Jewell (The Kings of Guardian Book 8)

by Kris Michaels

  She spun around and slammed into a broad chest. Familiar arms enfolded her in immediate comfort, but she wouldn't melt into him in front of her brothers. She pushed back and noticed Zane's glare at the men behind her. He was just as pissed as she was. Well… good… maybe… hell, she couldn't think. Damn her brothers and their high-handed, bullshit approach to fucking everything.

  "Well, that went as well as Zane said it would."

  Joseph's comment spun Jewell's head around toward Zane. "You knew about this?"

  Zane dropped his gaze down to hers. "No. I told them they shouldn't make decisions for your section, or for you, without consulting you."

  "Well at least someone has sense." Jewell grabbed Zane's hand. "Come on, we're fucking out of here."

  "Zane works for me, not you Jewell." Jason had his glasses off and was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Would you please sit down and let us explain why we feel it's best if you go to the ranch."

  Jewell felt a hysterical laugh bubble up and bounce out before she could stop it. "Ahh… that would be no. If this situation involved overseas operations, domestic cases or a coded hit, yeah, I'd listen to you all day, every day. But Vista is just like me. I understand him. I know what makes him tick. I know how to counter each jab he has thrown or will throw. Cyberspace is my specialty, not yours."

  "And what if he physically comes after you?" Jacob finally spoke.

  "Then Zane will protect me. That is why you assigned him to me right? Or do you suddenly doubt his qualifications? I looked up his records. I'm not stupid; at least I'm not if you believe my fucking Mensa membership. I saw the similarities in his file and Joseph's."

  "So you know he's a paid killer?" Jared flipped the question out there.

  "Oh yes, please, let's fucking go there. How many men have you killed in the line of duty?" She glared at Jared. "How about you or you?" She pointed to Jacob and then to Jason. "You know what? I refuse to deal with any of you any longer." She turned around and tugged Zane's hand heading toward the door.

  "I'm not accepting your resignation."

  "I don't give a flying fuck, Jason! I'm not letting you treat me like a six-year-old girl who is afraid of the dark. Thirty minutes ago I ran the largest white-hat cyber crimes and information organization in the world. My qualifications are beyond impressive, yet because I'm your sister, you dictate that I run home to Mom and hide while you big boys find the bad guy and make my world safe. Do I look like I need a fucking hero to slay my dragons?"

  She tugged Zane after her and yanked the office door open. They'd made it four steps before the klaxon alarm erupted through the silence of the work center. Jewell glanced at the main screen. "Damn it!" She bounced her stare between the screen and her office.

  "What's going on?" Zane asked at the same time as Jason launched out of her office. "Someone activated Godzilla." She turned toward her brothers. "If I were still working for you, I'd be able to trace who was fucking with our system and maybe follow the hack back to where it originated, but… you know… six-year-old girl." Jewell braced herself against every instinct screaming at her to fly to her keyboard. She headed down the stairs.

  "Son of a bitch! Fine. You win this time. Zane, you're still being reassigned." Jason moved to make way for Jewell to go back to her office.

  Jewell looked from the screen to Jason and shook her head. "No. He stays for as long as I say he stays."

  "Jewell, I can't trap him! If you don't get on this, we will lose any chance of tracing this guy." Alonzo yelled from his workstation.

  Jason nodded. "Go."

  "That wasn't an agreement." Jewell stood fast. She had at least two minutes to activate the embedded code that would allow her to trace Vista and it was better if she did it later rather than sooner. The bastard should be too involved with what Godzilla was doing to his computer systems to notice the trace. Maybe.

  Jason's face turned a dark red, but he ground out, "Fine, he stays."

  Jewell vaulted up the stairs and flung her purse down as she slammed into her chair and slid into place behind her systems.

  Zane stood with Jewell's brothers and watched the huge screen at the front of the theater as lines and lines of gibberish scrolled at an incredible rate.

  "What the fuck is Godzilla?" Jacob asked.

