"You know she can take care of herself." Jared put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "You can't control everything."
"No, but I can sure as hell try." Jason lifted a hand and headed out the door.
"I'm going to head back with him. We need to make sure everyone is safe, and then we need to talk with Maliki."
"Who is he?" Jewell asked taking a mental note to run his background.
"Dr. Maliki Blue. He's one unlucky man. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and has had a rough road. I think he's worth trying to save." Jared glanced over at Zane. A smirk spread across his face. "I'm pretty happy with our salvage program." Jared used air quotes around the word salvage.
Zane chuckled. "Yeah, I'd say fuck you, but you're my boss."
"Eh… I'll give you that one. Besides, between the two of us," Jared moved his fingers between himself and Zane, "we both know she's the boss in this situation."
Zane laughed softly and leaned back in his chair closing his eyes. "I'm in good hands then."
Jared turned to her and winked before he headed to the door. "Yep, pretty damn happy with the salvage program around here." He laughed to himself as the door shut.
Jewell made her way over to Zane and kneeled down beside his chair. Her hand settled on his thigh. Opening his eyes, he shifted in the chair without wincing too badly and dropped his chin to see her. "Are you really alright?" Her voice cracked slightly.
"Yeah, I'm okay. God knows I've been hurt worse." He gave a humorless chuckle and added, "Much worse."
Jewell laid her head on his thigh. She closed her eyes to prevent a tear from falling. Zane placed his hand gently on her head and stroked her hair. "I was so scared. I could see the blood from the video feed. And then you drove like a man possessed. I don't think I took a breath from the time your man called until…until you walked through that door."
"I was going to call from the hospital, but I'm guessing my cell phone is somewhere at the apartment building where I was being held."
Jewell nodded against his leg. "A vacant apartment's storage unit."
"Anubis had my back."
"Anubis. The guy working with you." Jewell turned to look up at him.
"Yeah."
"He called three times. When you were taken. Then again with where you were being held. He knew it was the basement, but he didn't know exactly where. That is why it took so long to get to you. They cleared the units as they went until they got to you. Jared and Jacob said that was standard procedure."
"It is." Zane lifted his arm and repositioned his injured shoulder.
"I have to find out who he targeted," Jewell spoke more to herself than to Zane. If she concentrated on Vista's threat, then she didn't have to remember the night's events, or how close she'd come to losing him.
"You will. You and your team are the best. You've beaten him at every turn. True, he got some digs in, but only because that fucker Kowalski gave him a way in." He frowned suddenly. "Wait. The pain pill I took is making me slow. You said Anubis called you three times?"
"Yeah. Once when you were taken, once with your location, and once to tell us we didn't process Lufkey's vehicle. I'm assuming Lufkey took the hitman's car. Maybe it was closer to the building. Who knows why he drove the SUV away? We weren't looking for two vehicles, but we would have found it eventually."
"Was there anything in the car that he was trying to divert our attention from?"
"Don't know. My brothers showed up after that, and then you came in. I need to check, but I don't want to move." Zane's hand carded through her hair in a rhythmic pull. The quiet hum of her systems wrapped around them. "I love you." Her words fell between them, soft and sure.
"I know you do, babe. I love you, too." Zane's voice softened.
"When did you know that you loved me?"
His hand paused its movement for a moment before it started again. "I guess I fell in love with you in small steps. First, by watching you here, interacting with your people and your family. I gave you a small piece of my heart each time I watched you put the mission before yourself, every time you didn't eat or sleep because you were so damn focused on making Guardian's people and operations safe. A little more each time you suddenly didn't have any plans when one of your people needed to leave early or had a sick kid. I've watched you do too much with too little support and marveled at your drive and determination. When I figured out you hide your fear of being yourself behind your snark and sass, I knew I was in love. You are the most selfless person I've met. I love you for who you are."
