I hold her in a close hug, enjoying a female’s comfort. I pat her back and let her help me stand up.
A rush of solidarity and pure love fills my chest as I look at my three friends, two old, one new but no less important. I hold out my arms. Wendy hooks me around the waist and snuggles against my side. Bo takes up position at my other side.
“You know I never give up the opportunity for a bromance,” he jokes, clapping me on the back and squeezing the top of my shoulder where my neck and clavicle meet.
Royce sighs and rolls his eyes. “You’re going to fuckin’ make me do this, aren’t you?” He looks down at his shiny name-brand shoes.
I wiggle my fingers. “Come on, brother, group hug. Take one for the team.”
“Goddamn team, I’m always taking one for the team,” he mumbles stubbornly, but moves against my front and dips his head, so my forehead touches his, not our chests. That would be a bit too far for Roy. Wendy hooks him around his waist and presses herself against both of us, her coconut scent filling the space between all of us. Bo curves his body forward and nudges his head against ours.
“I always wanted to be on the football team. I imagine this is what it was like during the group huddles, only a little less stanky.” Bo chuckles.
“Shh! You’re ruining the moment,” I grit through my teeth. “I just want to say, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”
“What you’re suggesting is ludicrous! My brother would never screw up so badly that a product launch set to make us millions would be at risk.”
I clasp my hands over my waist and look at Alexis with compassion. “I can only give the information my team has assembled and allow you to decipher what we’ve found so far. We’re not done with our investigation by a long shot; nevertheless, the evidence we’ve found so far is damning.”
“Yeah, toward my kid brother!” Alexis paces her big office, her stilettos making clacking noises on the concrete floors, the sound disappearing when she walks on one of the many area rugs scattered around. She rests her arms on the back of the couch Bo is sitting in. Royce is in the chair opposite me.
“Alexis, we’re not saying your brother is intentionally trying to hurt you. As I told you before, we have found nothing in any of the employees’ financials, including Kidd’s, to suggest a payout of any kind. However, we can’t ignore the bugs in the system and the bad coding Wendy’s found that matches your brother’s unique style.”
“As someone who knows coding inside and out, who mentored and trained him in the art, I’ll need to see the evidence myself. Exact locations.” For the first time since I met Alexis, her gaze is piercing, her tone agitated, and her jaw tight as a drum. She is not happy that we are suggesting her brother might have something to do with the leaked information.
I stand up and place a tablet on her desk. “We figured as much, which is why we had Wendy scout out some locations for your review and verification. There is one more concerning issue.” I say this with as much professional tact as I can muster.
“Which is?” She flicks open her laptop and brings up her system. She glances at the tablet and pulls up a section of her back-end coding that Wendy marked.
“Apparently, Eloise Gagnon has found a bunch of errors in the system and has been cleaning them up, fixing the coding on Kidd’s behalf.”
Alexis’s eyes narrow into slits. “Why in the world would she do that?” She turns back to her big screen and pulls up a section that has a black background with a bunch of numbers and letters. The image on the screen reminds me of something out of the movie The Matrix.
“I get the impression that they used to be an item and she still has a fondness for him. She did not seem happy about his pending nuptials.”
Alexis huffs. “She wouldn’t be. I helped split those two up years ago.”
“How do you mean?”
“They were a couple the first year Kidd started here. Except Kidd was young and dumb. He led with his dick, not his brain.”
Bo chuckles from where he sits. “Can’t blame the youngster.”
Royce bats the zinger right back at him. “The youngster? Hell, brother, you’re one to talk.”
Bo smirks. “’Tis true. Only I’ve learned along the way.”
Roy sucks in a breath through his teeth. “Shoot, I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“If you two are quite finished . . . ,” I chastise them.
Both sets of eyes seem to grow bigger. Royce scowls, miffed that he got caught being unprofessional. His professionalism is something he prides himself on, so even a simple slipup is going to hurt, especially after the Rochelle debacle. In this circumstance, though, I can’t blame them. Alexis keeps a chill environment where pretty much anything goes. Especially if you take into consideration the number of times she’s attempted to pick me up. Although since our chat yesterday, she seems to have gotten the hint that, even though I find her attractive, I’m not willing to go there with her.
