Chapter Fourteen

 

 

Noelle stared at the computer in front of her and sighed. She was close. So damn close to being done with this assignment that it seemed stupid to stop work and go back to Hutch’s place where she would sit around and think about work.

Well, after he’d blown her mind because he would definitely do that. She was already considering how hot she could get him in the car ride home. Traffic didn’t have to be boring, and one of their assignments was to push each other’s limits.

But then she would worry about this damn report all weekend. He said he would let her come up to work tomorrow, but she could finish tonight, have that report on Jessica’s desk, and then take the whole weekend off.

“Dr. LaVigne?”

She glanced up and a woman with dark hair stood at the front of her desk. She had a cart in front of her filled with envelopes of all sizes. She was probably in her late twenties and the pitch-black color of her hair was obviously not her natural color. The woman had fair skin that would have gone well with a blonde tone, but the stark makeup she had on marked her as a goth girl. She reminded Noelle the slightest bit of MaeBe, but without the other woman’s infectious smile. “Yes?”

“I’m from the mailroom,” the woman said. “I was stopping by to see if you have anything you need to send out.”

“We have a mailroom?” She thought almost everyone used email and texts these days.

The woman smiled. “Oh, yes. Though it’s almost exclusively used by the business floors. Snail mail is still a thing. I was told not to bother coming to the labs, but I had a couple of minutes before we close up and saw you in here. You had some tech journals.”

She started to hand them over to Noelle when they slipped out of her hands and to the floor.

“I’m sorry,” the woman said.

They’d landed far closer to Noelle. She leaned over to pick them up, one hand on her cane.

“I can be such a klutz.” The woman maneuvered the cart so it wasn’t between them. She held a hand out to help Noelle up.

“I’m good.” She stood back up, her copy of the latest chemistry journal in her hand. “Thanks for this. I needed some light reading for the weekend. I usually get this delivered at home.”

The dark-haired woman shrugged. “I think I heard something about the company ordering journals for the bigger labs. I think she meant for you to share them with your techs. It’s some kind of continuing education thing. I don’t know. I’m mailroom. The only magazine I read is People. I leave the other stuff to the smarter citizens of the world. Anyway, let me know if you need anything. I should get back downstairs before they think I’m talking too much.”

Noelle nodded her way. “Thanks.”

The woman pushed her cart into the outer lab as Pete walked in. He turned, looking at the woman.

“Who was that?” Pete asked.

She hadn’t asked the woman’s name. That had been a bit rude. “No idea. She said she was from the mailroom and dropped off a couple of magazines. Have you heard anything about a continuing education program?”

A brow rose over Pete’s eyes. “Beyond the fact that Jessica firmly believes everyone should pay for their own education?”

Noelle set the journal down. “Yeah, I thought it was weird, too. Did you know we had a mailroom?”

Pete waved that off. “Oh, yeah. The upper floors still rely on snail mail. I sneak in my Christmas cards to avoid paying for stamps. Don’t tell anyone. But they must have done some hiring lately because the last time I was down there it was all dudes.”

“It’s good they’re diversifying.” But the mailroom didn’t matter. Hutch would be here any minute and she was going to try to convince him to stay with her for an hour or two while she finished up. “Are you heading out?”

“I’m running up to the gym. I was going to see if you wanted to join me. After what happened last time, I don’t want you to go alone.”

“Oh, my boyfriend’s picking me up any minute.” Hutch would flip if he caught her going to the gym again. She’d been ordered to stay out of the locker room until further notice. Hutch had been escorting her to the small gym in her building when she wanted to work out.

What would it be like when Hutch wasn’t staying with her? Would he still spend time with her at night, or would they get back to being obsessed with work?

“Good. Then I’ll leave you to it. Did the experiment finish up?” Pete settled his gym bag over his shoulder.

“It’s uploading data right now.” She glanced back at her screen. “It’s going to take another hour or so. I’ll probably be up here tomorrow.”

Pete winced. “Sorry, Noelle. I’ve got a family party tomorrow. It’s my brother’s birthday, and we’re all meeting for brunch. I can maybe make it after two or so. Or I can stay tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She was done with the physical experiments. “I’m doing nothing but running data and extrapolating at this point. I’ve got to have the report on the latest data to Jessica by Monday.”

Pete looked thoughtful for a moment. “Huh. I must have heard wrong.”