Jewell's heart felt like it had swollen ten times its normal size. The irate red bullet burn over Zane's cheek, and the bruises that mottled the side of his face with black and purple splotches couldn't hide the emotion in his eyes. The gash where the man had hit him to knock him out wasn't as big as the furrow on his cheek, but the knot under it was the size of a golf ball. She reached up and traced his strong jaw with her finger. "And I love you for who you are, now, today. But I also understand that who you used to be will always be a part of you. I love that man just as much as I love the one here in front of me because I can't separate the two."
"You are one in a million." Zane ran his thumb over her cheek.
Jewell smiled and shook her head. "Nope, we are two in a million."
"Yeah, our crazies match up pretty well don't they?" Zane bopped her nose with his finger.
"They do." A buzz rattled through the quiet office. Jewell drew away from Zane's thigh and stood up. She bent over and swiped her lips across his. "If you need to sleep, go to the office downstairs." She headed to the door to admit her technicians.
"I'm not leaving you. Besides, I have a concussion. I need someone to wake me up every couple of hours and make sure my brain is still functioning."
Jewell paused before she opened the door. "I can do that."
"I know you can. Get the door. I'm not going to go to sleep for a while yet."
Jewell smiled at him, because freaking out about the concussion he'd just reminded her of probably wasn't the best option at the moment. She turned to open her office door. Two of her techs walked into the office. One had a laptop and the other had a desktop unit.
"Two? I thought it was just a laptop?" Still concerned for Zane, she stared at the man she almost lost today. As much as she wanted to be with him, she had work to do. She needed to make sure whomever Vista had targeted was safe. Her mind flipped images of the strong women in her life through her mind. Her mom, Jasmine, Jade, Anna, Tori, Faith, and Tatyana were all strong independent women who needed her to find out what the bastard had planned. She couldn't fail.
With renewed determination she waited for her people to put the equipment down, Zane nodded acknowledging Alonzo and Brittany, who brought the computers into the office. Jewell motioned to the back workstation near where Zane sat. "Thanks, Britt, we'll take it from here." Jewell glanced over at Zane. "You will let me know if you need anything." She wasn't going to put that statement up for debate.
Zane nodded and leaned back in his chair. "If I fall asleep wake me up every two hours or so. Ask me some rudimentary questions and then let me go back to sleep."
"I'll call Jacob and have him put an expedited delivery on that cot." Jewell made a move toward the phone at her workstation. Brittany stopped at the door and spoke, "Jewell, I can get that arranged for you. I'll grab a couple of the guys and head over to that side of the house."
"That would be awesome. Thanks, Britt." Jewell really liked Brittany, she'd only been working at Guardian for just over a year, but she did a great job.
Jewell looked back over at Zane. He chuckled softly and waved his hand at the table where Alonzo was waiting. "Go, work, do the magic thing you do."
Jewell glanced at her workbench and then back to Zane who'd closed his eyes. She headed over to her computer and set a two-hour alarm before she returned to th
e other side of the office. She grabbed power cords and tossed one to Alonzo to power up the machines. "Where did the tower come from?" She lowered her voice, so she didn't wake Zane if he was already sleeping.
"The tech guys that had us sign the chain of custody forms said it came from a car in the parking lot of the apartment building. I'm assuming you know what that means."
"I do. This one could be Vista's primary."
"No shit?" Alonzo slid over and motioned her to the tower. "Then this one would be yours to crack. I'll take the laptop, and we'll meet in the middle?"