  "A firewall," Jason replied.

  "Actually, it is a new program that Jewell and her people created using the hacker's own code. They made an entrapment area behind the primary firewall and forced the hacker to leave or go through Godzilla. If he tried to go through, the program would attach itself to his system while it systematically laid ruin to his computer. While he's fighting the attack, the code embeds itself, and that somehow allows Jewell to identify the system being used and the location."

  Zane turned away from the screen to have all four sets of eyes on him. "What? I asked, and she explained it."

  "You realize it wasn't personal. We felt the stress of the situation could be detrimental to her. Getting her to the ranch would allow her to decompress," Jared spoke quietly.

  Zane looked back at the screen. "Bullshit. I've seen the way this organization uses her. Don't paint this as you trying to relieve her stress. You don't approve of me. You've all read my file by now. You know I had two 'No Goes,' and you don't want me around your sister. Of course, I wasn't a threat until you found out I had feelings for her." He glanced up at the mirrored windows of Jewell's office. He knew she was working like a mad woman right now and didn't need him or her brothers in the way.

  "Can you blame us?" Jacob's eyes were focused on the nonsense streaming on the screen when he spoke.

  "Nope." Zane popped the 'p' in the word. "But I'm not going anywhere because she's wrong about one thing. This guy is a serious threat. He's lost something that every hacker in the world aspires to have. He's lost his society's respect. She's beaten him on a massive stage with the entire Dark Net and all the White Hats watching. He'll try to make good on his threats. He's in a corner." His explanation was emotionless because if he let his anger and, yes, trepidation out, he'd lose a monster he wasn't certain he could control anymore. The hacker was a ghost and could be anyone they passed on the street.

  He felt Jason turn toward him but didn't move. Zane realized he'd basically done the same thing to his CEO. The stage was smaller, but he'd disrespected the man in front of his brothers.

  "Mr. Reynolds, you are one bold son of a bitch." Jason's words dripped with ice.

  "Yes, sir." Zane acknowledged the fact.

  "Jared, get your people ready to move on this bastard. If he's local, I want him as soon as Jewell grabs his location. Jacob, if he is overseas, I want locations of our assets and availability. Get Tori to reach out to her contacts in the CIA and put them on standby. I'd rather share the collar than lose the bastard because we don't have feet on the ground."

  "Roger that," Jacob responded as Jared nodded and headed down the stairs. Jacob followed on his heels.

  Joseph stepped down and stood next to Zane and his brother. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched the screen. Zane waited and watched. Alonzo's head popped up, and he turned to look up at Jewell's office. Slowly every person in the section stood. The code flew across the screen. One man's hands slowly crept up and locked over his head almost like he was trying to take cover.

  The coding on the screen broke. Every eye in the theater turned toward Jewell's office. The gibberish fired across the screen again, and a massive cheer broke out. "She did it! Oh my God! She did it!"

  A single line sat stationary on the screen. Zane recognized the pattern. It was a latitude and longitude. She'd found him.

  Rage thrummed under Zane's polished exterior. He wanted nothing more than to hunt down that bastard.

  Jewell opened the door to her office and walked down the stairs to the shouted congratulations and whoops of joy. "I sent the lat-longs to Jared. He
's in Alexandria."

  Zane watched Jason turn toward her. "You and your section did a great job. Congratulations."

  Jason started to head down the stairs but stopped short when Joseph gave a shrill, sharp whistle. "I don't much give a flying fuck if you are the CEO of this company," Joseph's words were low. No one heard but the four of them. "She is the best at what she does, and her section wasn't who did this. Get over yourself little brother. She is just as invaluable to this organization as you are."

  Jason stepped back up and looked his brother dead in the eye. "She is invaluable, period. So are you, Jacob, Jared, and every other sibling that works for me. You don't lose sleep at night because you made a call to put or keep your own blood in harm's way, so get the fuck off my back, Joey." Jason glared at all of them before he walked out of the theater.