“What?”

“I heard that Jessica already met with investors about our project,” Pete admitted. “I thought you were being extra careful since she’s already presented the data.”

There were some crazy rumors flying around. “No. She can’t present what she doesn’t have. We’ll probably need to go to a couple of meetings next week to get her ready and be prepared in case we need to explain things to the investors. I’ve never done this, but I know Madison went with Jessica when they got that ridiculous amount of cash for her project.”

She remembered that Madison had dressed up for the occasion. She’d been in the locker room that afternoon, changing into her designer sheath. Noelle had watched as she’d reached up into her locker, feeling for something she’d hidden at the top. When she’d brought down a small magnetic box, she’d shown off the big diamond earrings hidden inside.

“There’s this spot at the very top of all the lockers I can hide this. These earrings are worth more than your whole lab. I’m certainly not going to keep them in my purse,” Madison had said as she’d fastened them on. “Do I look like a million bucks? Because I need these suckers to give me about ten. Million, that is.”

Would Jessica want her to dress as flashy as Madison had? Madison wore sky-high heels and slinky dresses even when she was working in the lab. Noelle got the feeling her dressiest sneakers wouldn’t make the cut for an important investor meeting. Did she have any shoes that would work? Or a dress? Maybe she wouldn’t spend all her time working this weekend. She might need to go shopping.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.” Pete started for the door. “Give me a call if you need anything. Definitely give me a call if you need to run the experiment again. That damn machine is being held together with tape at this point. I’ll be happy when we can get a new one.”

So would she. An influx of cash would help her enormously. A whole lot of the cash for her lab had gone to Madison last quarter. Now she was the one with the successful experiment, and she was ready to reap the rewards by buying a bunch of new equipment. It would be like Christmas. “I think this data is the last I need, but thanks. Have a good workout.”

He strode out as Kyle was walking in. Kyle looked a bit pale and kept glancing back at the door.

“Are you okay?” She didn’t see Hutch with him.

Kyle seemed to shake something off. “Yeah, I’m good. Just saw someone who reminded me of an ex. Like the worst ex ever. How are you doing?” Kyle stepped into the lab. He’d put his suitcoat on, a sure sign he was about to follow Jessica to someplace fancy. “Hutch texted me he’s running late, but he should be downstairs in a couple of minutes. I thought I’d walk you down.”

She frowned his way. “Is there any way I could convince him to let me stay a couple of hours?”

Kyle crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think so. Not after what happened yesterday. He doesn’t want you in here alone, and I have to go out tonight.”

That brought up a good point. Kyle should know what Jessica was doing this evening. “I thought this was a date, but Pete mentioned a meeting with investors.”

“She mentioned a date to me a couple of days ago, but from what I can tell this is a business dinner,” Kyle explained. “She changed the restaurant from a French bistro to a steak house, and I overheard her assistant confirming a table for four. Why do you ask?”

“Pete thought she was pitching my research to investors.” It didn’t make any sense unless she was buttering them up for the real meeting next week. “But she doesn’t have my supporting evidence, so it can’t be that. I know you’re not supposed to listen in.”

“I’m literally being paid to spy on the woman,” Kyle pointed out. “If you want me to figure out what she’s pitching tonight, I will let you know. You ready to head down? I’ve got to meet Jessica at the limo in a couple of minutes.”

She sighed because he didn’t look like a man who was going to be persuaded. “I’ll get my keycard.”

She glanced down and it wasn’t sitting on her desk. Where had she put it?

“Hey, baby. I brought us some dinner because I thought about it and you are going to feel better if you finish this thing.”

All thoughts of anything else fled as she looked up and Hutch walked into the room, carrying a bag emblazoned with the Top logo. Her stomach growled, reminding her she’d only eaten about half the sandwich she’d bought at the deli downstairs. A few days before she’d thought the turkey on wheat had been a serviceable lunch, but then Hutch had started making her lunches. He put honey mustard and tomatoes on it, and she loved them. The one from downstairs was now bland.

She would miss him if they drifted apart at the end of this.

“Did you bring me something?” Kyle started to poke around in the bag Hutch had set on her desk. “I don’t think I’m eating at this thing. What’s the special tonight? Mom told me Sean was working on short ribs and they’re delicious.”