Jewell nodded instead of answering, her mind was already processing the steps she needed to take when the computer powered up. She grabbed an ESD bracelet and attached it to her work bench and her wrist. She threw one to Alonzo before she grounded herself to the workstation. She wasn't going to risk being careless. Building static electricity and not grounding herself could take out a board or a component and that shit wasn't going to happen. The computer in front of her was too damn valuable. Even though it didn't look like it. Jewell knew better than to judge a book by its cover or in this case a computer by its tower. She made fast work of the screws holding the plastic shell over the guts of the machine. When Alonzo helped her lift the casing, she damn near fainted. This was Vista's computer, it had to be. The hardware configurations were the absolute best of the best. She carefully examined the system and directed Alonzo to take pictures of everything. Before they tried to get into this beauty, she was going to document everything. Jewell bent over the system and punched the power button. It was time to match wits with one of the best hackers she'd ever worked against.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Consciousness came slowly to Zane. The first thing that registered was Jewell lying against him. He lifted his head and winced. No, she wasn't lying against him, she was lying halfway on top of him. Slowly the aches and pains of his body sounded off in a roll call. Damn, he hated pain killers, but he took them if needed, especially when he knew he was safe. The post-sleep haze lingered longer than it should have. He'd chalk that up to the concussion. He blinked his eyes and focused on the office ceiling. Sleeping on the floor wasn't anything new to him. At least he had a foam pad and a sleeping bag as a cushion this time. He flexed the hand of his good arm, the one Jewell was sleeping on. Millions of needles stabbed into his nerve endings at the action.
Zane glanced up and across the room. The computers that Jewell and Alonzo had worked on last night were still there. Cables and wires dropped from the ceiling and attached to the larger system. It looked like a desktop version of Frankenstein's Monster. He blinked his eyes and tried to focus on the small digital clock on the far wall. Shit, it was either twelve noon or twelve midnight. There was no way of telling in Jewell's office. No windows or daylight could penetrate the bunker where her section was housed.
If it was midnight… no, it couldn't be midnight unless he'd slept almost twenty-four hours. It was close to eleven when he'd finished at the hospital. He glanced again at the workbench. Jewell had to have worked on that mess of electronics for hours, so he'd bet it was noon. Besides he could remember her waking him up once before he moved to the pallet and three times afterward. Damn painkillers, or maybe it was the concussion, but figuring out what time it was took way too long.
He moved again and regretted cursing the painkillers because he'd sure like one about now. Jewell moved suddenly and pushed off him. "Are you alright?" Her hair tumbled into her sleep-creased face.
"I'm fine. What time did you crash?" The blood rushed back to Zane's arm, and the needle warfare resurged with a vengeance. He fisted his hand hard and released it several times.
"Ummm… maybe at 6:00? I set the alarm and woke you up at 8:00." She glanced at the digital clock and then at her computer. "I must have forgotten to set the alarm to wake you up at 10:00."
"Or you slept through it." He hated seeing the dark circles under her eyes.
"Well, there is that." She sat back on her butt and rubbed her neck. "The floor sucks."
"Yeah, did you get into his system?" He motioned toward her work bench.
"That would be a big no. He has a one hundred key encryption on it."
"Which means we have nothing?" Zane barely suppressed a groan when he half pushed and half lifted himself into a sitting position.
Jewell covered her mouth as she yawned. She shook her head no and held up a finger of her other hand. Her entire body vibrated as she finished her wide yawn. "No, I got permission to plug the cipher program into Stampede."
"What in the world is Stampede?" Zane leaned back against the wall and rolled his neck.
"Well, it is a wild herd of running animals, or in this case, it is the supercomputer at the University of Texas. The thing is amazing. It exceeds five thousand teraflops. I mean like it is the seventh fastest computer in the world. Instead of months to crack the cipher, Stampede can do it in hours. She stood and held out a hand to him. Zane looked at it for a moment and readied himself for the pain that was coming. He grabbed her hand, and she moved to brace her legs. She let him use her as leverage, and they worked together to lift him off the floor. That time he didn't suppress the groan that escaped.
"Do you have more painkillers?" She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "I'd kiss you on the lips, but I have wicked morning breath." She wrinkled her nose and smiled at him before she spun and woke the monitor over the workspace where Lufkey's computer was now located.
"See?" Jewell pointed to the screen. "It has half of them done in six hours. We should have access by," She glanced at the time on the monitor, "6:00 tonight."
