Because he’d taught her.
Her boyfriend, Heath.
Heath had been Nova’s best friend.
Fiona swallowed.
It wasn’t a unique way to set up a data skim, but it was sophisticated. It took time to set this up. She’d done it during their large-scale hacks because she had an eye for detail and typically missed less than the others.
“Okay, shut it down.” Marco grabbed the wires and yanked.
“Hey!”
“Turn everything off. I’m going to send this to my guy. He’s going to work on this.”
“Marco—no. Wait.”
She couldn’t have some guy she didn’t know snooping in her life.
“Pack a bag. I’m going to drop this, and I’ll be back to get the rest of the shit out of here, and you’re getting somewhere safe.” Marco charged out of the office, not even bothering to ask if she needed his help—or anyone else’s—with this.
Fuckity. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
This was bad.
Epic bad.
6.
Marco rolled the Harley into the alley between a café and a bakery a couple miles away from Fiona’s house. Ghost wasn’t going to like this.
He left the bike parked out of the way and went into the café through the back, then up a flight of stairs to the space overhead.
It was the closest available space they could get on short notice in her neighborhood.
“Ghost, it’s me,” Marco said loudly.
He waited for a count of three, unlocked the apartment door, and stepped through, ignoring the man with a gun aimed at his head. The space was a single room. The landlord rented it to illegal aliens. Except for now it was theirs.
“I could have shot you,” Ghost said without inflection.
“Yeah, well, you didn’t. Here.” Marco handed the transmitter over. “I’m going to get her out of there. Can you handle the security system?”
“Of course.” Ghost sat down at the table shoved into the corner and peered at the bit of tech. “Dare I ask what this is?”
“Transmitter. There are cameras, microphones and some sort of piggy-backing leech on her system that’s siphoning off data from her work. Our job’s already done, man. Can you stop the crawler?”
“What? No.”
“Ghost—man, you have to stop the spyware shit.”
“It’s too late.”
“You don’t understand.” Marco shifted and Ghost stood.
Right.
Ghost was about as programmed as a human could get.
Marco relaxed his shoulders and uncurled his hands—nonthreatening. Ghost couldn’t help that the government had fucked with his head and his very DNA to the point that he just wasn’t right anymore. Ghost mirrored Marco’s pose, the only difference being a thinning of the other man’s lips.
Ghost didn’t like being reminded he was barely human.
“Something’s not right with Fiona. And I mean…I think someone is after her. That security system. The way her house is laid out. The cameras. Her. I think…I think she’s hiding from something. And if we don’t pull back, if we don’t abort, it might cost Fiona more than her job.”
“She’s Fiona now?”
“She was always Fiona.”
“Yesterday you were calling her your mark, remember?” Ghost tilted his head to the side. “She’s a human to you now. I warned you.”
“Can you stop the spyware?”
“Can I stop the spyware, stop the transmitter, get all the data, and figure out who your girlfriend is running from? No. Pick one.”
They had to stop the spyware before it spread too far. As it stood, someone else was already copying the company’s data—down to their electronic sticky notes and trash bins. There was no reason to collect it if it’d already been done. Especially if Fiona was going to get caught up in everything.
Marco was pretty certain whoever she was on the run from was also after the NueEnergy data. Two birds, one stone. It was the only reason the cameras made sense. He didn’t know how it all fit together, but it had to.
Find where the transmitter was sending its info, and they’d find the person after Fiona.
Problem solved.
“Work on the transmitter, and then stop the spyware. You good?” Marco eyed Ghost.
He didn’t know what the man’s real name was, or even if he had one. What Marco knew about Ghost could be written on a page with room to spare.
“You mean am I going to have a psychological break from reality and go on a killing spree? No, man. My screws are in tight.” Ghost sat down at the computer with his back to Marco. A first.
Either Ghost was learning to trust him or choosing to pretend he did.
“Just checking,” Marco muttered.
They’d met when Marco was still a SEAL. For three hellish months, he and three other SEALs had been assigned a mission they could not speak of. The paperwork alone could fill a filing cabinet. Marco’s job, besides holding a gun and shooting at bad guys, was to administer first aid to Ghost when needed. What the man had walked through would have killed Marco. Ghost was a living, breathing weapon. A true Jason Bourne-like soldier.
Except Ghost was real. And now he’d been cut loose. Marco wasn’t certain, but he doubted Ghost allowed many people close, much less in the same room as him.
“Are you going to stand there and watch me work, or are you going to go do something?” Ghost laid out several tools alongside the transmitter.
“Oh, hey, did you think about that gig I told you about?”
“Some friend’s sister lost in India a couple years ago? Would you like me to drop everything and go look into that for you?”
“Man, fuck you.”
“I’m kind of working here.”
“Fine.”
“I did look her up. If she’s still alive, she probably doesn’t want to be.”
Marco’s stomach churned. Those words spoken by men like them…the average person didn’t know hell. But Marco had seen it in Ghost’s wake.
“I figured, but I said I’d ask.” Marco swallowed and turned toward the door.