Hutch slapped at his hand. “No, I did not get you anything because we’re not in a relationship, and as you have pointed out many times, you are an adult man capable of making your own lunch.”

Kyle stared down at the bag with sad puppy eyes. “Only because I didn’t know you’re actually pretty good in the kitchen. I thought it was one of those things where a dude thinks he’s good, but he pretty much sucks. Your breakfasts are solid. I missed it this morning. We need to get groceries again.”

Because they’d abandoned the ones at her place the night before. None of that mattered because Hutch was here and he was letting her stay and finish up. She moved into his arms and wrapped herself around him. He hugged her tight and she realized what she’d been missing all day. Him.

He kissed her cheek and nuzzled her ear. “Hey, I missed you. It was a long day.”

But he was still here and still willing to wait with her. “You, too. Thank you for dinner and thank you for letting me stay.”

“Okay, I lost my appetite. You got this, brother?” Kyle was already at the door.

Hutch’s lips curled up in a sexy grin as he stared down at her. “Oh, I got this. I got all of this.”

His hands moved down to cup her ass. Kyle made a gagging sound and then he was gone.

“Alone at last.” Hutch kissed her. “That is what I wanted all day.”

“Well, since you are letting me finish this up tonight, I might not have to work this weekend,” she whispered against his lips. “And then we can get a whole lot of alone time in.”

His hands moved up her back. “I would love that.”

He was such a handsome man with his blue eyes and golden brown hair, a sharp jawline that had a hint of scruff covering it. She loved the way his muscles felt under her hands. She wasn’t in his league. All of her insecurities flooded back in and she decided to simply ask. Wasn’t that what she was supposed to do? “Hutch, what happens when this case is over?”

A quizzical expression hit his face, but he didn’t let her go. “I suspect you won’t be afraid anymore.”

“I meant with us.”

“What do you want to have happen? Because I know what I want, but I have been accused of moving way too fast. You, my darling, are a skittish chick.”

She felt a smile cross her face because that was not the reply of a guy who was planning on ghosting her once this was done. “I am not.” She went on her toes and kissed him before pulling away. She was starving, and whatever was in that bag smelled like heaven. “Skittish? What a silly word. I am reasonable and responsible, and one of us has to be.”

“I am over-the-top romantic and reckless,” he replied, moving in behind her. “One of us has to be. I got you the special tonight. It’s half a roast chicken with lemon rosemary potatoes and asparagus. If you don’t like it, you can have my burger.”

The smell of the chicken hit her, and her stomach growled again. “Not on your life, although that is a lot of food.”

Hutch shrugged. “I figured I’d try yours, too.”

She couldn’t stop smiling. He made her happy. Happier than she could remember being before. She had her work and she had a guy she could trust. What more could she ask for? “I suppose I could share. How did you get up here, anyway?”

“Kyle left my name as an approved guest. I also think that after what happened in the locker room, the security guys are happy to have someone up here with you.” He kissed the nape of her neck and took a step back. “There’s a piece of chocolate cake and a slice of whatever pie they made today. I definitely thought we could share those.”

Because her man had a sweet tooth. “I think we can make that happen. Are you sure you’re okay babysitting me? You can eat and then head home and pick me up.”

He stared at her.

“Or you can be bored right here.” He was right. The last time she’d been totally alone she’d gotten choked out. The truth of the matter was it could get creepy here at night.

“Thank you,” he replied. “And I won’t be bored. I’ve got my laptop. I can catch up on work, too. I’ve got some code I need to write for the website. And Big Tag wants me to hack the new Japanese toilets Adam bought for his company. They’re super high tech, complete with wash cycles and a blow-dryer for your junk.”

“You’re going to hack a toilet?” He could also be a prankster. She would have to remember that.

“Yep. I’m going to turn the water pressure way up and the temp way down and see if we can hear Adam howl from our floor.” He was sitting at her desk, a big smile on his face. “It’s also an excellent way to figure out who actually uses them. They all say they don’t. Jesse Murdoch said it was a waste of money, but I bet he ends up using the soothing wash cycle. Well, at least once.”

Damn, she was in love with him. She couldn’t even fool herself anymore. She was in love with Hutch. “You are a moron.”

That smile didn’t dim a watt. “But I’m your moron. Come here.”

She moved into his arms. Dinner might have to wait.

He started kissing her when the door came open again and Kyle walked through, pulling at his tie.

