Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Something passed between them. Something unidentifiable, yet tangible. She blinked and the moment was gone. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she focused on his last question.

  “The person used a pretty strong proxy, but I was able to isolate the location using a GEO IP Tool.”

  She had spent the previous night doing just that. If she had not panicked at the beginning, it was what she would have done in the first place.

  Rusty nodded. “That’s great. I was going to do that today, so this saves me time. Where is this hacker’s location?”

  “Right here in Chicago.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “What?”

  He’d picked up his phone and was tapping rapidly on the screen.

  “We need to track the exact location of the hacker,” he said without glancing up.

  Hope looked at him like he’d lost it. “But that’s not possible. They went through all sorts of proxies and for all we know the person could be in Timbuktu. All I have is the location of one of the proxy servers they’re using.”

  He looked up then with a smug smile on his face. “For someone with a name like yours, you’re too skeptical by half.”

  “But you know how these things work, unless you call in the government folks…oh!” It suddenly dawned on her that Silver Shield might have more resources than she deemed possible. “You have people in DHS, don’t you?”

  As far as she knew, the government agency that could provide the sort of assistance he was talking about was the Department of Homeland Security. She could be wrong about that, but she didn’t think so. If the FBI were investigating a case relating to cyber security, they would still have to partner with the DHS. At least that was how she thought it worked. She was not absolutely sure.

  “I’m calling in a few favors,” Rusty said enigmatically.

  Hope wanted to ask more questions, like what could he possibly have done to get someone at Homeland Security, or wherever, to owe him favors? But somehow she just knew it was futile. She didn’t think he was going to tell her what it was.

  Then the implication of what he’d said sunk in and she felt excitement stir inside her.

  “Do you know what this means?” she asked, her eyes widening with wonder. “We could practically have the asshole in our nets in a matter of days!”

  She knew that hoping too soon was setting herself up for disappointment, but she could not help it. The thought that this could all be over in a few days was too much for her to contain. She wanted to whoop with joy.

  “Yep. If we’re able to catch the culprit, I could be out of your hair before you even know it,” he said, flashing her a bright smile.

  The bubble of joy inside Hope’s chest decreased a little. It didn’t pop, it was still there. But it no longer had the giddiness that almost had her jumping for joy. Something had gone out of it. She could not explain the flatness she was feeling and she didn’t try to understand it. Not just yet.

  “That would be awesome,” she said giving him a bright smile.

  “I need to check with Emily and get the ball rolling. Will you be okay on your own for a little while?”

  She waved a hand, “Please go on, don’t feel the need to babysit me. I have a few things I need to do around the house anyway.” Like dissect herself so she could understand what it was she was feeling and why her emotions were so close to the surface.

  “Great.” He took a few steps then paused, “Sure you’ll be fine?”

  “Absolutely.”

  She watched him walk out of the kitchen and a sudden unexpected wave of loneliness washed over her. She’d never had a companion before, someone to just talk to and share ideas. The closest she’d come to that were the years she’d lived in Jared’s house while she was preparing for her GED. But Jared had been and still was like an older brother, always prepared to tell her what to do, for her own good of course.

  She’d had roommates in college, but she’d pretty much kept to herself, unable or unwilling to connect with them. So this situation with Rusty was a novel one and she found that she liked it, at least for now.

  Hope decided to cook a proper lunch since she had a house guest. Sharing a meal with someone who was not analyzing her as a potential bed partner was relaxing. To Rusty, she was someone who he needed to keep safe from possible threat and maybe they could be friends as well. She knew he was not attracted to her, and that was okay too.

  She went back upstairs for her phone and saw several messages from Jared. He wanted to know how she was doing and if the man was behaving himself. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Though he tried to keep it under wraps, Jared could be so overprotective sometimes. She didn’t blame him much, but it could get annoying. So she tapped out a reply.

  You just focus on work and mind your own damn business.

  She had just got to the top of the stairs when her phone dinged. She knew it was another message from Jared but decided to ignore it. She had a smile on her face as she went down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  Going through the groceries Rusty brought home, she decided that she needed to get some more. So she hurried back up the stairs, changed into something more presentable and grabbed her purse. She was in her car before it occurred to her that she probably should have informed Rusty that she was stepping out. But she was only going down the block, not far at all. What harm could possibly come to her in that short time?

  With that, she put the car in gear and drove out of her driveway. She did not notice when the grey sedan pulled out behind her a few miles after she left the house and trailed her all the way to the grocery store.

  Chapter Ten

  Rusty was with Emily on the phone when he heard the alarm he’d rigged to his devices go off.

  “Just a moment, Emily, let me check that out.”

  “Sure.”

  He tapped the keyboard and the large screen he’d installed in the room Hope had given him came to life.

  “Goddamit! What the hell?”

  “What’s up?”

  “She just drove out of her driveway.” He was going to kill her.

