18. Grayson

18

GRAYSON

I ’ve been laughing so much, my cheeks hurt and my ribs ache. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun. Being with Charlotte is easy.

Too easy.

My smile fades as I head inside the cabin for more ammunition. I stop in front of the mirror and stare at my reflection.

“What are you doing, Grayson? You never did anything this stupid in the CIA. Just because some woman…”

I have to stop there, and let out a helpless laugh. Obviously, Charlotte is not just some woman. She’s the most extraordinary woman I’ve ever known.

I want to berate myself for falling for Charlotte. But I just can’t. She’s wonderful.

Which opens up a whole new can of worms. Because if I admit how far Charlotte has her hooks dug into me, I have to reckon with the fact her life is in danger.

“You couldn’t protect your own sister,” I mutter to the man in the mirror. “What if I can’t protect Charlotte, either?”

The man in the mirror has no answer for me. Fucking prick.

I venture back outside, forgetting to grab the ammo. It turns out I didn’t need to bother. Charlotte sits on a tree stump, one knee drawn up to provide a base for her phone. Her lips pull back in a slight smile as she scrolls with an expert flick of her index finger. The sun shines on her bronzed skin, the wind catches her magnificent midnight mane, and it takes my breath away.

I wander over to her. She glances up and smiles.

“What are you up to?” I ask.

“I just sent the encrypted file to my team. Right now I’m going through the music files we have rights to to find the right BGM.”

“You have rights to music?”

“Yeah, I got tired of using the public domain stuff. Some of it is all right, but most of it sounds terrible. Not to mention a bunch of other people have the exact same music. It was worth it to invest in some commercial properties.”

I chuckle and shake my head.

“I can’t see someone like Taylor Swift or the Rolling Stones licensing their music to you…no offense.”

“None taken,” she says with a dazzling smile. “And you’re right. The big names would want far too much money for their music. I mostly go with small studios and lesser known artists.”

“I'm surprised that you don’t get music for free, in exchange for exposure on your social media channels.”

Charlotte shakes her head.

“Paying people for their IP in the form of ‘exposure’ is just not a thing I do. People deserve to be paid for their work.”

I feel my respect for her grow even more. Charlotte is beautiful, vivacious, and she has a good moral core? It doesn’t make any sense to me. Maybe I’ve seen too much darkness in my time with the CIA. Maybe I’m just naturally suspicious of everyone.

She goes back to her phone, then pauses long enough to stare up at me.

“Um, this is going to take a while, so…”

“Say no more. I’ll find something to keep myself busy with.”

She beams a smile, and the glow in her eyes suggests that last night was just a preview of what she’s capable of in the bedroom. I look forward to putting that to the test.

As soon as I turn away from Charlotte, however, my angst comes roaring back. I’m truly worried about what might happen to her.

I’ve got to keep her safe. I can’t fail her the way I failed my sister.

I dig out my phone and hit up Malloy via text, asking if he’s got anything for me. He sends back a sorry emoji. Since when did he start using emojis? Maybe I should start using them, now that I’m hooked up with an influencer…

I shake my head and grit my teeth in a fit of self-disgust. There I go again, getting ahead of myself. Right now I need to focus on keeping Charlotte safe.

I try a few more contacts, and while I don’t get emojis back, I don’t get any solid leads, either. The Order is good at keeping themselves clandestine. Even my contacts in the intelligence circles don’t provide anything I don’t already know.

I dial up Ryker, just to see if he has any ideas about where else to gather intel. He’s more than a little annoyed with me.

“Have you even checked your messages? Harlowe sent you a text last night. She found something.”

I slap my hand across my forehead and groan.

“No, I didn’t.”

“You idiot. Call the office right away and she might still be there. How are things going with your client?”

“Good.” My delivery is awkward and stilted, which of course he notices. “I mean, just fine. Everything’s fine.”

“You aren’t sleeping with her, are you? Because that would be unprofessional.”

“Are you kidding me right now? Look who the fuck is talking! Every one of you wound up sleeping with one of your clients.”

“Technically, that isn’t true, but I see your point. Does that mean you are sleeping with her?”

I grunt non-committedly.

“I’ll give Harlowe a ring. Catch you later.”

“You never answered my–”

I end the call, and glance over at Charlotte. Still ensconced on her phone, she seems lost in her own little world. I take a long, lingering look, remembering the pleasures of last night, and then call Harlowe.

“New phone, who dis?”

“It’s me, Harlowe. Grayson. I understand I missed your call?”

“Yeah, about sixteen hours ago. I got a hit.”

I wait, but she doesn’t elaborate.

“Um, you want to tell me about it, maybe?”

“I was just waiting for you to ask. Okay, are you sitting down?”

“Harlowe, for fuck’s sake, just tell me.”

“Okay, fine. No sense of drama, I see.” I hear her fingers tapping like crazy on the keyboard. “I discovered who sent the ransom demand to Charlotte.”

I sigh and roll my eyes to the heavens.

“We already know who. It’s the Order.”

“Ah, but do you know the IP address, and the name of the man who owns it?”

My heart skips a beat, then hammers heavily in my chest.

“You have a name?”

