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“It’s a gift,” he said. “From metoyou.”
“Oh?” I didn’t think I deserved a gift, hadn’t gotten one for a long while, not since Daniel died, which is probably why I felt giddy with excitement. “Open it up for me,willyou?”
“Gladly.” He stretched his arm and, making a show of it, pulled on the red bow and undid the silk ribbon. “Ready?”
I waved my hands in the air. “Hurry up,already.”
He popped open the top and tipped the box forward. And there, lying on a bed of plush velvet lay a black rabbit, and I don’t mean a version of the cute furry animal, but a very handsome vibrator—a long, sleek, silicone shaft, accessorized with the shaped protrusion that gave it its name, which looked capable of delighting even the most reticent ofclits.
Nice. And proof that they had accessed my Adam and Eve purchase history as well. They probably had a fair idea about my collection at home. But this? This was one of those high-end, special occasion gifts. I crossed my legs and squeezed. “Tanner?”
“Yeah?”
I wrenched my gaze from the vibrator and met his eyes. “I think Iloveyou.”
* * *
Zar
I sat in the bunker, staring at the computer, even after Aiden left. He wasn’t very happy with me. I got that the conversation had been tough on Nina. I got that she was irritated as hell and, even though no one in the house believed me, I realized that what I was asking was hard, especially for her. But what the hell was I supposed to do? Lie to Nina? Let her put herself in danger? Risk Ulysses? Fuck, no. I couldn’t do any of that. Some days, mission commandsucked.
I typed up the codes on my laptop, brought up the security board and checked the property’s security systems. They were working at optimum capacity. The alarms would notify us if any human breached the perimeter for miles around the house. In the years since we’d built this place, no one had ever come to our door unannounced. It wasn’t gonnahappennow.
Nina’s revelations presented me with a new set of problems. The conspiracy she’d discovered was a threat in more ways than one. It also offered us an enormous opportunity to get Calamity. Every cyber warrior out there wanted a piece of that son of a bitch. Many had tried. All had failed. It was a testament to Nina’s extraordinary abilities that she’d infiltrated Dimayev and Calamity. She’d taken enough risks for a lifetime. It was up to us to take theperpsdown.
My screen beeped. I had a visual encrypted communication coming in. I clicked on the link and Josh Lane came on the screen, impeccable in suit and tie, brown eyes sharp, hair as short as he used to wear it when we were together at the NavalAcademy.
“I got your report,” Josh said in his brisk tone. “Calamity’s back on theradar.”
“Affirmative,” I said. “The details checked. I ran security through Riker. Black and Vazquez concur and Blake is on board. We have solid target acquisition. Do we have authorization toproceed?”
“Hell, yeah,” Josh said. “The mission is a go. We aren’t wasting this opportunity. Fuckers like Calamity are exactly why Phoenix Prime got into global cybersecurity. We’re not letting Calamity targetourguys.”
“I’m gonna need you to run interference with our federal partners. I don’t want anybody spilling the beans or we’ll have Dimayev running andCalamitygone.”
“I’ll handle it myself,” Josh said. “Anythingelse?”
“AntoninaLeon.”
“Whatabouther?”
“Hell of a hacker. Brilliantreally.”
“And a convictedfelon.”
Well, yes, there was also that. “We think she got a bad break incourt.”
“Is that so?” Josh leaned back in his chair. “Let me take a look and I’ll tell you what I think. Do youtrusther?”
“Vazquez does,” I said. “Blackdoes.”
“I asked ifyoutrustedher.”
“I’m the same cynical son of a bitch I’ve always been, Josh. I don’t trustanybody.”
“Which is the reason why you’re Phoenix Prime’s cyberterrorism unit’stacticallead.”
“We’ve got an opportunity to catch these assholes,” I said. “And we’llgetthem.”