  "Well… damn. He kinda scared me there." Jewell leaned into Zane as she spoke.

  Joseph turned and took a deep breath before he cracked his neck. He rolled his shoulders and drew another deep breath. "Take care of her or deal with me." The man's jaw clenched tight before he growled out between clenched teeth, "Excuse me while I go remind my brother that nobody but my wife calls me that name."

  Zane turned to Jewell as Joseph exited. "What name?"

  "Joey."

  Zane let that one go. Obviously, there was something there, but he wasn't involved, so he was out. Jewell headed down the stairs and called to him, "Come on, I want to see Jared nail this guy."

  Chapter Twelve

  Jewell ran the operations control unit as Jared's men surrounded the house. The cameras attached to the personal protective gear gave a muted and bouncing view of the target.

  "We have movement." The words cracked over the open channel. Every eye watched the monitors.

  "Foxtrot One are you ready?" Jared's words echoed slightly in the com room.

  "Roger that, sir."

  Jared glanced at Jason who nodded. "Foxtrot One, you have a green light."

  Zane leaned forward, bringing him against her chair. His breath mingled with hers as they watched, enraptured by what was happening on the monitors. The camera pictures blinked and shifted radically. One camera showed the sky, the other the ground and a bloody hand. At the same moment, a glass-shattering blast echoed across the small room's speakers. Jewell sat forward. All her equipment was functioning. There was nothing for her to do but listen to the shouts from Jared and the team leader.

  "Status!" Jared yelled as if he needed to scream to be heard over the blast.

  "Explosion! Foxtrot Two, check on Four, he was on the southwest corner."

  "Control we need an ambulance and fire, stat!"

  Jewell nodded to Jared when his head whipped around. She was almost done with the notifications before he'd looked her way.

  "Control. Send the medical examiner. Foxtrot Four."

  Jewell swiveled her head toward the screen. The personal camera captured the vivid, hellish details of the man's demise. Jewell covered her mouth to prevent her breakfast from coming back up. She grabbed Zane with the other hand. He stood and tugged her away from the console. One of her people slid into her seat.

  Oh, God. That man is dead because of me.

  "No, he isn't. He's dead because the hacker either booby-trapped his base of operations or he set us up. He is the reason the man is dead, not you." Zane folded her into his arms. Jewell didn't realize she'd spoken the words aloud.

  "No, there was no way he could have known. He didn't have time. He'd need at least… " She looked at the monitor's digital display. No, nobody was that good.

  "ETA on fire?" Jared's harsh bark echoed through the room.

  "Four minutes, sir."

  "Zane, get her out of here." Jared's words were soft compared to the orders he'd been barking earlier.

  Zane's arms tightened around her. Damn it, no! There was no way she'd give her brothers ammo to plunk her into the shrinking violet category again.

  "No, I'm good. I… I just needed a moment." She glanced at her operator and nodded toward the side. He slid to the next chair over, and Jewell stepped out of Zane's loosened hold. She sat down and put on her headset. "Fire and Rescue are on the scene." Her words rang with clarity and authority across the small space. She glanced at her brother who was staring at her. She lifted an eyebrow at him. He blinked and turned toward the screen before he spoke, "Get Arch Angel here. He needs to be briefed."

  Jewell hit the keyboard and sent the interoffice 911 message. Her brother would be here within minutes. Jewell focused on the work at hand. Zane's presence was near and comforting, but never overbearing or smothering. Jason responded to the message and arrived almost immediately. Her brother aged before her eyes when Jared told him of Guardian's loss. The burden of his office became a tangible force pushing down with a weight she couldn't comprehend. Jason took the downed officer's name. She watched him close his eyes and bow his head. The tears that she'd kept at bay broke over her lower lids. She could only imagine the pressure Jason was under. Her regret for the grandstanding she'd done not an hour ago dropped over her like a lead cloak.

