Dropping back into my chair, I pull out the notebooks Evianna trusted me with. “I can’t do a damn thing with the answering machine on my own. But I can scan Kyle’s notes and maybe…get lucky.”
“Turn your glasses to transmitter mode. I’ll get scans of everything you see, and we can try to figure this out together.”
The last sip of coffee’s half cold, but I don’t care. I need something to wash down the bitter pill I’m about to swallow. “You’ve been up all night, Wren.”
“True, but I have an endless supply of coffee, tea, and chocolate-covered espresso beans to keep me going. And do you really think you’re going to be able to decipher all the geek-code in those pages? When I need a break, I’ll take one. But for now, you’re wasting time arguing with me.”
I know the determination in her voice. The last time I heard it, I didn’t listen, and she almost died. I’m not making that mistake again. Because this time, it’s Evianna’s life on the line, and if I lose her, I’m afraid I’ll lose myself as well.
Evianna
The office is pure chaos. Pizza boxes litter a long table against the far wall, tiny packets of Parmesan cheese everywhere and red pepper flakes ground into the carpet. Someone ran out for a massive sheet cake an hour ago—because apparently Mountain Dew wasn’t an efficient enough sugar delivery system—and now Barry, Carla, Vivek, and Priya are racing to see who can clear their bug list the fastest.
Ulysses comes in to check on me every hour or two, bringing me more tea, giving me a few moments of peace amid the cacophony. But I can’t keep my door closed for long. We’re so close to launching, I have to sign off on every code change, and every one of my devs has stood across from me at some point this morning.
And every spare moment I can, I bring up the diagnostics program running against my little Alfie unit and scan through the logs. “Come on…” I whisper to my computer. “Give me something.”
Barry raps twice and leans a hip against the door jamb. “Closed out that unhandled exception error bug no one’s been able to track down for weeks.”
Arching a brow, I hold out my hand for his tablet. “You just started working on this an hour ago. It was that simple?”
“Nope. I’m just that good.” He curls his fingers and blows on his nails, then rubs them on his shirt. But in the next breath, breaks into a sheepish smile. “Seriously, though…I worked on this half the night. Didn’t go home.”
A quick scroll through his code, and I sign off. “Great work, Barry. Really.” He brightens, and for a minute, looks like he’s still in high school. Most of the time, he’s an arrogant asshole. One I never would have hired. But today, he’s been a star. “Um…close the door and sit down for a minute?”
He narrows his eyes at me, but snags the door with his foot, then sinks into the chair across from my desk. “What’s up?”
“Tomorrow, Noah and I are going to sign off on Alfie’s code. And once she’s out there in the world…well…every single one of you is going to be able to write your own ticket. There isn’t one person on this team who’s given anything less than a hundred and ten percent the past couple of weeks, and I just wanted to thank you, personally. We haven’t always gotten along. But you’re an asset to this company, and at the party tomorrow, I’d like to announce your promotion to Dev Lead. If you want it.”
His swallow bobs his Adam’s apple, and he stares down at the tablet in his hands. “Yeah. I do.” The smile’s back, full force, and when he meets my gaze, determination and pride shine in his hazel eyes. “Thanks.”
Pulling a terms sheet from my desk drawer, I catch sight of an alert on the diagnostics program.
Remote shutdown initiated: 18:03:45
My heart hammers against my chest, but I force a deep breath and slide the paper towards Barry. “This is the new pay and benefits package that comes with the position. Keep this confidential. If you have any questions about the numbers, come see me tomorrow before close of business, okay?”
He scans the sheet, his smile widening, and then folds it and tucks it into his pocket. “Will do. Anything else?”
“Nope. Get back to work. Or…have another slice of cake. Or both.”
After Barry saunters back into the bullpen, I slap a Post-in note on my door informing everyone I’m on a conference call, head back to my desk, and with shaking hands, text Wren.
Found a remote shutdown command on my Alfie unit. There’s no way that should be possible.