Which reminds me of what I still need to do with Skyler. I’m itching to get this case over with so I can do as Bo suggests. Hightail it to New York, show up at her door, and demand answers. And so help me God, she will listen to me, and tell me every last sordid detail of what went down with Johan if she has any hope of a future together.
A future together.
My heart bleeds at the thought. I’m so close to getting some answers and settling this emptiness inside me. I just need to be done with this case. Part of me is considering leaving the details up to the rest of the team and catching the next plane out, but it wouldn’t be right. I can’t leave my team hanging in the wind when we’re so close to solving this case and leaving Montreal with a happy client. Or at the very least, a satisfied client.
“When you say you split them up, how did that go with Kidd?”
Alexis shrugs. “He was fine with it. He’d been spending too much time following Eloise around. She’s a few years older, and honestly, she had way too much control over him. I put a stop to it. Separated them by putting her in a different department and suggested if he were serious about his job with Stanton Cybertech, he’d cut the woman loose and focus on the work. He made his choice. To be honest, I was proud of him. Kidd never went back on the decision either.”
“Huh, that’s interesting.” I crack my neck, allowing some of the day’s tension to ease.
“How so?” Alexis asks but stares at the monitor, her fingers flying over the keyboard.
I cross my arms and cradle my healing hand. It feels a whole helluva lot better, but it’s still sore, and the two fingers will be splinted for quite a while yet. “She claims to be fixing his errors that she finds because she thinks he’s lost focus due to his girlfriend.”
“Really.” She laughs dryly. “I sincerely doubt that. Kidd has been on top of his game since he met Victoria, not wanting to let history repeat itself. If anything, he’s more focused on work and securing his future for the family he wants to create with her.”
“I’m guessing that means you’re a Victoria fan?” I prod.
Alexis nods. “Absolutely. She’s done wonders for him. He’s more passionate, eager to go home at quitting time, which feeds his muse. Plus, I love the girl. She’s like a little sister to me. I couldn’t be happier that he found her.”
“What feeds your muse?” I ask, knowing there be dragons in such a question.
She grins, flicks her gaze over her shoulder, focusing her pretty eyes on me. “Hot, meaningless sex.” Did she learn anything from our chat? Anything at all?
Before I can respond, Bo stands up and juts his hands out in a T shape. “I offer myself as tribute for the cause.”
Royce and I both howl with laughter, but it’s Roy who responds through his guffaws. “Sit yo’ ass down, man. She doesn’t want you.”
Alexis turns fully in her chair and sizes Bo up, from his shitkickers and faded, tight-fitting jeans to his ever-present leather jacket. “Oh, I didn’t say that.” She picks up a lock of her hair and tw
irls it around her finger. “I usually prefer the chase, not my prey served up on a silver platter.” She licks her lips and cocks an eyebrow. “But”—she gestures toward me—“since this hunk of beef won’t play, I could be persuaded to go for something a little more willing.”
Bo blows Alexis a kiss from across the room. “I’m all in, sugar plum. Tonight, we dance.”
“Good Lord, help us all.” I rub at my temples, a new headache stirring. One thing I learned from my wading into Royce’s deal with Rochelle is not to. Therefore, I’m not going to say shit about anything involving Alexis and Bo. They want to bone the rest of the time we’re here, so be it. At least she’s finally gotten the hint that I’m not going down that rabbit hole with her.
Alexis goes back to the coding and frowns.
“What is it?” I lean a hip on the edge of her desk.
She shakes her head. “The coding looks like Kidd’s, but there’s something off. I’m going to need some more time with it in order to put my finger on what’s missing.”
“All right, we’ll leave you to it. I have two more staff interviews. Wendy has her leads and is working the coding to see if she can find anything that connects the leaks with the viruses. Royce, if you want to go back to the hotel and work on our other cases for a while . . .”