“She is not a nice boss. And that is all I am saying,” Kyle grumbled and then proceeded to contradict himself by saying more. “She replaced me with Austin. Austin is a putz.”

“What did you do?” Hutch’s face had completely lost its humor. And his horniness.

They started to argue.

It looked like dinner was back on, and she was definitely going to have to share.

 

* * * *

 

“Are you sure it’s okay he’s in there with her?” Kyle stood in front of the window that connected the lab’s main room to one of what she’d called the experiment rooms. There was a big MRI machine along with a bunch of technical equipment. Noelle was running a test to see how much of the helium she could catch and recycle off the machine.

Something had gone wrong and she’d called Pete, who’d happened to still be in the building. The engineer was in there with her.

“He works with her every day,” Hutch pointed out. “I don’t see why it’s a problem.”

Hutch stared down at the screen in front of him and wished like hell he didn’t have to do what he was going to do. What he wanted to do was scoop Noelle up and get her the hell out of here because every instinct in his body was telling him something was wrong.

Why had Kyle suddenly gotten himself taken off the security detail he’d been talking about all week? It was pretty coincidental that he would get bumped on the very night Hutch had to get his job done.

Was Kyle here to make sure he didn’t do his job?

Kyle moved in behind him, his voice going low. “Are you going in tonight? I thought you wanted to wait until tomorrow night when I could watch your back.”

That was what they’d discussed, which was precisely why it was so odd that Kyle was suddenly free tonight. “I’m doing some recon. I haven’t spent much time in the building. I need to get a feel for what I’m going to have to do to get in.”

“Did Ian get intel on Cara? Have you talked to Noelle about it?”

He turned to glare Kyle’s way. “Dude, someone could be listening.”

Kyle shrugged that worry off. “Nah, I check for bugs every day, and I’ve got a disruptor on me right now. It’ll blast static if anyone’s listening.”

That was interesting. A disruptor was brand-new tech. It was so new most people didn’t know about it. It wasn’t on the market to the public yet, and Hutch hadn’t been able to get his hands on one. The small device emitted a high-frequency tone that would render most listening devices useless. “That’s impressive tech. You didn’t get it from the office.”

Not that Big Tag hadn’t tried to find a way to buy a couple.

Kyle’s jaw tightened, the expression on his face going stubborn before it fell. “I got it from a friend. Okay? Look, there’s a lot about my time in the Navy I can’t talk about.”

“Because it’s classified.”

“Yeah.”

“And the friend you got the disruptor from is probably classified, too.” The friend was either some kind of intelligence agent or something far worse. The friend could be a corporate spy who looked to Kyle for help.

Kyle sighed. “The friend I got it from is dead. I don’t talk about her because…I don’t talk about her. But she’s been on my mind lately. That must be why I thought I saw her earlier. It was a woman who looked a little like her, though not really. It was more the way she moved.”

Was he talking about Julia Ennis? “A girlfriend?”

Kyle chuckled, a humorless sound. “She’s the reason I don’t believe in love. She’s the one I misread. Look, I didn’t talk to Big Tag about the disruptor because I figured he would ask me to give it to him. I need it.”

What other tech did he have? “Is that how you got through my security system last night?”

The slightest flush stained his cheeks. “How did you… Did it show up on the logs? Because I thought it wouldn’t.”

“It wouldn’t have if I hadn’t written specific protocols. It’s not a normal security system.” Not a total lie, but he wasn’t about to tell Kyle that he’d gotten caught through good old-fashioned human eyesight. That would lead to questions of why the hell Michael Malone was watching him. No, he’d found using words like protocols threw off the people who weren’t hard-core hackers.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it.” Kyle sank into the chair beside him. “I need you to know that I have been in that apartment every night since we started the job. I swear I have. Last night, I just…I couldn’t sleep, and you don’t have a treadmill. Sometimes it’s the only way I get myself tired enough to fall asleep. Last night I actually managed to doze off, but I woke up at two in the morning and I couldn’t stay in bed.”

“You couldn’t stay in the house,” Hutch accused.

Kyle shook his head. “No, I couldn’t. I’m sorry. I had a shitty dream and I had to burn it off.”

That didn’t explain the phone call he’d made or why he had two phones to begin with. He wasn’t sure he could ask that question without giving up the fact that Michael had been following him. “You want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Okay.” He couldn’t force the guy to trust him.