  Jewell rose from her position and walked over to Jason. She lifted her hand and rubbed his huge, muscled arm. He glanced up at her. "I'm sorry, Jace. I didn't know he'd kill himself. I'm sorry about everything. Your man… this morning." Air pushed from her lungs when Jason hugged her a little too tightly.

  He held her against him and whispered, "None of this is your fault. We only wanted to protect you."

  "I know, but I'm a big girl now, Bubba." Their words were whispered in the cocoon of his embrace.

  "You are. You know that man cares about you, right?"

  She leaned back and looked up into her brother's eyes. "Yeah, I do. Can I tell you a secret?"

  Jason gave her a half smile. "Anything."

  "I kinda like him, too." She glanced over at Zane who was talking with Jared. "And he hasn't run away screaming yet."

  Jason laughed. The rumbling sound landed around her like a gentle rain on parched ground, welcome and needed. "He's an assassin. If he had, I'd be concerned."

  Jewell shrugged. "Nobody said I was easy to deal with."

  Jason squeezed her in for another hug. "He'll stay with you until we have confirmation this fuckwad is dead."

  Jewell nodded. She didn't want to think what would happen between her and Zane if there wasn't a need for him to be here, involved in her life. They hadn't talked about… hell, anything. Her gut dropped. It wasn't like they'd declared their undying love. She really didn't know how deep her emotions were for the man. He'd made one hell of an impact in her world, and he'd admitted to wanting her for months, but what did that actually mean? Jewell recalled the way he compared their relationship to developing a new program. He seemed to be willing to try to build on whatever was between them. Fuck, she hated that she was so bad at all the relationship crap that everyone else seemed to do effortlessly. She thought of her brothers and Jasmine. They'd all found their spouses and managed to fall in love. She and Justin still looked for that magic. And if you asked her, the way her siblings fell in love was just like magic. One minute they were single, the next she was invited to a wedding. How did they manage to attract, date and then fall in love with someone without the drama and angst that Jewell felt boiling inside her? Lucky fuckers.

  "What are you thinking about, Button?"

  Jewell blinked at her brother's words. Shit, she'd zoned again. "Work. Always work." Lying was easier than trying to explain how completely insecure she felt about her emotions and feelings. Besides, her brothers really didn't want to hear about her emotions.

  "Yeah, I need to go. McCaully's wife is local. I need to go make the notification." Jason kissed her forehead and turned abruptly toward the door.

  "I'm sorry." She whispered the words under her breath as she watched him leave.

  Jared's b
arked commands brought her attention back to the events of the last hour. Zane lifted his chin, beckoning her over to him. Jewell glanced at the computer station to ensure her employee had everything under control before she moved to his side.

  Zane's eyes canvassed the room before he spoke, "I need you to put all of this out of your mind for a moment. Is there any possibility Vista wasn't at that location?"

  She whipped her head around and looked at the screen and the fire department working to put out the blaze. The cogs of her mind whirled, searching the events that had transpired. "I don't know. I do know for a fact the attack on Godzilla originated from that address. He is the only one we have dealt with that has the skill level and systems to get inside that firewall and fight off Godzilla's attack. Could it have been someone else? Yes, but the probability of that is ridiculously slim."

  "But there is a chance?" Zane pinned her with a direct stare.

  Jewell sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it for a few seconds while she thought. She finally nodded. "Of course there is a one-in-a-million chance, but I tracked the hack. There wasn't a remote tunnel or connection to that location. I made sure this was the origination point." She pointed to the screen showing the now smoldering structure that had once been a house.

  Zane straightened and drew in a deep breath. "But you have no way of knowing if the person at that keyboard was Vista."

  A thought struck her. "Yes, I can. I need to get back to my office. I want to review the data on the original attack. Every person has a, well for lack of better way of describing it, a finesse when they hack. It is damn near impossible to detect, but if that were Vista, I'd know it." Jewell glanced one last time at the computer console and the operator who was talking with Jared. She wasn't needed here, and she had a forensic analysis to complete.