The phone rings not more than a minute later. “What are your remote access protocols?” she asks without even saying hello.
“Any remote commands have to come from this office.” I almost drop the phone as I sink down into the overstuffed chair by my window. “Someone here turned off my Alfie unit. And…tried to have me killed.”
“Evianna, focus,” Wren says sharply. “Are you in any danger right now?”
“I…d-don’t know. I’m…we’re all working. It’s been tense. But…almost fun. Like it used to be. There are only a handful of bugs left, and we launch tomorrow and—”
“Stop.” The single word stills my panicked rambling. “I’ll message Dax right now and tell him to come get you out of there, but you need to focus.”
“I…I need another hour here. I have to…I can’t leave yet.”
A sigh carries over the line. “Okay. So, we need to figure out where that remote shutdown command came from. Do you have any advanced monitoring software on your firewall?”
“Yes. That’s how I found out Kyle made a copy of the code.” I can do this. Wren’s matter-of-fact, calm voice helps me focus, and I go back to my desk. “Except…I can’t send those logs outside the company. So any analysis I do will have to be here.”
Wren chuckles over the line. “Patience, my young Padawan. Let me show you the ways of the hacker.”
“You’re going to…break into my system?” My voice rises, and I curse under my breath. “Dammit. Sorry. But when we upgraded our firewall last year, we hired the best.”
“I’m not going to ‘break in,” she says. “I’m going to ‘break out.’ Give me the specs of your firewall. Company, software version, all that jazz. And then let me work my magic for a few hours. Tomorrow, if you can install a tiny little program on one of your servers…we’ll have the back door we need. Trust me, Evianna. This is what I do.”
“Okay. You’ll have the information within the hour.”
25
Dax
An entire day scanning Kyle’s notebook pages has produced little in the way of leads, even with Wren translating the tech-speak. References to subroutines and shadow code are frequent, but we need Evianna to help put the pieces together.
It’s a nice evening, and so a little after seven, I walk the five blocks from Second Sight to Beacon Hill Technologies. The traffic rumbles to my left, the scent of exhaust wafting through the air, but underneath, there’s a sweetness I haven’t smelled in a year. Lilacs.
The memories threaten, but they’re muted. Faded now with time and the loss of my sight. One of the first years I lived in Boston, before I signed up for Special Forces training, I brought my mother to the arboretum at Harvard for their Lilac Festival. One of the last happy times I spent with her before I deployed and everything changed.
Her face is nothing but a blur now, though I can still sometimes hear her laugh. But the flowers…the flowers are gone. My eyes burn, and I stop at the curb, wondering what else I’ve lost.
All the memory tricks Ryker taught me in Hell…they only work for new memories. The sights and sounds of my youth, all those images I’d filed away, to be pulled out when I was low or in pain…soon, they’ll all be gone.
I’ll never see lilacs again. But…maybe I don’t have to. The light turns, and I sweep my cane in front of me as I double-time it to Evianna’s building. She can steady me. And maybe…if she agrees to a little detour before we go back to the hotel, I can find a way to tell her what she means to me.
Clive hails me when I’
m about to open her building’s outer door. “Dax! Hold up.”
“Status report,” I say quietly when he’s at my side.
“All clear. I’ve been outside since 2:00 p.m. and haven’t seen anyone suspicious. Normal businessmen and women coming and going. A twenty-something bringing in a big sheet cake, pizza delivery. You want me to get the car?”
“Yes. I’ll wait for Evianna inside. I just texted her, so she should be down in five minutes. And, Clive?”
“Yeah, boss?”
“I want to take Evianna to the arboretum before we go back to the hotel. Do you have time to shadow us for an hour?”
“Yep. I’ll text Ronan to let him know.”
I clap him on the shoulder in thanks and head inside.
The elevator dings, and her heels click across the tile floor. Before she can ask, I hold out my arm, and when she melts against me, something in my world shifts in a way I can’t explain.
“I…missed you, darlin’,” I whisper in her ear. “I’m sorry…about this morning.”