Kyle pushed off the chair. “I knew this wouldn’t work.”

“The job? No, it probably won’t work if you can’t stay in a house with a client you’re guarding.”

“Well, I figured you would take care of her. It’s not like she was alone.”

It was time for some hard truth. He knew Tag wanted to keep Kyle around until he figured out what was happening, but Hutch wasn’t going to let that secondary mission put Noelle in danger. “You’re the one who is supposed to be watching our backs. Had I gotten the heads-up that you needed a break, I would have paid more attention to security.”

Secondary mission? Now he had a third—getting the feds everything they wanted so they would leave Noelle alone. That was the deal he’d made this afternoon. He would find a way to get the financial records to prove Genedyne was a fraud and they would leave Noelle alone. Of course, he couldn’t simply tell Noelle what he was doing. He’d had to sign an agreement that all of this would be confidential.

Or his pact to keep Noelle safe would dissolve, and she could be forced to risk her career and possibly her life to keep her research safe. The feds knew exactly how to bust a man’s balls.

Kyle nodded and seemed to think something over. “That’s fair. Have you talked to Big Tag?”

He didn’t want to lie to the man, but he also wasn’t sure Kyle wouldn’t simply walk away. “I don’t want to.”

“It won’t happen again.” Kyle groaned and his head dropped back, an obviously frustrated move. “Or maybe it will. Fuck, I should never have come home.”

“Why did you?”

Kyle’s head came back up, and there was an unmistakable weariness in his gaze. “I don’t know. I guess I hoped it would make things better. I left because things didn’t make sense anymore. I came back because I hoped being home would feel safe. I was in an accident. I’d gone into grad school.”

Hutch nodded. “I remember hearing something about it.”

“It might be why I feel such an affinity for Noelle. I know I said you should be suspicious of any human being who seems as nice as Noelle, but I honestly like her. I know something of what she went through. You can’t exactly understand it.”

“I can’t? I assure you I’ve been through some shit.”

Kyle shook his head. “You’ve been through all the shit, Hutch. Like you should be a walking pile of human garbage given what you’ve been through. Tell me something. Was there ever a time you didn’t know the world was dangerous?”

His heart clenched because there was only one answer to that question. “No. I always knew.”

“Well, I remember the moment the world changed for me. I had lost my dad, but I had my mom and my brother and I got through it. It was the accident that changed things.”

Hutch remembered a bit of the story. “Your friend died, right?”

“Oh, yes, but friend isn’t the right word. He was my brother. We met in first grade and he was always there for me. Don’t get me wrong. My brother and I were close, but he’s older than me and he was always more serious. I was closest to Kenny growing up. And then because some asshole ran a light, he wasn’t there anymore. I’d dealt with death, but not in a visceral way. My dad’s death seemed almost peaceful. I know it wasn’t that way for my mom. She was careful in what she let us see. He was in an accident, too. He had surgery, but they knew he wouldn’t pull through. He lingered for a week. I remember my dad telling me everything would be okay and that he would always love me. That wasn’t how Kenny died.”

“I thought he died on impact.”

“Yeah, well, that was the story I told my mom,” Kyle admitted. “He didn’t. We’d been out to dinner with some friends. It got late, but everything was normal. Kenny had a meeting the next day, so he decided not to drink.”

“That doesn’t make it your fault.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. It was my car. I drove us out there. Neither one of us was planning on getting toasted that night, but I was talking to a woman I met and we went through a bottle and a half of wine. When the time came, Kenny took my keys and he was sitting in the driver’s seat. He took the full brunt of a car going forty-five miles an hour plowing into him. I was asleep and ended up with nothing more than a couple of scratches.” Kyle’s eyes seemed to be on something far away. “He was mad that he was dying. So fucking angry. He was mad at me.”

“He was in pain and confused.” Hutch wanted to give him some comfort.

“I don’t know about that. Anyway, that second brush with death was unlike the first. I watched it, watched the blood pour as I tried to stop it, watched the fear as he realized there was no way out, watched the light die. I couldn’t go on with my life the way I had before, so my stepdad and a friend of his convinced me to try the Navy. I didn’t go into the Army because I didn’t want to have to live up to the Taggart name. That’s sad, right? It’s not even my name, but I feel it.”

Now he needed to play things carefully. “You didn’t want to walk in those big-ass footsteps. I get that. So what did you do when the CIA called?”