  “You’re talking about Hope Conran?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s not good,” Emily said in her usual calm voice. “Did you install a tracking device on the vehicle?”

  “Yep.” He already had his keys and was heading towards the door. “I’ll call you back. I need to sort this out,” he said and ended the call.

  He got into his SUV and pulled out of the driveway. He turned on his tablet and synced it with his GPS system so he could easily follow her trail without any distraction.

  Rusty felt a keen sense of disappointment. First of all, he had not anticipated this sort of action from Hope. Most other charges always looked for ways to sneak away, but Hope had seemed so sensible, like she wanted this over as soon as possible and was willing to cooperate with whatever in order to wrap things up quickly. She hadn’t even kicked up a fuss when she found out that he would be staying with her. And when she’d entered the house and seen all the security changes they’d made, she’d just shrugged, grimaced and gone to her room. If there was one thing he’d quickly discovered it was that Hope Conran was extremely pragmatic. Maybe to a fault. Her name was definitely misleading.

  Secondly, after the way they’d connected back there in the kitchen, he’d sort of thought that they had become well…friends? Okay, so maybe not friends, but there had been something. She had shared something personal with him and he’d done the same as well. There had been trust between them. He could not believe she would just up and out betray that trust like that.

  He felt like a fool for thinking they had bonded. In the short time he’d spent with her, he had seen firsthand the way she related with everyone, except for Jared Black. Hope was friendly, and seemed open, but there was a thick wall and no one was permitted entrance. And damn, but he wanted entrance.

  Rusty got to the grocery store and circled around the parking lot till he saw her car. Lu
ckily there was a parking spot close by. He turned off his engine and looked around. Everything looked normal, nothing suspicious. Now he needed to find the woman and be sure she was alright.

  **

  Inside the store, Hope knew she probably should have spent a few minutes making a shopping list before heading out. She was not particularly sure what she wanted to cook. She knew she wanted to do something with pasta and chicken, but what? She whipped up her phone and checked for some quick recipes, then pulled out the ingredients. Satisfied, she went about pulling what she needed from the shelves.

  She got to the cold section and reached for the chicken at the same time another person reached for them.

  “Oh.” She glanced up with a smile and found herself looking at a woman slightly taller than she was. She had friendly brown eyes behind the purple glasses she wore.

  “Sorry, it’s not the last one, is it?” the woman asked, peering into the glass display.

  Hope noted that she had a nice voice. Soft and mellow.

  “I don’t think so.” She glanced at the counter and found the chicken behind the turkey, “Oh here, see. Someone must have moved them.”

  “Ah, thank goodness,” the woman said with a soft laugh.

  Hope leaned down to pick up two wraps of chicken breasts. “How many do you need?” she asked. When she got no response, she looked up, but there was no one there. “What? Where did she go?”

  She straightened up in consternation, but there was no sign of the woman. Hmm, where did she go?

  Turning around, she almost bumped into the human wall standing there. Strong hands held on to her arm to keep her from stumbling.

  Hope blinked in confusion as she looked up into a pair of furious amber eyes.

  “Rusty? What are you doing here?”

  He eyed her coolly. “Are you done here?”

  “Ah, I just need to pick up a couple more things.” She was suddenly aware of his nearness. She took a deep breath and was swamped by his scent. He smelled of soap and man. She could feel her body stirring in ways that she was not prepared to acknowledge and became conscious of his hands on her arms.

  Hope shifted uncomfortably and Rusty’s hands fell to his sides. She felt the loss.

  “Who was that woman you were talking to?”

  Hope blinked, then his question sank in. “Oh, you saw her too? Thank goodness. I was beginning to think she was a figment of my imagination.”

  She moved towards the fresh produce, hoping she could get some fresh herbs.

  “You often stand and talk to people from your imagination?”

  She heard the slight mockery in his voice and decided now would not be the best time to tell him about Prince Kamal, the imaginary Arabian billionaire prince who was supposed to come whisk her away into the sunset. She sighed at the memory of that imaginary prince who had been her mode of escape as a teen. She’d been forced to abandon him when she’d hit her twenties and he still hadn’t shown up. Typical male. You just couldn’t rely on them for anything.

  “Why did she leave in such a hurry?”

  Hope shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she had an impatient man waiting for her? One minute we were chatting and the next, she was gone.”

  “That’s odd.”

  She thought it was odd too, but this was Chicago. There were many odd people living in the city. She didn’t think it was a huge deal and told him so.

  She finished up her shopping and paid for it. Rusty took hold of the shopping cart and pushed it towards the parking lot. She saw that he’d parked a couple of cars away.

  “Hey, my car is this way,” she said when he noticed that he walked past her car and kept moving.

  “I’m taking it to mine.”

  “What the hell? My car can take everything, it’s not a problem.”

  “Both you and your groceries are coming with me,” he said with a frown.