“Just get me out of here, please.” Her voice isn’t steady, and I want nothing more than to lift her into my arms and carry her to the car. But I’d trip, drop her, and fall on my face, so I settle for pressing my lips to her neck.
“Did something happen?”
Straightening, I take her elbow so she can guide me to the car, but the elevator dings again, and a booming voice calls her name. “Evianna, wait.”
“My boss,” Evianna whispers as she straightens her shoulders and turns. “Noah, did you need something?”
“An introduction? I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”
His tone grates along my spine, raising the hair on the back of my neck. Entitled. Like he’s owed an explanation. Or first right of fucking refusal. The man’s cologne carries a too-sweet scent, and I have to force myself not to wrinkle my nose. “Dax Holloway,” I say, holding out my hand.
“Noah Goset.” His clammy fingers barely hold any strength, and I make sure to squeeze—hard—and his next words are slightly strained. “What do you do, Dax?”
“I run a think tank.” The lie flows easily, and I incline my head towards Evianna. “We’ll miss our reservation if we don’t head out. You’ll excuse us, Noah?”
“Don’t let me keep you. I’ll see you tomorrow, though—Dax?—was it? You’re coming to the party, aren’t you? For Alfie’s release?” I must look confused, because he clucks his tongue. “Don’t tell me Evianna hasn’t already invited you?”
“Of course I invited him,” Evianna says with a hint of indignation to her voice. “Good night, Noah. We’re running late. I’ll see you in the morning.”
With her fingers digging into my elbow, she hurries us out of the building and right to the car Clive has idling at the curb.
I don’t say anything until the back door closes and Evianna flops back against the seat with a sigh.
“What party?”
“Alfie’s release party. I thought I mentioned—”
Taking off my glasses, I arch a brow. “No. You weren’t planning on going alone, were you?”
“God, no.” She reaches for my hand, and the emotion in her voice has me linking my fingers with hers. “I just…I didn’t want to think about it. About the release. About what might happen after—”
“It’s all right, darlin’.” Bringing her hand to my lips, I kiss her palm, then the pulse point of her wrist. Fuck. She smells like heaven, and there isn’t a single reason she should want me, but dammit if I’m not going to do everything I can to keep her by my side. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. Do you mind if we go one place before we head back to the hotel? There’s something I want to show you.”
The ride to Cambridge takes less then twenty minutes with Clive behind the wheel. The man knows more shortcuts than anyone I’ve ever met—besides Ripper. Evianna doesn’t say much as she sits too far away in the Lincoln Town Car. Clive should have opted for a coupe. Something to force us to sit close enough our thighs would touch and I could wrap my arm around her.
Her fingers start to warm in mine, and I lean over. “You’re worrying me, Evianna. What happened at the office today?”
“You didn’t talk to Wren?”
“I talked to Wren half the day.” What the hell is going on? And why didn’t Wren tell me? Making a mental note to send my favorite hacker a text later, I scoot as close as the seatbelt will allow. “Tell me.”
“Someone executed a remote shutdown command that turned my Alfie unit off half an hour before you brought me home the other night. The unit was offline for fifteen minutes.”
“You knew something like that had happened, though.”
Her fingers tighten on mine. “Dax, I didn’t put a remote shutdown subroutine in Alfie’s code. But it’s more than that. The only way someone could access the unit at all, would be from our offices. Someone at Beacon Hill—someone who’s not Kyle, since he was long gone by then—is behind this whole thing.”
26
Dax
The arboretum Visitor’s Center is bustling this close to sunset, and the cacophony of voices is almost too much. “Look for signs for the Lilac Exhibit,” I say as Evianna takes my arm and guides me out the door to the garden path.
“To the left. But…Dax…? Should we be out here…in the open like this?”
“Clive isn’t far. You won’t see him, but if anyone comes near us, he’ll be here in under a minute.” A breeze brings the scent of hundreds of flowers swirling around us, and I breathe deeply. “I used to come here. Before I joined the army. Before…Hell.”