Kyle huffed. “Of course everyone knows.”

“It was a decent bet,” Hutch said with a shrug. “You went into Special Forces training. The Agency watches those recruits, and the minute your name was placed in close proximity to a Taggart…”

“Yeah, my team worked with a Mr. Brown shortly after I got the assignment. I was recruited from there. Tag knows?” Kyle asked.

“He suspects, but you have to know he checked up on you.”

“Well, I rather thought my handler would have covered it up better.” Kyle sighed. “I’ll talk to him about it. I’m not particularly proud of the work I did there. It’s why I got out. I came home and it still doesn’t make sense. It might be time for me to try something else.”

Hutch knew exactly what he should try. “Have you tried talking about it? With Kai?”

Kyle’s hands fisted at his sides. “Talking about it won’t work.”

“Have you tried it?”

“No. And I’m not going to.”

Well, that was about as far as he could push the guy. Someone had to be open to therapy for it to work, and Kyle was kind of right about him being different. By the time he’d been plucked from juvie and offered a different life, he’d been ready to try anything. Kai Ferguson had been his therapist for years, and while he probably didn’t need it anymore, he liked to go. It was good to have someone to purge to. In a lot of ways those sessions with Kai were a way to process what happened around him. He’d learned not to react emotionally but rather to allow his emotions to process and then act in a way that best represented who he wanted to be.

Did he want to lie to Noelle?

Did he even have a fucking choice?

Would it be wrong to ask for a session in the middle of an op?

“Have I lost you?” Kyle sounded irritated.

Hutch glanced back at his laptop. He had some programs running, trying to figure out the layout of Genedyne’s system. It was complex, but definitely not undoable. “You said you didn’t want to talk. So I thought we weren’t talking.”

A brow rose over Kyle’s eyes. “Aren’t you going to try to convince me?”

“Nope. That’s your damage, and until you’re ready to face it, no amount of me trying to convince you will work.” He might need to get into the server room. He’d hoped he could do it all from here, but it would be infinitely easier with physical contact. How long would it take him? The server room was on the floor below the business level. MaeBe was on standby. He could bust through the keycard processor easy peasy, but it might set off a security alert.

“You think I don’t face it?”

Now was the time when he would normally take a fucked-up dude out for a beer and gently coax him into telling the whole sad story. Dudes could be skittish, too. But Kyle wasn’t the normal life-fucked-me-over story. Kyle might be dangerous, and he couldn’t make him more suspicious than he already was. Telling him Tag knew he’d worked with the Agency was a calculated risk, but a fairly easy one to make.

Telling Kyle his uncle thought he might still be working for them would be a mistake, and Hutch didn’t make mistakes like that.

“I think you risked our client at two this morning because you didn’t want to face whatever you dreamed about,” Hutch explained.

Kyle stopped. “You might have a point. Maybe coming here was a huge mistake.”

“Where else would you go? I can assure you you’ll have to sleep there, too.”

“You’re kind of an asshole.”

“Well, somehow I don’t think me coaxing you is going to work,” Hutch pointed out. “You’ve made it perfectly clear that we aren’t friends.”

“How did I do that?”

“Friends don’t bust through other friend’s security systems when their friend’s girlfriend is in danger. I mean, I got the point from all the crap you’ve said over the last couple of days, but that really drove it home.”

Kyle’s jaw dropped. “Crap I’ve said? I was joking.”

He was missing the point. And rewriting history. “You literally said we weren’t friends. Several times.”

“Fine. We’re friends.” Kyle sat back down. “I’m not sure what to do or if I should even stay here. I can’t talk to my brother about this. He wouldn’t understand. David’s a freaking college professor. He’s never had to do the things I’ve done. The worst he’s faced is pressure over publishing. He talks about that a lot. It’s the pinnacle of bad shit in his world. How can I tell him I’ve killed people?”

Ah, now they were getting somewhere. It was hard for Hutch to believe that this was an act. He didn’t think Kyle was that great an actor. It was odd, but he wouldn’t peg Kyle as a brilliant operative. Kyle would be able to kill when he needed to, would probably be great at following a subject and analyzing a situation. But pretending would be hard for him. At least that was Hutch’s take on the man.