“Yeah. I’ll create a document file and send the link your way. Ever hear of a man named Stormbringer?”

“Is that the sword that drinks souls from those novels?”

“Hell if I know. Stormbringer is a name that is respected and maybe feared in hacker circles. The guy has been a ghost for decades. No one has ever been able to ID him…until now, that is.”

I try to remain patient when she stops talking again.

“Congratulations. You’re the best hacker in the world, maybe even the galaxy. Happy?”

“Eh, it will do. Stormbringer’s real name is Connor McCloud.”

My phone dings. I get a message from her with his photo attached. A skinny caucasian man with gelled hair, a thin mustache, and deep blue eyes stares back at me. He looks like the kind of guy who spends all his time online. I memorize his features as Harlowe speaks again.

“His ‘real’ social media pages are filled with the kinds of things that would make the Order cream themselves–conspiracy theories, rantings about late-stage capitalism, pretty much a note-for-note ode to the Order’s manifesto.”

My hands are shaking, I’m so amped up. This could be the first step to stopping the Order and ending the threat to Charlotte, forever.

“Outstanding work, Harlowe.”

“Thank you.”

“Does McCloud have an address?”

“Just an LA Post office box. The guy gets around, but I was able to pull some of his phone records and track his movements, before he cut me off.”

“He cut you off?”

“Yeah. I could go into the technical terms for what he did, but you’d just be bored and it would waste both of our time. My point is, I found one place he likes to hang out on a regular basis. Would you like to know where?”

I’m getting really tired of this game. How does Bastian put up with her?

“Yes, I would like to know.”

“Wyatt’s. He was at Wyatt’s house four times in the last three weeks. I guess you could say that he’s a regular.”

“This is fantastic news. Do you know when he might return to Wyatt’s?”

“No, his patterns aren’t that easy to discern, but Wyatt posted on social media that he’s having another one of his soirees.”

My eyes narrow, and I grip the phone a bit tighter.

“When?”

“Tonight.”

I clench my jaw, hard. If I can lay hands on McCloud at this party, he might just lead me to the Order. One step closer to keeping Charlotte safe, forever.

“Thanks, Harlowe. I owe you one.”

“Not really, I’m a paid employee of Platinum Security, but you can go ahead and owe me one if you want to.”

I end the call before she can say something else that might slow me down. I stuff my phone into my pocket and check on Charlotte. She’s still busy, so I go inside and look around for something to prepare for lunch.

I dig through the pantry, wrinkling my nose in disgust at the sight of a tin of canned beef. The door opens, splashing a growing rectangle of light over the cabin’s dusty floor. I turn to see Charlotte entering the cabin.

“All done?” I ask.

“Yeah. What you got there?”

I show her the can and she giggles.

“Oh my god, I bet that tastes terrible. But I might just be hungry enough to try it anyway.”

I chuckle and put it back on the shelf.

“Or, we could go down the mountain and find something good to eat.”

“A forty minute drive just for food? Okay, actually, it sounds like a good idea now that I’ve seen canned beef.”

I laugh and close the pantry door.

“I’ve swam those murky waters before. Sometimes, you just have to make do when you’re in the field. But quite frankly, I would rather eat bark than that awful stuff.”

“I read somewhere that you can eat bark…”

Her eyebrows raise high over her chocolate drop eyes.

“You’re looking kind of pleased with yourself. What’s going on?”

I grin.

“Maybe I’m just happy to see you?”

“Hmmm. No, you’re definitely up to something.”

Has she figured out how to read me already? Or have I just stopped trying to hide everything deep inside? I’m not sure which I should be more worried about.

“You got me. I do have something. Potentially something big.”

She pulls one of the wooden chairs out, scraping it across the floor, and plops her perfect bottom onto it.

“I’m listening.”

“Harlowe found out the identity of the man who tried to extort money from you.”

“She did? Does that mean he’s the leader of the Order?”

I sigh, and shake my head.

“It’s complicated. So far, we don’t have any direct evidence to tie him to the Order. But his ideology seems to mesh with theirs, very well in fact. Even if he’s not directly a member, he could be involved.”

She frowns deeply.

“But you’re not sure?”

“No, but I’d still love a chance to ask him about it in person. Wouldn’t you?”

She nods, but I can see trouble clouding her gaze.

“Yeah, I do want to talk to him, but…can we even find him? Aren’t those hacker types really hard to pin down?”

“I don’t have a home address, but I do know where he’s likely to be tonight.”

She studies my face for a long moment, and then gasps.

“We’re going back to Wyatt’s aren’t we?”

“Yes. We are.”

She smiles, her face growing even more lovely, if that is possible.

“All right. I guess I’ll be an outfit repeater, just this once, and wear the dress I have with me.”

“There’s only one problem. We don’t have any invitations this time.”

Charlotte stands up and takes the phone out of her pocket.

“You leave that detail to me. If you want something to do, you can look at good places for us to eat along the way.”

“Will do.”

I watch as she exits the cabin, phone in hand. If McCloud is connected to the Order, I bet I can get him to talk. Hackers usually have a low fear and pain tolerance.

I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Charlotte.

Whatever it takes.