"Then you still have to find out what he was doing?" Zane's mind was starting to sharpen.
"Yeah." Jewell rubbed her eyes.
"Lufkey told me that 'she would be dead by this time tomorrow.' What time did the team storm the building?" His memory was a blur of events, but the timing had to be recorded.
Jewell walked across the room to her workstation and let her hands fly over the keyboard.
"7:48," Jewell responded.
"Which means you'll have very little time to figure out what he's planning. Can that supercomputer go faster?"
He saw her shoulders drop at his question. "No."
"Alright, so we do what we need to do to prep for when the cipher is cracked. Let's go get a shower, grab something to eat and swing by Jason's office. I know you want to make sure the rest of the ladies are safe. Once we know he can't actually hurt anyone, you'll be able to concentrate on what you need to do.
Jewell drew a deep breath and nodded. She held her stomach and blanched. Zane was beside her in a second. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I've had an upset stomach for the last couple days. Nerves without a doubt. Nothing to worry about." She smiled at him and grabbed his hand. "Nothing that coffee can't cure."
"Babe, do you think maybe it's time to use that pregnancy test you've been carrying around in your purse?" Zane pushed her hair back behind her ear and lifted her chin with his fingers. "Not acknowledging the possibility isn't good for you. You need to know and deal with the stress instead of playing the what-if game in your head."
"I promise you I'm not doing that. While I have looked at all the circumstances and possible outcomes, I've stuck strictly to facts, not extrapolations. Besides, it's too early for morning sickness. I've researched that." Jewell leaned into him and tucked up under his chin.
"Don't you want to know?" They were rocking slowly from side to side. Zane couldn't imagine going a day without feeling this woman against him.
"Yes. No. I don't know." She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck.
"Come on. Let's go grab a shower down at the gym and get some fresh clothes. Then we'll borrow one of your brother's private bathrooms. Hopefully, one of them will be needed somewhere else and won't be in their office." He kissed the top of her he
ad. She nodded and moved away from him.
"I really need a toothbrush, too." She held her hand over her mouth. "I had a candy bar about four this morning. I think my teeth may have grown fur."
Zane laughed, spun her around and pointed her to her workstation. "Check your statuses and then grab your purse so we can go find you a toothbrush."
"I can call Sonya and see what Jason's schedule is for the afternoon." Jewell checked her monitors as she spoke.
Zane smiled and held out his hand toward her when she looked over at him. "That sounds like a plan."
Zane hovered outside the bathroom door. He was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt that he'd borrowed from the training center. His bandaged arm and shoulder ached like a bitch, but he was clean and safe. He'd finally talked Jewell into using the pregnancy test that he'd seen in her purse. He wanted to know if they were pregnant. Did he really want a family? Hell, who knew… maybe? It wasn't something he'd ever thought he'd be able to have so he'd never really thought about it in any detail. What he did know was that he loved the woman who was probably quietly freaking out behind the bathroom door. He leaned against the door and tapped softly on the wood.
"Just a minute." He couldn't read anything by her tone. He shook his head. He'd bet she hadn't even used the test yet. The door opened, and she slipped through it. There was nothing in her hand.
"Did you decide not to find out?"
"No, I know." She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down.
Zane lifted his hand and tugged her lip away from her teeth. He dropped his head and kissed her swollen bottom lip. "Are we pregnant?"
"No, we're not pregnant." She drew a long breath in and released it in a shuddering sigh.
"Are you… upset?" Zane had to ask because he wasn't sure how to gauge her expression right now.
"No. Yes." She lifted her eyes to him. "Maybe?"
Zane saw a myriad of emotions displayed. He chuckled softly and folded her into him. "We have the rest of our lives to decide when we want to start a family." Zane put a kiss on the top of her head. "Besides, I didn't want to deal with your brothers at a shotgun wedding."
Jewell (The Kings of Guardian Book 8) Page 21