by L. E. Bross
Chapter Fifteen
X
You plan on coming back or can I rent out your room?
If I had it my way, I’d move into the condo permanently and let Luc have the apartment to rent to whoever he wants. I know he’s bluffing though; he likes it there with Aria. We have a three-bedroom corner apartment, but we turned the third one into a study room.
At the condo. Staying here this week. Cover for me.
I’m required to live in campus housing as a freshman, but really, who’s going to check? There are a hundred students in the building and if the RA asks, Luc can tell them I’m out.
Everything okay?
Not yet, but it will be.
WTF? Is Ever okay?
She's good I swear. Talk later.
I know if I tell him what’s going on, he’ll be over here faster than I can blink, but there’s not a lot he can do to help. Plus, he might slip up to his dad and then Wendi will find out. The fewer people who know about what happened to Ever, the better.
They’re all safer this way—at least until we can be sure Peter isn’t a threat anymore.
“You staying here?” Baz asks, heading to the door.
“Yeah, this week at least.”
“Me too. Just gotta run to the office and grab a few things to work from home.”
I sit forward and plant my forearms on my knees. “Are you really okay, working with Peter? For Peter?”
His jaw hardens. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep Ever safe.”
“You know he’s probably lying, right? I’m not sure that man knows how to tell the truth.”
Baz nods. “It’s not over yet.”
His cryptic words echo in the room after he’s gone.
Something's going on with him. He should be a hell of a lot more pissed about working for Peter. I’d be punching holes in walls right now.
“Shouldn’t you be studying or writing a paper?”
I swing around and see Ever standing in the doorway. I can’t help but look her over every time I see her, just to make sure she’s really here. The bruises on her neck piss me the fuck off.
Nate had better stay away or I’m going to pound his fucking face into the dirt.
“Shouldn’t you be resting?” I say, opening my arms in invitation.
She walks right into my embrace and I hold her tightly against me. Not knowing where she was scared the hell out of me. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forget that feeling. Holding her helps keep the panic at bay, at least.
“I’m tired of resting,” she says against my shoulder. “Ry’s taking his frustrations out on the punching bag and I got lonely.”
My gut clenches at her words. It’s why she’s been sad lately—because she felt alone. Which is also why we’re all making adjustments to make sure it never happens again.
Starting with being more present.
My phone vibrates and when I glance at the island, I see Tink flash over the screen. I press unlock and see her text.
Tell my sister she’s a clumsy jerk.
I know Belle was worried, even after Ever called her from Nate’s phone. I let her know all was well and that Ever really did trigger the locator by accident. I glance at her bare neck. Ry’s going to get her necklace cleaned before we give it back.
She’s not wearing someone else’s blood.
And we’re not letting her out of our sight until we have a better way of locating her. I’m not opposed to a GPS chip implant. If she allows it, of course.
I tilt the phone and show Ever the text.
She shakes her head and takes it.
I’ll tell her you said she’s an amazingly graceful and beautiful woman.
Ever grins as she hands to phone back and I can’t resist planting a kiss on the tip of her nose.
“True story,” I murmur.
Amazing, maybe. Graceful, never.
Little shit, Ever types out.
“Hey, what if she thinks…”
Love you too Big Sis. ;P
Her arms slide around my waist as she chuckles, and my heart starts to beat faster. This girl is my life. I bury my face in her neck.
“Don’t ever fucking scare me like that again,” I say against her skin. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”
The knot in my stomach turns to lead and I squeeze her tighter.
I really hope Baz does have something up his sleeve, because I’m on the verge of moving us all to some remote cabin in the woods and hand-digging a moat around it. Filled with flesh-eating fish.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were hurting, sweetheart?”
She lifts her face and I get lost in the myriad of emotions swirling in her eyes. When she tries to drop her chin, I disentangle my arms and use a finger to tilt it up. I need her to say it out loud. To say what we’ve already figured out so that it can’t hurt her anymore.
“We’re in this together. All of it. If we know what’s wrong, we can fix it,” I promise.
Her gaze softens. “I know, it’s just… I don’t know where I fit anymore. I’m so proud of all of you. You’ll rule the world one day.”
“With you right there with us. Kings need a Queen. Didn’t you learn anything in history class? And look at chess. The Queen is the most important piece on the board. Everyone else has to protect her. If she falls, it’s over.”
“I’m not a Queen, X. And I have nothing to offer because I don't know what I want to do. To be.” She steps out of my embrace and widens her arms. “I’ve got this path laid out in front of me now, one I never expected, and I can’t see where it goes. I can’t hold you all back while I try to decide.”
“First, you’d never hold us back because we won’t let you fall behind. And second, who the hell says you have to decide everything now? Or a year from now? Or hell, ten years from now?”
“I should be doing something. You all are doing something.”
“Sweetheart, Baz can’t help being a computer nerd. Ry races because he loves the adrenaline rush, not to be rich and famous. And me, I’ve always had a head for business and was lucky enough to find where I fit.”