She presses closer to me, through another turn and down a winding path. “I never knew about this place. I’ve lived in Boston for three years, and outside of a couple of baseball games and one Duck Boat ride, I’ve never really…done anything. It’s beautiful.”
Water burbles to my right, and I stop. “Let’s go down by the water. There used to be benches. Are they still there?”
“Yes. But…Dax? I…don’t understand.”
Taking her arm, I gesture towards the small lake that smells like it’s still surrounded by lilacs. A hint of the evening sun slashes through the surrounding trees, highlighting the deep chestnut of her hair.
Our feet crunch over gravel, and when my cane finds the corner of the bench, I fold it up and tuck it in my pocket before guiding us both down onto the warm marble. “I had so many memories of this place. Before. But—” my voice cracks, and I clear my throat as Evianna links our fingers, “—they’re fading. Some things you never forget. The blue of the sky. A red rose. Chinese food takeout boxes. Mickey Mouse. But this place? Every year was different. Every flower unique. I can’t see them anymore. All I have is the scent. The sweetness of the lilacs. The freesia. The lilies. I need you, Evianna. Tell me what you see?”
She doesn’t speak for so long, I start to worry. “Darlin’?”
“The lake is a deep blue. Like…a sapphire. Or…a blue jay. Tiny little ripples all over the surface. And…ducks. Three of them. A mama and two babies.”
My throat tightens, and I grip the corner of the bench hard enough for the marble to bite into my fingers.
“At the edge of the lake, the lilacs… They’re like a carpet. Most of them are bluish purple. But some of them are bright pink. And the closest ones are pure white.” The awe in her voice makes my eyes burn.
But when she stands, hooks her arm through mine, and takes a few tentative steps towards the lake, I resist. My last memories of this place are of a steep grassy knoll, and without being able to see, I don’t trust myself.
“Dax…I won’t let you fall.”
She’s so certain. So confident, that I take a step. Then another.
“Go slow,” she urges. “There’s a big flagstone three feet in front of you.”
When I find it, and I’m steady again, Evianna guides my hand forward until my fingers brush velvet. The sweet scent surrounds us, and I can almost see them. The flowers. So thick the col
or goes on for miles.
“These…are white,” Evianna whispers. “The inner buds are a pale yellow. Like…fresh-churned butter. Or…what I imagine pure sunshine looks like.” She moves my hand, and the texture of the petals changes. “There’s one—just one spray—that’s deep purple. Like…grape juice. Each petal is identical. And…not.”
Evianna bends down, and a moment later, lays a single bloom in my palm. “This one’s…broken. Damaged. But it’s still beautiful.” Raising my hand until the petals touch my nose, she steps closer. “It fell, but…it still smells just as sweet as the rest.”
A tear burns my eye, and when it hits my cheek, I crush the flower in my fist, and haul Evianna against me. How can I tell her what she’s given me? A piece of myself I thought long lost. Color to brighten my world of gray. Light in all my shadows.
The words tumble around inside my head. So many words. Gratitude. Need. Joy. Sorrow. And strongest of all…love. I can’t say it. If I do…will I wake up to find this has all been a dream? A perfect dream when I’m still trapped in Hell? In that cold, dark cave. Alone.
“Dax? Talk to me.” Evianna kisses my neck, along my jaw, all the way to my lips, and she tastes like home. Sliding her fingers into my hair, she sweeps her tongue along mine, as if she knows she has to ground me. To prove we’re real.
Time and time again, I try to speak. To say anything. But emotions I haven’t let myself feel in six years clog my throat, and all I can manage is a hoarse, choking sound until I kiss her again.
Sinking down to the ground, I pull her into my lap, needing to feel her weight to confirm she’s real. “I…you…”
Evianna traces the path of my tears with her thumbs, then kisses them away. “Maybe…for now, it’s enough that we’re…us,” she whispers.
Second Sight: An Away From Keyboard Romantic Suspense Standalone Page 17