“Yeah, man, I really do. We’ve got a prospect in London who is bidding now, not to mention I’ve got to review Sophie’s end-of-quarter financials.”
Sophie.
Shit. With all of this going on between me and Sky, I haven’t checked in on her and the new development Wendy mentioned about Gabriel potentially popping the question. By now, he may have already, but I’d like to think she’d call and give me a heads-up.
Pushing thoughts of my friend to another recess of my mind, I point to Bo. “Bo, you’re up. Bring out your brand of crazy at the tech application meeting and see if we can shake any wack-jobs loose.”
Bo grins, shakes his jacket out, and smirks. “Crazy is my middle name.”
9
“Explain to me what you found that has Alexis poring over her keyboard.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and lean back in the office chair. I took a chance and came down to the coding area after hours and found Wendy and Bo shooting the shit discussing the case, or rather bickering about it. Everyone else besides the three of us and Alexis had gone home.
It’s been two more days on this case with very little to go on. Royce is flying home tomorrow, his part of the case complete. Bo has made the coders and tech team jump around to create the most impossible application under the sun. Every single thing you shouldn’t do with an application, he’s asked them to do. Which means everyone here hates him. Everyone aside from Alexis. Apparently that situation has worked itself out. Once Bo went home with her, she made a complete three-sixty over wanting me. Now she’s up Bo’s ass and begging for more. Guess she likes his brand of crazy in the sack too.
“We do not agree.” Wendy gives Bo the evil eye.
Bo sighs and rests his chin on the back of the computer chair. He’s straddling the thing backward, his big legs dwarfing the chair.
“What’s the problem?” I lift my feet onto the desk in front of me. A blast of muscle relief ripples down my legs in the process.
“I believe Kidd is the leak,” Wendy states emphatically. “And that’s based on the new code he wrote today. He left some serious holes, ones so huge any hacker worth their salt could easily exploit them to steal every single thing in this place and make it their own.”
I frown. “How so?”
She points to the computer. I get up and peer at the numbers and letters as if they can tell me what she’s seeing. Unfortunately my degree is in business, not computer information systems. “Minxy, you’ll have to give me more than a screen filled with the alphabet.”
“I’m telling you, Wendy. Kidd. Didn’t. Do. It. The sooner you start believing my instincts and looking elsewhere, the sooner we’ll find out who did.” Bo flaps his hand down against the back of the chair. “What did you say, that weird chick, the coder El-something . . .”
“Eloise,” I supply for him.
He snaps his fingers and points at me. “Yeah, her.”
Wendy groans. “Her coding looks totally different.”
“Just hear me out. I get that her coding is different, but what about this. She dated him in the past. Right?”
She sighs and flips back to her computer and types away. “Yeah. I’m listening.”
“You’re not looking at me,” Bo notes dryly.
Her demeanor changes to annoyance. “I’m multitasking. Get on with what you were going to say.”
Bo twists his lips and taps his fingers on the back of the chair. “Here’s the thing I can’t stop thinking about. Alexis said she told Kidd to break it off with Eloise back in the day. He did. Maybe this whole time she’s been pining away for him. Then you, Park, told her that he’s marrying his current girlfriend, one you already told us she didn’t like, and she responded the other day by fleeing the interview room, needing to get out fast.”
I frown. “I’m following. What does that have to do with anything?”
He tugs at his goatee. “You know how there’s something about a woman scorned? Maybe Eloise is still holding a torch for this guy.”
“If what you say is true, she wouldn’t be telling us about his mistakes.” I toss the figurative ball back to him.
“And she wasn’t beforehand. Up until we came to town and she needed to cover her own ass. Alexis wasn’t told anything about what was going on with Kidd and his supposed mistakes. Does he seem like the type of guy to make these errors she’s claiming he made?”
Wendy turns back around. “Not really, no. He’s extremely focused and super passionate about this company. And he loves his sister. I don’t see him giving anything but a hundred percent, but it doesn’t change that the coding looks like it’s his.”