“But you all have the potential to do great things. Go places. Make a difference to people,” she argues. “I’ve got nothing to offer.”
“Bullshit.” I can’t listen to another word. It kills me to hear she thinks so little of herself. I cup her face between my hands and lean down so that we are nose to nose, eye to eye. “You make a difference to us. You’re the one who fixed us and gave us direction. We were just existing before you came along. You and your attitude gave us purpose.”
A small smile dances across her lips.
“And in addition to all that, you have the kind of smarts that can’t be taught. You’re resourceful and clever and you took on Peter fucking Panchard all by yourself to find your sister, which makes you the strongest person I know. You are loyal to a fault, and there’s no one I trust more than you. You have an amazing heart and the fact that you found a way to love all of us is incredible. So I never want to hear you say you have nothing to offer. Because next to you, everyone else pales in comparison.”
She stares up at me, glassy-eyed, and I cup her face between my hands.
“Not to mention the tightest, silkiest..”
Her hand slaps over my mouth but her eyes sparkle and she starts to laugh.
I sweep her up into my arms and she throws hers around my neck.
“You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, Ms. Darlington, and I wouldn't change a damned thing.”
Chapter Sixteen
Baz
“Have you found him yet?”
“Not yet. It looks like he left the country. Mexico. I’ve got a couple of guys headed there now.”
“She’s not safe while he’s still out there.”
I slam my fist on the table and a couple nearby looks over at us. I glare at the man across from me. Agent Starett. Fucking FBI.
I rub my hand over my face and s
tare out the window of the café across from Panchard Enterprises. The sun reflects off the gleaming two-story P in front of the building. Every time I look at it, I want to tarnish it beyond recognition. Destroy it and burn the whole fucking place down.
“I know you’re frustrated, but we need you to focus. You said you were close to finding something useful?”
That’s what I told him over the phone.
And I am, I just don't know what I’m close to finding.
I still can’t believe I’m working with the FBI.
All those months ago, while decrypting to chip that Peter stashed in Wendi’s watch, I found an FTPS address that led to a back door into one of Panchard’s servers. One not part of the mainframe.
Before I found anything useful, Peter made a plea deal by offering up names for a lighter sentence, but I knew Peter. I knew how he operated. If he expected to get out of prison in two years, he’d have a plan.
Three months ago, the Feds found the same FTPS address on one of the terrorists Peter sold out. They believe that all the others had the same information and came to me when their analysts couldn't break the encryption. Because I was the one who created it.
What I found buried on that server was just the tip of the iceberg. It sent me down a rabbit hole. Peter was definitely up to something. I’ve spent every waking hour at Panchard sifting through code to discover its purpose, and with every step forward, something sets me back.
But I’m going to break through, because the alternative is that Peter walks in twenty months and I’m forced to do his dirty work to keep Ever safe. I would do it if I had to—no question—but not if I can take that bastard down first.
He needs to be behind bars for two lifetimes for what he’s done.
“I’ve got a new program running. If it works, I might have a pinhole that allows me to sneak in. Once I’m in, I can mine the data and decrypt it.”
Agent Starett exhales. If he’s frustrated, I am a thousand times more so. He’s not the one spending nineteen hours a day searching for a needle in a haystack. I want this over more than he does, but for entirely different reasons.
“With enough evidence we can charge Mr. Panchard with high treason and stop any plans of his. The information you’ve given us so far has matched up with known threats, but there's something bigger brewing. We might be running out of time.”
“You find Nate and make sure he’s locked up, and I’ll make sure you get what you need.”
Agent Starett pushes back his chair and stands. “You do realize that the security of the world is worth a lot more than the safety of one girl, right?”
I cock my head and look up at him. Rage simmers just under my skin. “The most important thing in my world is that one girl, so no, nothing is worth more than her.”
A scowl passes over his face before he schools his features.
He needs me and he knows it.
“Do your job,” he says, then turns and walks away.
“You do the same.”
He keeps walking, the only indication he heard me a slight stiffening of his shoulders. When he’s gone, I pinch the bridge of my nose. Fuck, I’m exhausted.
I push to my feet and head back across the street.
The sooner I finish this, the sooner I can go home.
∞∞∞
Holy fuck.
Holy ever-loving fuck.
I stare at the screen, type, then stare some more. As if on cue, my phone alerted me that the program I was running found something as soon as I stepped into the building.
I spin in my chair and pull up another screen, typing in a set of coordinates that I just decrypted. I knew Peter was hiding something—I just never imagined it was this big.
Peter Panchard can never be set free if the world wants to stay safe.
More and more data flashes across the screen and I grab it all, copying every scrap onto one of the chips I created. This is it: the information the Feds were looking for. The proof that will keep Peter in a high-security government prison for the rest of his life.
All I have to do is let Agent Starett know I’ve got it.
I pick up my phone, then set it down.
If I give the Feds this info, there's nothing motivating them to look for Nate. Agent Starett made it clear that Ever was of little importance. Peter got to her once, and I have no doubt he could do it again. The man is resourceful. Ruthless. There’d be nothing stopping him from trying until he succeeds.