Unfortunately, Hutch was good at it. And his time was running out. The guards who worked the building were about to take their dinner break, and for thirty minutes or so only the lobby-level guard would be actively watching the cameras. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. The guards were scheduled to take separate dinner breaks, but the man and his woman counterpart seemed to be flirty according to MaeBe, who’d cut into the feeds days ago and watched the guards like a soap opera playing out for her amusement.

Hutch closed his laptop. “I think he probably knows since you were on a team. You were in the military and you saw combat. It wouldn’t shock him. He’s probably worried about you, too, but you have to be willing to open up to someone. I’ve worked for the Agency. I’ve worked dangerous undercover ops. I’ve come back from more edges than you could imagine. If you honestly think whatever you have to say is going to shock someone like me, then you’re wrong. So when you’re ready to talk, I’ll buy you a beer and you can tell me your shocking story and be disappointed when I explain the truth I’ve found out about the world.”

For a moment he thought Kyle wasn’t going to take the bait, but he finally looked Hutch’s way. “What’s that?”

“That when we feel our most alone,” Hutch began, “when we think we’re lost and in the woods and no one can ever find us, it’s only because we aren’t looking at all the other people who are in that dark place with us. It’s a lie that you’re alone. It’s a lie you tell yourself because not being alone means there’s no reason to turn away from the past. Not being alone means facing it all. It means letting it break you utterly because you can’t heal until you break. And if you’re not alone then it’s okay to break because someone will be there to help you mend.”

Kyle huffed. “Yeah. Sure. There’s someone else out there who’s been through what I have.”

And that was all he could do. He couldn’t force Kyle to trust him. He rather thought Kyle didn’t want to trust anyone. “Like I said, when you’re ready, find me or someone like me. Now I need you to make sure Noelle doesn’t get murdered while I take a leak. I’m pretty sure I remember where the bathroom is.”

“I think I can handle that.” Kyle sat back. “Be careful.”

“I’m going to the bathroom, man. Tonight all I’m doing is getting a feel for what it’s going to take to get what we need. There’s zero chance Noelle is done tonight. We’ll get a shot tomorrow.” He could always say he’d underestimated how fast she would work, but he was a bit worried that she would want to be back here tomorrow. Something had gone hinky with the MRI machine she’d been testing her theories on. She looked awfully cute with a wrench in her hand and goggles covering her eyes.

“All right. I’ll keep an eye on her,” Kyle promised. “I want to get out of here as soon as possible. I don’t like the fact that Jessica booted me tonight. She hadn’t mentioned anything about it up until I walked down to the limo. Then she dismissed me. I can assure you that she wasn’t thinking about dismissing me this morning.”

Hutch huffed. “Maybe she realized you’re a douchebag.”

“I’m serious, Hutch. Something changed this afternoon, and it affected the way she views me. I have to think she’s up to something.”

Perhaps Kyle was right. She’d changed her plans. She’d been going on a date and now she was having some kind of dinner meeting. “Do you know who she invited to that dinner?”

“I might have seen a list of names,” Kyle admitted. “Jessica’s assistant had it sitting on her desk. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I remember them.”

“Did you send the names to MaeBe?”

“I’ll do it now. Sorry. Like I said, I’ve got a lot on my mind. I’m going to focus.”

“You do that.” Hutch walked out, but not before he grabbed the small pack he’d left on the edge of the desk. It contained his phone and a couple of attachments that weren’t readily available in a tech store. When he was certain Kyle couldn’t see him, he placed the comm device in his ear. It was linked to another set and didn’t record, so it worked even in the presence of Kyle’s anti-bug technology. “You there, MaeBe?”

“You know I am.” MaeBe’s voice came over the line. “What on earth were you talking to Kyle about? I couldn’t hear anything, but that looked serious as hell. Is he like into Noelle? Is that what you’re fighting about?”

He moved down the hallway, keeping his voice low. “No. He’s not into Noelle, but I also think he shouldn’t be into anyone right now. His situation is complicated, and you should be careful around him.”

“Am I that obvious? Take the stairs to your right. The stairwells only require keycards on the ground floor,” MaeBe advised. “Also, you’re totally alone. There are a couple of people working late on the second floor, and some dudes hooking up hard on ten. They would not notice you even if you walked in. They’re totally into each other.”