“Don’t come back here, Marco. I might not remember you’re a friend.”
He glanced over his shoulder at Ghost bent over the desk.
The rules were different with Ghost. Marco wondered at times if the guy had been designed, down to his average-Joe looks. It was easy to look at him and see a regular dude. But Ghost wasn’t normal. He bled, he pissed, and he ate like a man, but something about him wasn’t right.
“You got me?” Ghost said.
“Loud and clear. We’ll be gone in an hour.”
Marco let himself out of the apartment, locked the door, and drew his first easy breath.
Working with Ghost was a necessary evil. Marco didn’t know what the guy’s deal was or why he wasn’t still leashed by the government, and he didn’t want to find out.
He took the stairs two at a time down to the alley and back to his bike.
What the hell had he gotten into?
Fiona stared at the pile of clothes on her bed.
If she had to pick up and move right now, if Nova had found her, what should she bring?
Clothes to blend in, regardless of where she was. Jeans. A few shirts. A few pairs of slacks. Blouses. Yoga pants.
Fuck, the bag would be too big. She needed to be able to literally run if it came to that, and one hand would already be dedicated to her kit. There was no way she was leaving that behind, even if she did have to junk it and start from scratch.
She should call the Marshalls. That was the logical thing to do. It’s what she should have done when Marco left, but all she could do was pace the house, trying to figure out where the cameras were.
A knock at the door made her flinch and take a step toward the bathroom.
Her phone vibrated with a text message from Marco.
It’s me.
Shit.
That was fast.
She’d thought s
he’d have more time. She was torn where he was concerned. On one hand, she was grateful he’d been here, that he knew what to do, that he’d jumped in ready to protect her. On the other, he knew too much already. What was supposed to be a one-night thrill was becoming dangerously close to something else.
What if Marco knew more? What if his expert friend had found out something new? She had to know if she was jumping at shadows or a real threat.
She crossed the living room and approached the front door slowly.
Marco stared at the monitor camera, right at her. He was on the phone, listening.
Was it news? Already?
She needed to know.
Fiona flipped the locks and let Marco in. He nodded at her and stepped over the threshold, pushing the door shut behind him.
“Yeah…shit, okay…yeah…”
His side of the conversation wasn’t very illuminating but the stern set of his face was.
Whatever he was being told, he didn’t like it. It could have nothing to do with her. Nothing at all. Yet her gut said it did.
Marco went into the kitchen, pulled the napkin with his phone number off the fridge, ripped it up, and stuck it down the garbage disposal. It was strange, and yet…she’d done similar destructive techniques with anything that had anything remotely personal on it. Like when she kept forgetting her name was Fiona.
The phone call dragged on.
She sat on a bar stool, watching Marco stare off into space, and waited.
Maybe the call wasn’t about her at all?
What had he said about his cousin last night? Maybe it was family related?
He ended the call and tossed the phone onto the counter.
Fiona’s mouth dried up and she couldn’t speak. What if it was about her? What could they have found out in such a short time that would take that long to hash out?
“Your bag packed?” Marco asked.
“Not really. How bad is it?”
“Bad.” Marco gripped the counter with both hands and stared at her. “Scott is a corporate spy. It’s his job. He goes into companies, get their secrets and turns them over to the competition. What my guy thinks is that Scott’s been hired by one of NueEnergy’s competitors. The transmitter is sending to a shell company owned by a shell company that down the line is owned by Good Global.”
Fiona’s mouth worked in silence, she couldn’t form words.
This was…fantastic news. The best.
Oh my God.
She could kiss Scott, except she’d rather not.
Marco’s kisses were far superior.
She didn’t have to move. Her world would not have to be turned upside down.
Oh, thank goodness!
The Marshalls would grumble, there’d likely do a security sweep, they might insist she move, but she was okay. They weren’t going to turn her life upside down again.
Marco was suddenly next to her, his hands wrapped around hers.
“Scott used you, Fiona. I’m sorry. There’s a lot my guy is guessing at, but he’s not often wrong. He’ll get to the bottom of this, I swear.” He was so serious, so…earnest. He almost looked…responsible. Then again, he was a SEAL and worked in security. Even he said his job was protecting people. It was probably in his DNA to react like this.
Whatever happened to NueEnergy didn’t matter to her. They’d merely been the best company to offer her a job when she’d needed to reinvent herself, and she’d stuck with them. Sure, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to the people she worked for, but this wasn’t her life on the line anymore.
“But…what about the cameras? Why those?” Those were what frightened her. The eyes on her at all times, at all hours.
“Did you ever bring work home? Could they have seen something of use through the cameras?”
“In my bedroom?”
“Hey, I’m just throwing out ideas. Maybe their plan was to blackmail you in the future if they couldn’t get what they wanted?”
“I could just go to the police. Why don’t I do that now?”
“You could. And I bet they’d figure out it was Scott, and the blame would stop there. He’d be the fall guy. Its one reason why hiring a contractor like Scott would be so appealing. The company hiring him wouldn’t be at risk.”
