24. Garett

Pacing Chase’s office did nothing to calm the anger. My entire body blazed, curling my hands into tight fists that shook with every step. “This is ridiculous.”

Russell watched me, his expression perfectly calm and relaxed. “We’re working on it.”

“We need to work faster.” I uncurled my fingers and stretched out the cramps. Hearing Sabrina’s voice earlier helped settle me, but now that we’d gone back over the security footage and found jackshit, I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to hold it together. “Locking down protocol doesn’t seem to be working.” I paced to the windows and tried to stand still long enough to enjoy the view. The only thought capable of keeping me from tearing through the place in a fit of passion was that Chase would feel responsible for my chaos.

“I agree with Garrett.” Chase’s voice sliced the air. “Something isn’t right.”

“So let’s figure it out.” I put my back to the windows and crossed my arms. My jacket lay across the back of a chair, the fabric rumpled and creased where I’d leaned against it. “How are they getting into our system?” Grady International had the best virus and firewall protection available. I knew because I’d helped create it.

“Sabrina made a good point. No matter how good your security, there’s always a better thief out there waiting.” Russell picked nonexistent lint from his pants and flicked it to the floor. “We have to figure out how to beat them at their own game.”

“Can we create a trap within the system? It already tracks every login, but we’re still unable to find the person stealing from us.” It was infuriating. It made me feel like a punk kid sitting on my ass while someone took my toys. I hated it.

“If we knew what they’d target next, maybe.” Russell’s brows drew down into a thick line. “What if you announce a new tech? Something they won’t be able to resist?”

“No.” Chase slashed both hands through the air. “I’m not giving them access to anything else.”

“You won’t be.” I picked up Russell’s train of thought and grinned at them both.

Chase glared. “What do you mean?”

“We’ll create a fake tech. Something irresistible, and completely nonexistent. We upload fake files, make them look as legit as possible, and wait to see who accesses them.” Russell sounded pleased, and his smile turned predatory. “Put the files exclusively on one of our computers. Force them to come out of hiding and attempt to hack one of our laptops.”

“They won’t be able to resist the challenge. Not if they’re as cocky as they seem.” I finally sat and the fury drained out of me in slow measure. My hands stopped shaking. The constant heartbeat of pain in my temples eased. I took a deep breath and held it, feeling my pulse slow. “Since we didn’t find anything in the employee records, we have to look at this from another angle.”

“They’re better than us.” Chase’s eyes flashed with a dark fury I hadn’t seen in a long time. “I never thought I’d say that.”

“What are the chances the thief doesn’t work here?” I sprawled in the chair, my legs stretched out in front of me. “They’re accessing our system, but we don’t know how or from where. It could be a remote login.”

Russell rubbed his temples. “If some hack job is getting in remotely, then our security is nowhere near as sophisticated as we thought.”

“Not necessarily.” Chase joined us, sitting on the edge of his desk. “I’ll talk to Leon again. We need to know who he bought the tech from.”

“He won’t tell you.” Russell was adamant, and I didn’t blame him.

“It’s a waste of time,” I agreed. “Leon is a close-lipped son of a bitch. If he hasn’t told us yet, he’s not going to. We have to look at this from another perspective.” I was sick and tired of talking about work, but this was more than a job. Grady International was our livelihood. Taking tech from us and making us look like we couldn’t do our jobs undermined our authority in apps and technological advancements around the world.

My thoughts danced back to Sabrina and the tension I’d heard in her voice. I remembered the first time I’d gotten in a fight in school. My mom blistered my ass. I’d deserved it. Unlike Keith, I started the fight for no reason other than I was pissed off and mad at the world. Same as now. Only I couldn’t fight this bastard face-to-face. Whatever happened needed to happen from the relative safety of cyberspace, where I couldn’t punch the living daylights out of whoever thought they could take from us without retaliation.

“What if Sabrina’s right?” I spoke into the void before remembering that the others didn’t know about my conversation with Sabrina. Too late to back down now. “What if other companies are experiencing theft, but like us, no one wants to talk about it.”

Silence so thick I tasted it lingered in the masculine office.

Chase recovered first. “We tried asking Leon.”

“And we all know that Leon wouldn’t admit he was on fire if we saw the blaze from a mile away. The man’s too proud, too arrogant, for his own good.” I eyed Chase as I said the last part. If he didn’t pick up that he was the same way, I’d tell him straight to his face.

He set his hands on the desk behind him and glared at me. “You think we should admit it ourselves and see if anyone else comes forward?”

“Wouldn’t it be worth it if we finally catch this guy?”

“Or girl,” Russell added. He waved one hand in a lazy motion when I faced him. “Don’t underestimate the feminine mind. Some of the best hackers we ever hired were women.”

