Chapter 10

Dylan

A demonstration ? Of how he can so easily circumvent my security that it might as well be useless? "Yeah. Create a document in my most secure folder. It's called?—"

He holds up a hand. "I don't need to know what it's called. You can check now."

Well, fuck. It can't have been that easy for him. I have that folder set up so that if anyone even tries to get into it, I'll get notifications—and the folder will wipe.

I log in to the folder, entering the twenty-seven-digit password and giving the camera access for the facial recognition scan, then skim down the list of files. All still here, and all mi?—

"Found it?"

Since I never would have named a file I told you, human, I'm going to say yes. Out of curiosity, I open it. Just in case it's not blank.

It's not.

In fact, it's a 576-page document. In Latin. I read the first few lines and swallow sickly.

"You could have proved your point without the demonic manuscript." I close the doc, but as much as I want to, I don't delete it. I need to get into the code later and see how he did this.

"It's a biography, actually," he corrects. "And although it begins in quite an exciting manner, it becomes boring rather quickly. The demon who wrote it was a tiresome, pompous sort."

"Exciting?" Gabe asks, and I shake my head. "Oh. That kind of exciting."

"But he did it?" Matt's voice has an edge. "He got past your security?"

"Yeah." I look at Marc. "How did you bypass my safeguards?"

"Intent is the key," he says, sounding put upon. "My intention was to create the document in your most secure folder without alerting you that I was doing so, and that's what I did."

"So the job sheet could potentially have been planted by a higher demon?" Ian checks. "Instead of the Collective being hacked?"

Marc shrugs. "I suppose."

Something about that doesn't seem right to me, and I go back over the conversation. "Intent is the key," I repeat. "Does that mean you're not relying on code at all?"

"Code?" he says it like it's a dirty word, and Matt snorts.

"I guess that's a no."

Pulling a face, I admit, "I need to think about this more. If demons don't think in terms of code and it really does just come down to intent, then why didn't the file wipe when it was supposed to?"

"You said it was because I'm an idiot," Ian reminds him.

"Yeah, and I thought that was it. If a hacker did this, that would have been it. The file would have failed to wipe because when you went into it, you didn't close out properly, which, due to a system error IT knows about and hasn't had a chance to fix yet, showed it as created at the time you closed it. It's something that drives admin nuts when they run their reports. But the hackers wouldn't have known that and didn't allow for it in the code, so as far as the code is concerned, it?—"

"Hasn't been five days yet," Matt finishes. "Can you stop it from deleting itself now that you know?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I want to. Let me look closer, see if there's anything that might tip off the hackers if it doesn't delete at all."

"That's why you don't think it could be a higher demon? Because if it was, the file would have deleted when it was supposed to, based on intention and not code?" Connor asks. "This is wild."

"Basically, yeah. I need to dig into the code of the file and the one Marc created and see what they look like, if there are any similarities or other points of interest. I might find fingerprints from a known hacker on the job sheet, which would make things easier." I grimace. "It would be better to work on this at home. My setup there can do more than my laptop."

"A few days," Gabe promises. "Unless you find anything in the meantime that suggests they targeted him specifically, in which case?—"

"We get him out now," Ian finishes.

"Hello?" Matt lifts his hand in a wave, then quickly lowers it when we all hiss at him. "Fine. But I'm here, you know. I have a name."

I pat his cast and force myself to keep a straight face. "I know, babe. Just rest for now."

The glare he gives me is worth the effort.

"I keep hearing people doubt my ability to keep Matt alive," Marc observes, "and I find it quite offensive."

"We know you can protect him from humans and lesser demons," Ian assures him. "But what if it's another higher demon?"

"That still doesn't sound like you have a great deal of confidence in me."

"Stop being offended and be serious," Connor demands. "Twice since we've known you, you've had to fight higher demons. Both times, they nearly won. Now maybe they were top-tier fighters or whatever, but we're talking about Matt's safety. If a higher demon came here to harm him, could you prevent them?"

Marc's lips compress, and then he sighs. "It would depend on the demon," he admits. "I'm no longer foolishly refraining from changing back to my natural form on a regular basis, so another demon like Vestia…" He waves a hand as if to say, "No problem." "But there are one or two who would pose a challenge to me. It's highly unlikely they would have involved themselves in anything here on Earth—they, like I did, prefer to keep away from your grotty world. But if we're taking any possibility into account…" He spreads his hands. "I would be hampered by the presence of other humans here, also. I cannot be certain that the other higher demon, if they have stooped so far, would care about the treaty."

"Shit," Matt says. "We don't want bystanders getting hurt. Maybe we need to let Marc do his woo-woo stuff."

"I beg your pardon?" Marc sounds highly offended. "I do not do… woo-woo."

We ignore him. "We don't know that it's a higher demon," I point out. "It could just be hackers. I mean, we still don't know what the whole point was. Why lure a hunter to Reno to kill them?"

"Why steal their kit but leave the expensive smartwatch and phone?" Gabe adds. "Not to mention the car. It's not brand-new, and it's not fancy, but it would be worth something."