Some corporate whack-job had watched her. At home. In the only space she felt safe, the only place she could be on her own. It was a violation, of not just her, but the girl she’d been, the woman she’d been forced to become. And…oh God, last night…
“I want them to pay.” She curled her fingers into fists.
“They probably also wanted to keep an eye on activity in the house. In case anyone suspected the hack was coming from here, they could…I don’t know. Shut it down. My guy’s good. He’s working on it.”
“I can’t stay here.”
“You’re right. You can’t.”
“I’ll…go to a hotel…” A cold, impersonal room, where everything felt sterile. She’d practically lived in a hotel room during the trials. All of them. It’d taken over a year of one hotel room after another. She hated hotels. The memories they brought back. How she’d slowly lost herself as they’d cast her in this role. As this person.
“Or. This is just a suggestion. Come with me. Just for a few days while my guy works this out. Once we have all the pieces, once it’s all on the table, we can turn it over to the cops and they’ll all have to answer for what they’ve done.”
“Where?”
“Moab. I grew up there. I’ve got a place there. This time of year it’s quieter, not as many tourists. Fewer people to see us. My guy can come in, take stock of the spyware, track it back to the source, and we can use that against Scott and GoodGlobal.”
Fiona rolled the idea around in her head. She didn’t know Marco’s guy. Could she trust him? She’d already decided she could trust Marco, but she could always be wrong about him. Sex and her heart complicated things. She didn’t want a stranger in her space, but she also couldn’t risk exposing herself in the process of tracking down who was behind this invasion of privacy.
The Marshalls should know.
She should tell them.
But, this had nothing to do with her case. The Marshalls would turn the case over to local officials anyway. And, like Marco had said, there was a very real possibility that if that happened, the only person paying for the crime was Scott. A sophisticated job like this would have skills at work that would likely outstrip the Denver Police Department.
Her best bet very well might be Marco and his friend.
She’d also never been to Utah.
What harm would come from letting Marco’s guy get first crack at tracking down the big bad guys? Plus, if the Marshalls had less room for worry, they wouldn’t move her, and experience had taught her she was most vulnerable when setting up a new identity. If she could avoid that, if she could fight for this little, boring life she’d made for herself, maybe she could keep it.
But she’d have to trust a stranger.
“Fiona?” Marco said.
“Okay. I’ll pack a bag for Moab.”
“Don’t pack anything too nice.”
“Or too much? I don’t have a car. I guess we’re on your bike?”
“Nah, I’ve got a truck in town we can use. I’ll pick the bike up when I drop you off in a few days.”
“Oh, okay.” Why would he have two vehicles here?
“I was supposed to pick my cousin up. His truck was in the impound.”
“Won’t he need it?”
“Not unless he’s headed back to Moab.”
“I don’t understand…”
“My cousin’s stupid and has chosen to hang with his drug-peddling buddies instead of coming home, so he doesn’t get the truck back. Since it’s in my dad’s name, it’s mine now, I guess.” Marco shrugged.
“I’m sorry.”
Again Marco simply shrugged.
“It’s hard watching someone fight addiction like that. My dad…” Shi
t. Too real. Wrong life. And too late now. “My dad died of an overdose when I was pretty young. It was both the worst and best thing for my mom and I.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
“It was a long time ago. I don’t think I ever really knew him.”
“Danny…he should know better.” Marco shook his head. The look in his eye…it was tortured. “His brother Daniel…the shit we went through…Danny should know better.”
She could read between the lines.
She squeezed Marco’s hand since she didn’t think he’d accept anything more from her. He had the whole strong, silent soldier thing down to an art. He was clearly one of a kind, a rough, good-hearted kind of guy. Saving the damsel in distress.
“Just so we’re clear, I’m not the kind of guy you should fall for.” Marco’s words were stern, and oh so cold.
Fiona swallowed.
Was she so easy to read?
“I’m not the kind of guy who sticks around. You should know that up front.”
“Oh, okay.”
“You want a good time? I’m your guy.” His gaze lowered to her chest, then up again. Her body heated at the memories alone, much less the future promise. “Don’t expect anything else from me.”
“I understand.” She sat up a little straighter.
“I’m not a good guy. This, what’s happening with you? That’s in my wheelhouse. I can help. But that’s it. Don’t get any of those monogamous ideas in your head.”
“I never thought you were offering me a ring. I’m not stupid.”
“I didn’t say you were. I just want to be straight with you. Scott wasn’t, and I think you deserve to know that when this is over, I’m out. I’m leaving. Probably on another long job.”
“I get it.”
“Fiona—hey—stop for a second.” He grasped her by the shoulders. “I’m a dick. A lot of people call me an asshole, or worse, but I try to be straight with people. I am who I am. You want to fuck? I’m good for it. You want to get this guy to serve time? I’ll do what I can. But I’m not the kind of guy you want to fall for. I don’t stick around. I can’t be that person.”
“You could have said that in a better way.” Hell, she felt a chill from his words.
Dangerous Protector (Aegis Group Book 5) Page 6