“Where are they now?” Chase shot to his feet. “Did we file all their information?”

“I checked them all out. Most are still here, and from what I can tell, completely clean of any wrongdoing.” Russell’s voice kept that same low monotone that drove me insane and helped keep me calm all at the same time.

What would it take to shake the man up? Except for his panic when he ran back to find Sabrina, I couldn’t think of a single time when I saw him lose his temper or his control.

The sun fell below the horizon, painting the room in an orange glow that danced over the walls and darkened the shadows.

“When was the last time you checked if the security in here has been tampered with?” The thought came unbidden as I followed a beam of orange light to the corner where one of the hidden cameras sat embedded in a stack of books.

Chase walked around me, his steps firm. “Before you came in.” He lifted the books and unhooked the camera, waving the cord at me. “Feel better?”

Not really. I shrugged. “I still say it’s all bullshit. And it’s gone on long enough. We have to think outside the box. Our hacker certainly is, or they’d never have cracked our system.”

“We’ve been over this enough for tonight.” Russell stood and groaned. “We’re tired, hungry, and pissed off. None of those will help us figure this out tonight.”

I locked my jaw before an angry retort burst out. It wasn’t Russell’s fault.

“We’ll start fresh tomorrow.” Chase ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I’ll make some calls and see what happens.”

“What else can we do?” There had to be more. All this sitting around doing nothing set my teeth on edge.

Chase flipped his cell around on the desk and tapped it awake. “We need someone to cover Sabrina’s duties for the next three days.”

“Not me.” I shook my head. “I’ve already checked my schedule. No meetings and nothing that needs an extra hand.” I wiggled my eyebrows at Chase, who rolled his eyes and snorted.

Russell shook his head. “I’m fine. I’d rather wait on Sabrina than have someone else in the office. I’m with Garrett. No need to bring in someone else.”

There was no one else, in my opinion. My heart gave a slow, methodical thud that felt like it lodged in my throat. I swallowed thickly as memories of our time together infiltrated my turmoil and soothed the ache that had been building for hours. “Is there anything else we can do to help her?” I walked a fine line with the question.

“Depends.” Russell unrolled his sleeves in the same slow way he did everything. The man was nothing if not meticulous. “She won’t accept anything that she considers payment.” His head lifted and the man stared past me, past Chase, with a look of such adoration that it made me look away. “There’s more to Sabrina than any of us thought.”

“What are we going to do?” I usually dove into the nitty gritty with the kind of glee that made others frown. “We all like her. Enjoy spending time with her. What does that mean for the long run?”

Russell stopped mid-motion from buttoning his cuffs. A crease lined his forehead. “I’m all in. No matter what.”

“Me too.” It wasn’t the first time I’d made a rash decision, but I felt more confident about this one than anything else I’d done in my life. Even accepting the position as CEO alongside Chase and Russell could not compare. “Whatever this is, I’m not ready for it to be over. Might never be ready.”

Chase swiveled to face us, his face a blank mask that most would interpret as unfeeling or indifferent.

I knew better. This was Chase trying hard not to show how deeply he’d already fallen. Even if it was just in front of us, the men he considered closer than brothers. His reluctance pissed me off, because both Russell and I could see his hidden emotions playing out every time he was in the same room with Sabrina.

“She’s renting a house from me,” Russell spoke into the quiet without a hint of remorse. “She asked me not to tell you.”

“Since when?” My own voice turned cold. “You can’t keep shit like this from us. Not if this is going to work.”

“Why the fuck do you think I’m telling you now?” The first touch of anger reddened his cheeks. “This is new to all of us. We need to keep things clear. No secrets.” He met my gaze. “It’s not like I’ve been sneaking over there to see her. I’m not an adolescent.”

“Never said you were.” We were all too old for that kind of bullshit. “I’m glad she’s being taken care of.” I meant every word, even if I wished that I had been the one to offer a place to stay. “Did she say why she needed it all of a sudden?”

Come to think of it, Sabrina never talked about her home life. We knew next to nothing about her other than she had a son and was pursuing her degree.

“I didn’t ask,” Russell said. “But I gave her a deal on the place. Seemed like the right thing to do. It’s obvious she doesn’t have anyone willing to help her.”

“And she won’t take anything from us.” The growl in Chase’s voice finally clued me in to his problem.

“You’re pissed that she’s so independent.” I laughed, a deep, belly laugh that loosened the knots in my shoulders. “It’s not a bad thing.”

“No.” He agreed, but the furrowed eyes never relaxed. “I don’t like not knowing what’s happening in her life. We should be able to protect her and help her whenever we want without it turning into a fight or her feeling like we’re paying for her services.” His mouth wrenched sideways at the last bit, and he spat the words out.

An idea formed. “We should go see her. Surprise her at home.”