"So we all agree it's not a coincidence, right?" Matt confirms. "The planted job sheet and me being attacked are connected."

I nod. "Yeah." There's a murmur of agreement from the others.

"But we don't know why, who, or even how." He scowls. "This sucks."

Marc makes a humming noise. "I truly do not believe there is a higher demon involved in this. Even if, as you say, they had struck a connection with humans, if a demon had been present at Matt's attack, he would be dead. If a demon had intended for that job document to be deleted after five days, it would be gone. Even the weakest would be capable of those simple things."

There's a moment of silence while Gabe and Connor do that thing I've seen Matt and Ian do, where they look at each other and seem to talk with their eyes. It's both super cool and super weird. But I guess when you've been that close for so long, you learn how to tell what the other is thinking.

"Let's proceed as though it's humans," Gabe says finally. "Unless something comes up to suggest otherwise. That seems like the most likely scenario."

"Okay," Ian agrees, "but that still doesn't answer any of Matt's questions: why, who, and how."

My gaze drifts back to my laptop screen. I'm itching to get stuck into all that code and see what clues I can find, but here isn't the place, and honestly, I'm not ready to leave Matt's side yet. He's been awake less than a day, and even though I know that in just a few days, he'll be completely back to normal, part of me feels like we're on borrowed time.

"For the Collective to be hacked, whoever did it has to know the Collective exists," Matt points out. "That's new information all by itself. How many humans who aren't hunters or otherwise part of the Collective even know it's a thing?"

"The policy hasn't changed, right?" Gabe checks. "If we're called out to assist with a demon-related incident, wherever possible, conceal the reality of what's happening from the norms."

"If it's already too late for that, make it sound like you're a vigilante with paranormal powers, not part of a worldwide organization dedicated to the protection of humanity," Connor adds. "I always sucked at that part."

"Like when you told everyone at Mannix Estate about the Collective, the otherworld"—Marc cringes, but Matt ignores it—"and basically everything else?"

Connor seesaws a hand. "That was a one-time thing, and they'd already dealt with a demon and a spirit, plus they had an open gateway on the property. And Josh is a medium and Skye a conduit. It was kind of overwhelming. Mostly, I would just tell people that I worked for a branch of the government."

I snicker. I went poking around in the government's pitiful paranormal department once, just to see what they knew, and the answer is nothing. They seemed more focused on the idea of aliens than anything else—which is stupid, since aliens wouldn't even be paranormal in the context the department was created for.

"The point is," Gabe says, his voice a little louder than usual, "the policy hasn't changed. So the people who should know the Collective exists would fall into the outlier category, right? Like the ones at Mannix."

Ian nods. "Right. And we're supposed to report when we disclose that kind of information, so we should be able to track down some names."

"I bet not all those reports get made, though." I add a note to my planner to get into those files and poke around. If there's someone in the know who lives in Reno or has wicked computer smarts—or, best of all, both—they're going to the top of the list, and we can check them out. I mention my thought process to the group, since this isn't a solo project and they probably won't appreciate me going rogue.

"That makes sense. Thanks, Dylan. Keep us up to date on what you find." Gabe gives me a grateful smile.

"You seem to be overlooking the most obvious options," Marc says in that silky tone that usually precedes something that makes me want to hurl—or hurt him.

Connor rolls his eyes. "What's that?"

"The first is humans who aren't in the Collective, but used to be."

Ian's spine snaps straight. "The Highetts," he hisses. "They were all assholes. Coming after our family for being part of the reason they got kicked out is something they'd do."

"This could still be random, not specific to me," Matt reminds him. "There are other hunters who've been made to leave the Collective. I remember there was one guy when I was little who kept opening gateways just so he could enjoy the power."

Connor grunts, and Gabe nods. "I remember him too. Jed Whiting. His power was locked down before he got kicked out, so I'd bet he holds a grudge."

I look at Marc, my stomach sinking. "You said that was the first option."

For once, his smirk is missing, his face completely serious. "I did. The other option is that this is, indeed, personal. Somebody has a grudge against Matt and is targeting him. That person may be an active member of the Collective."

I knew it was coming, but hearing it still sends shockwaves through me. "Nobody would betray a fellow hunter that way… would they?" Even as I ask it, I know they would. I was there nearly seven years ago when a group of hunters betrayed not only the Collective, but humanity as a whole. Having one guy you hate killed? Doesn't even compare.

Except to me. If Matt died, it would feel like my world was shattering again, just like it did so many times back then.

Judging by the expressions around the room, I'm not the only one who feels that way.

The door opens, startling us all, and the doctor hesitates. "Goodness, I didn't mean to scare you," he says. We met him yesterday—he's in charge of Matt's care now that he's no longer an ICU patient—but right this second, I can't remember his name.

"They scare easy," Matt jokes, but it sounds weak. "Got any news for me?"

The doctor enters the room properly, trailed by two junior doctors, and they start discussing Matt's progress. I try to look focused and attentive, even though none of it matters. In a few days, he'll be fine.

And I'm going to do everything I can to keep him that way.