I drop my head back and lace my fingers behind my neck.
I need to make sure Ever is safe. That’s my number one priority right now.
After that, the fucking Feds can do whatever the hell they want with Peter. Maybe I can give them names of the players, bigger ones than Peter ratted out, and satisfy them for now.
I glance at the clock on the wall. If I leave now, I could still make it in time. I could make one last deal with Peter.
I pop the chip out of the drive and tuck it into a nearly indestructible clear case. Hard to believe that this tiny chip holds so many secrets.
Now it’s the only thing that will.
After a series of quick commands, the server starts to delete everything. It will take hours, but by the time I get back, it will be wiped clean. Even if someone had the ability to hack into Panchard, there’ll be nothing left to find.
Everything is on the chip.
I take it to the safe tucked into the wall and press my thumb onto the keypad. Then I lean in while it scans my retina. I’m the only one who can get in; I made sure of that on my very first day here.
Not even Peter could crack this safe.
Once the chip is safely stored, I grab a random set of keys on my way down to the underground parking garage. It’s Sunday, so there aren’t any employees here and the garage is empty except for a row of black Mercedes lined up on the back wall. Company cars.
I hit the fob and headlights blink. None of the cars have been used since the shit hit the fan, but it starts right up and has a full tank of gas. I check the time on my phone and send a quick text to X.
Going to be late. Got a few things to wrap up.
Hopefully, when I get home tonight, I can tell Ever that she’s safe. And that I won’t be working with Peter after all. We can sell Panchard and make a fresh start. The four of us.
The drive gives me time to think, to plan out exactly what I’m going to say. By the time I pull back into the parking lot of the prison, I’m ready for it to be over.
I go through the entry process again, but this time it’s me waiting in the common room for Peter. When they lead him in, his eyebrows lift in surprise. He sinks into the seat across from me. Aside from a family tucked into the opposite corner of the room, we’re alone.
I’ve never seen Peter with stubble on his face or hair out of place. Growing up, even his casual wear was formal. It gives me a measure of satisfaction seeing him dressed in orange. It washes out his complexion, makes him look haggard and old.
I like that this will be my last memory of him. I only wish I had my phone to take a picture and capture this moment. We stare at each other until Peter leans forward.
“I’m not sure why you came back, Sebastian. You already made your deal. There's nothing else I want. If you want to keep your little girlfriend safe, you’ll work for me.”
I smirk. “Well, that was before I found something very interesting buried on an old mainframe.”
Peter’s eye twitches.
“Something that would incriminate you, would get you the death penalty if it got into the right hands.”
“And?”
“I want you to leave Ever the fuck alone.” I plant my hands and lean across the table. “We’re going to sell Panchard because it belongs to us and because none of us want to be associated with it or with you. Our dealings are over. This right here is the last conversation we ever have. You’ll be out in twenty months and can start over all on your own. I’m not helping you. I never want to see you again. And as long
as Ever is safe, that information stays locked up.”
He grits his teeth. “That programming is worth billions. You’d be set for life.”
I shove to my feet. “Unlike you, I have fucking morals. I’m not going to sell out my country.”
He studies me, and a shrewdness fills his eyes. “Not so different from me after all, are you, boy? Self-serving like the rest of us.”
I grit my teeth. “We are nothing alike.”
Peter throws back his head and laughs. “Then why are you here making a deal to save the life of one useless girl, instead of turning over matters of national security to that FBI agent you’ve gotten so chummy with? What you have would put me away for life, but I’m sure you already know that. You’re willing to compromise your own morals for a girl, so don’t sit there and tell me you’re not selling out your country. You and I just have different opinions on what makes it worthwhile.”
I grip the edge of the table. My heartbeat pounds so loudly in my ears that I almost can’t hear him anymore. I wish I couldn’t. He knows about the FBI, which means he has eyes and ears on the outside. Connections and capabilities beyond simply finding an ex-boyfriend of Ever’s.
“You’re selfish, just like me. Because your needs are bigger than everyone else’s. I’m proud of you, son.”
The satisfied look on his face when he sits back makes me want to vomit. Fuck. Fuck!
Peter stands and nods to the guard and I’m frozen.
“Tell Riot he should have taken the motor oil sponsorship. I had to cash in a huge favor to set that up. Oh, and that paper Xavier wrote? Brilliant. I’ll be sure to incorporate his strategies when I expand globally.” He takes a few steps then stops and turns. “I’ll see you in twenty months when I get out, Sebastian. Might even be swayed to go into business together. Panchard and Sons has nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
My body flashes hot and cold and my legs get so weak, I drop into the chair.
What the fuck just happened?
A guard comes over to tell me visiting hours are over and I make my way robotically to the exit. I sit in the car as the minutes tick by.
How the hell do I go home and tell the guys what just happened? That Peter’s been keeping tabs, that he’s been meddling in our lives, that he’s been that fucking close to us, and we never knew it?