  Hope hurried to where he was standing at the back of his SUV. She tried to grab the handle of the shopping cart, but it didn’t budge.

  “You are being ridiculous,” she said with a fierce frown.

  “Am I really? You just left the house without saying a word. You put yourself in danger, without reason if I might add. It is my job to keep you safe and you’re coming with me.”

  Hope was beginning to see red. The man was unreasonable and obstinate and he was starting to piss her off.

  “I just stepped out to get some groceries, how is that putting my life in danger?”

  “I’m not prepared to find out.” He began to load the groceries into his vehicle.

  “Rusty, I am telling you that you need to unhand my groceries right this instant!”

  He ignored her and kept at it. Hope rushed forward and began to off load the groceries back into the shopping cart, one at a time.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “I’m driving back in my own damn car with my groceries!” She replied without looking up.

  Without another word, Rusty scooped her up and walked to the passenger’s side of the SUV.

  “What! Put me down, you brute!” She hit his back and tried to kick, but he held her securely.

  He opened the door and dumped her inside. She tried to fight her way back out, but he was too quick for her. Before she realized what he was up to, he’d shut the door and turned on the lock. She tried to open the door without success.

  “If you come out I’m only going to put you back in,” he said coolly.

  “You wouldn’t dare!”

  He gave her a level stare. “Try me.”

  Hope had never been so livid in her life.

  She glanced around and saw that they had already begun to attract attention. Although she was nowhere as famous as Jared, thanks to her media aversion, she didn’t doubt that it wouldn’t be long before someone recognized her and brought out their cellphones.

  She sat back, fuming.

  A few minutes later, he came in and started the car.

  “You goddamn idiot! What the hell did you do that for? I order you to let me out this instant, damn it!” And she let roll some swear words she hadn’t used in a very long time.

  Rusty pulled out of the parking lot without a word. In frustration, she hit him on the shoulder.

  “Did you hear me, I said let. Me. Out!”

  He threw a cold glance her way. “If you hit me one more time, I promise you that I will put you over my knee and hit you right back.”

  Hope was stunned into silence. It wasn’t just what he said, it was the way he’d said it. Like he meant every word. She glanced at him from beneath her lashes. His face was hard in profile. His hands were clutched around the wheel. She tried to imagine those hands on her backside and the thought was so naughty, she began to feel warm.

  She bit her lip in consternation. No one had talked to her like that, even when she’d lived in foster homes. She’d mostly been treated like she was invisible, and when she wasn’t, there was usually a predatory look in their eyes. She did not know what to make of Rusty, how to respond.

  She was still pissed at him and the way he’d acted so highhandedly with her. She was her own woman and she did not belong to the school of thought that found it sexy to be manhandled. Although, come to think of it, he had carried her so effortlessly, as though she’d weighed nothing, which was kind of sexy. But he didn’t have to know that. She had to make him understand that going all macho on her that way was totally unacceptable.

  The atmosphere inside the vehicle was strained and the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. As they got onto the street that led to her house, Hope began to seethe. Who did he think he was anyway, speaking to her that way? How dare he?

  He had barely put the SUV in park when she opened the door and jumped out. She heard him calling her name but ignored him and hurried towards the house. She did not want to give her neighbors a show, but there sure as hell was going to be a showdown.

  She had just gone through the complex new security system an
d walked into the house when he came after her with several bags of groceries. She felt a pang of guilt at leaving him alone to get the shopping bags but quickly dismissed it. He deserved no less for the way he’d treated her.

  “Hope—” he began but she cut him short.

  “Do not ever touch me like that again!”

  He let out a puff of breath and shook his head. “It was for your own good,” he said, walking into the kitchen.

  “What! What the hell does that mean?” She hurried after him, feeling indignant.

  “You were being unreasonable,” he said in a very reasonable-sounding voice that only made her angrier.

  “I don’t care who the hell you think you are, but I’m warning you not to ever touch me like that again. Do you hear me?” She knew she was yelling and didn’t care.

  “I hear you,” Rusty said dryly.

  He was not taking this serious. “I’m warning you because if you dare manhandle me like that again I’m going to sue your ass for assault and sexual harassment.”

  She saw the moment he snapped. His eyes flashed in anger and then narrowed.

  “You think too highly of yourself, madam,” he said, eyeing her. “You do not have a fucking thing to fear from me because you are not my type in the first place. First of all, I prefer my women with a little less mouth on them and secondly, I can’t stand bad-tempered women. You have the personality of a hedgehog and there is nothing sexy about that. I am here to do a job, that’s all, and just in case you don’t know, you are a horrible person to work for.”

  “Well then you should be happy because I’ve just relieved you of your duties,” Hope said nastily.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means you’re fired! Get the hell out of my house, asshole!”

  They stood there glaring at each other, neither willing to make a move. Finally, Rusty shook his head.