James disconnected the call. The donut shop that served as their local front was less than a mile away. In a few minutes, April would be out of danger, and he could breathe easy.

  “Safe house?” She shook her head, color rising to her cheeks. “I can’t hide.”

  A weight seemed to compress his shoulders. The job just got harder again. “It’s not hiding,” he explained. “It’s laying low until our cyber security team can root these guys out.” She looked to be about his age, mid-thirties, and should have a realistic enough view of the world to understand the value of staying where the bullets couldn’t find her.

  “Not an option.” She tilted her chin up, defiant.

  “You do remember what happened in the parking lot today?” How much convincing would he have to do? He couldn’t force her anywhere, but if she insisted on running around out in the open, he couldn’t completely guarantee her safety. “They started with fists. They’ll go to razors, then guns, then gasoline.”

  She blinked at him and recoiled. He wanted to back away from himself. His past had risen too close to the surface as he’d recounted the details of the situation.

  He kicked his old s
elf back down into the murk. “It’ll be secure and comfortable. And it won’t be for long. We have crack computer people, and they’ll locate the hackers in no time. Then we erase their hard drives and they can’t touch you again.” She didn’t look convinced. He remembered some of the cyber team talking about the security measures of her site slowing the hackers. “Whoever created your data encryption did a great job and will keep the bastards on the hook long enough for us to find them.”

  “I did it.” Her defiance returned.

  “What?”

  “The encryption. It’s mine.” Anger burned in her voice. “And they’re using it against me. Hiding behind it.” She ran her fingers through her hair with frustration. “The web host was no problem for them, but they haven’t gotten through mine yet.”

  “That’s good.” He made another turn, more than halfway to the safe house.

  “Not good enough.” Emotion glossed her eyes. The pain was personal. “They’re going to get the identities. The women, all of them who trusted me. Personal information. Financial information. And then the hackers can link that to their dead husbands. Thousands of identities served up for anyone who’ll pay for them. It could ruin their lives...” She choked on the last words.

  “We won’t let that happen.” James had read about her husband’s army service and the IED attack that had killed him in Afghanistan. But now he felt that history emanating out of her. The pain and loss and subterranean sadness.

  “I won’t let that happen.” She seemed ready to open the door and leap out of the car.

  He slowed to a stop at a curb and turned toward her. “We’re here to help you, you don’t have to do this alone.”

  “I do have to.” She was unbending. “They’re hiding behind my own tech. If I log in, they’ll follow my lead and find the way through. But from their servers, local, I can shut it all down and give them nothing.” He’d glimpsed her determination in the alley. She still looked like she’d fight rather than back down. Heat blushed her cheeks and she spoke through clenched teeth. “I have to be there.”

  His mind spun through different strategies. The least appealing was having the woman he was assigned to protect wearing tactical gear and throwing herself in harm’s way. “Can’t you just explain your encryption to our team and have them do it on site?”