My mind is humming with possibilities, but I can’t seem to cling to any of them. It’s as if the answer is right there but it’s slipping through my fingers. All I can focus on is my need to get to New York City and confront Skyler about her time with Johan.
Wendy’s phone rings while we’re sitting here thinking out loud. She puts it on speaker. “Parker, Bo, and I are on. Find anything?” Wendy questions the caller.
Alexis’s voice comes through the speaker. “Yeah, a lot actually. The coding does look like Kidd’s but not exactly like his. There’s a subtle difference, a little flair that I have never seen in his work before. It’s really small, but it’s still there. I think someone is making it look like he’s the one creating these errors.”
“Tink, send a chunk of Eloise’s coding to her so she can do some comparisons,” Bo requests.
“On it!” Her fingers speed across the keyboard once more.
“Don’t. Even. Bother. You twit!” A low, deadly voice comes from the doorway.
The three of us turn around to see Eloise just inside the door. Her arms are out straight in front of her, and a big black gun is between her palms, her fingers wrapped around the trigger. She shoots at one of the servers, and the thing splits into pieces. “Stand up, all of you!” she screeches.
The three of us hustle to stand. I start to move around the desks to get in front of Wendy.
“Don’t you fucking move!”
I stop where I stand, my heart pumping as adrenaline dumps into my nervous system. “I’m sorry, Eloise. I meant no offense.”
“You!” She points the gun at me.
Wendy cries out, “No!”
Eloise waves the gun back at Wendy. “Shut up!”
“Hey there, darlin’, no need to point the gun at us,” Bo says in his most charming voice.
Eloise’s eyes bulge, and her face reddens from what I can only assume is anger. Without even sparing a second, she points the gun at Wendy and fires.
“No!” A yell blows through my system and out my mouth so furiously it’s like a tornado touching down o
n dry land.
Bo jumps toward Wendy to intercept the bullet, but it’s too late—she’s been hit in the right side of her chest. Blood oozes out just above her breasts, painting her yellow blouse crimson from a dark hole in her shirt. Her life source seeps out the hole and down her front. Wendy’s eyes go wide in recognition for a brief second before her body falls harshly against the table and down to the ground in an uncoordinated heap. She lies flat on the ground, her pale hand over her gunshot wound, blood pooling in a giant circle along her chest. Bo scrambles to her side, knees to the concrete floor, where he puts his hand over hers to staunch the blood flow.
“Wendy, baby, no!” Bo cries out, his body hunkered over hers.
I try to go to her too, but another shot rings out, and I stop in my tracks. A blaze of pain races from my shoulder and down my arm.
“Christ!” I grab for my arm and look down at the bloody horizontal slice against the top of my shoulder where the bullet grazed me, taking bits and pieces of my suit coat and shirt and pieces of my flesh with it. I hold the seeping wound, thankful she didn’t get me anywhere more serious.
“I said, don’t you freakin’ move! Why are you not listening to me? Nobody listens to me! First Kidd, then Alexis, and now you three!” She waves the gun around like a lunatic. Well, technically, she is a lunatic, and my next approach needs to be better if I’m going to talk her down.
I lift my hands in a show of surrender and lower my voice even though my entire being wants to see to Wendy.
“Come on, Tink, stay with me . . .” Bo’s voice is a low, agonized rumble. “She needs an ambulance! She’s losing a lot of blood and gasping for air.”
I look down where they are about fifteen feet from me and see pink foam coming from Wendy’s mouth, which scares the living hell out of me.
“I’m listening to you, Eloise,” I answer the woman with a gun.
She laughs, and the sound is eerily devoid of any emotion. “Guess you figured me out, huh.”
I shake my head. “Not really, no. We realized you were involved somehow.”
Her arm goes out toward me again, gun pointed directly at me. “Who are you anyway? How do you all know each other?”
International Guy: Milan, San Francisco, Montreal (International Guy Volumes Book 2) Page 37