It was good to have eyes on the building. MaeBe was at the McKay-Taggart building on a server that had been secured by Hutch and overseen by the goddess of the Internet, Chelsea Weston. She was safe. He, not so much. It had been a long time since he’d felt this kind of jangly anxiety that came with a boots-on-the-ground mission. Adrenaline made him chatty. “And you’re not obvious, but I know you pretty well. I’ve seen how you look at him, and you’re interested. I’m telling you to be careful, and that’s all I can say.”

“Huh, there’s one other person in the building. How did I miss her?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps it was the two hot dudes hooking up,” Hutch quipped.

“It’s weird. She’s on the fourth floor, walking toward the elevators. I think she’s heading home.” MaeBe’s voice had gone totally professional. “Hey, speaking of the devil, I got a text from Kyle. It’s a list of names. What am I supposed to do with this? He is not very communicative.”

It was good to know Kyle was succinct. “Those are the names of the people who are taking a meeting with Jessica even as we speak. She changed all of her plans to meet with those people. I haven’t seen the names yet.”

“Well, there seems to be an international flair to her guests. Dimitri Sidirov. Igor Krupin. Saeed Nasir.”

Hutch stopped. “MaeBe, I need you to run those names now. Text Kyle and ask him for the name of the restaurant and figure out a way to break into the feeds around it. I want to know who they are, and I want recognition to confirm it.”

“What are you thinking?”

His mind was racing, making connections. “I think the fact that she dismissed Kyle says something. She thinks Kyle lives with Noelle, and she’s meeting with Russians and someone who could potentially be from the UAE. I want you to see if you can connect those names with natural gas companies.”

He could hear her typing as he moved down the hallway.

“Wow, that was fast,” MaeBe said over the line. “Okay, uhm, Mr. Sidirov represents a Russian energy company.”

“They all do. I need dossiers on every one of them.” Hutch took the stairs two at a time.

“Will do,” MaeBe said. “It looks like Nasir is also with an energy company. Is this about natural gas?”

“No. It’s about helium.” Noelle’s research was promising. He hustled up the next flight. He had to get the data he needed and then get Noelle out of here.

With her research. Every single file, every experiment. He could take it all and then erase it from Genedyne’s servers. Then he would get a good lawyer because hell would be coming for her, but if he was right, it might be the only way to save Noelle’s work.

“But Noelle’s research isn’t about finding helium,” MaeBe said and then a gasp came over the line. “Oh, shit. Her research is about conserving helium. If she’s right, the price goes down, and anyone who uses helium on their machines invests in her recycling techniques. You think Layne’s selling Noelle’s research to the people who will bury it.”

“Think about it. What’s really come out of Genedyne?” It was a question Cara had posed during the debrief today. “There’s been a whole lot of press, but what’s made it to market?”

“These kinds of innovations can take time,” MaeBe offered.

“I don’t think Jessica Layne has any plans to spend time and money to bring anything to fruition. Why would she when she can sell the process to someone who will or someone who will bury the whole thing? And she’s got the right to do it because she owns it.” This was why she hired young, hungry geniuses. She took their talent, made money off of it, and then buried them in legal fees. She was taking the best and brightest minds of a generation, wringing them dry, and tossing them out.

Anger thrummed through him, and he was happy he was about to take this whole house of cards down. If he could find what he needed in time.

“I’m approaching the server room.”

“I can see that,” MaeBe replied. “You should get in fast because the woman on the elevator pushed the number of your floor. She’s going up, not down like I expected.”

“Do we know who she is?”

“She hasn’t looked up from her phone, so I haven’t run her through facial recognition,” MaeBe admitted.

He didn’t like the sound of that. One thing went right though. The door to the server room came open, proving that days of learning this system had paid off. He slipped inside and immediately found what he needed. He pulled out a small drive and started to run through the company’s financial records, copying everything he could and taking a virtual picture of what the server looked like in that moment. He would try to get in and out quietly, but there was always the possibility someone would figure out he’d been inside and try to flush the system. He needed proof of what was on this system at the moment.

“Hutch, I need you to be quiet.” MaeBe’s voice was barely a whisper, as though she was worried someone might hear her from across the city.

A chill went through him. “What’s happening?”

“Our friend is approaching the door, and she has a keycard in her hand,” MaeBe explained. “She’s going in. Fuck. The system just registered Noelle’s card. She’s using Noelle’s keycard.”

The door started to come open, and Hutch realized he was in trouble.