Page 58 of Sasha’s Secret

They swam a few laps, and when they reached the end of the pool after their last, Sasha held onto the edge and trod water, while Rocco leaned his forearms on the edge and gave her a wonderful view of his biceps and deltoid muscles. The man would have made an incredible model for a life drawing class. If she only had the talent…

“Hey. Earth to Sasha. Race you back to the Jacuzzi?”

He’d beat her without breaking a sweat. “Only if you give me a head start.”

He glanced won the length of the pool. “I’ll give you ten seconds—no more.”

And he’d still win. “What’s the prize?”

“Depends who wins. If you win, we get to sit in the Jacuzzi until we turn into prunes.”

Somehow, he managed to make it sound far less attractive than it was. “And if you win?”

He smiled the smile of a man who knew he was onto a sure thing. “If I win, we get the hell out of this wet stuff, dry off, go back to your place or mine, and fuck like rabbits.”

Sasha blinked. “You said that without missing a beat.”

He shrugged. “I figured we could use an alternative way of burning off some energy. Sex is as good a way as any.”

And better than most. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Go on.”

“We swim back, dry off, get dressed, go back to my place and have wild monkey sex. Then I feed you dinner, and we have even wilder monkey sex.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Your suggestion is not without merit, Ms. Morgan. Let’s go.”

They were on their way back to Sasha’s apartment when Rocco’s phone rang. He checked the caller ID, only for his frivolous mood to evaporate as he answered. “Nick. Everything okay? Of course, put her on.”

He remained serious as the conversation progressed. Sasha wished she could have heard the other end of the conversation as well, but all she could do was listen to Rocco with a mounting sense of trepidation. When the call ended, he looked at her with a chillingly grim expression.

“Nick’s wife, Charity. She’s pulled in a few favors with a cyber analyst who specializes in the psychology of online threats. While she and Tex have been trying to trace the source, this specialist has been looking at the content—they even caught today’s examples, which confirmed their conclusions. The escalation is real, and there’s every chance it’ll come to a head at the awards.”

Chapter 13

Two days later, Rocco’s phone buzzed with the call he’d been waiting for. Nick hadn’t said anything directly when Rocco had asked him if there was any chance his friend could contact them earlier, but he had alluded to the man being incommunicado, in a way that led Rocco to only one conclusion—that Nick’s friend was a member of a special forces unit. If true, then having someone of that caliber on the team would give them a strategic advantage.

“Rocco Equizi. Who am I talking to, please?”

“Keane Bryson, but you can call me Ghost. Nick told you to expect my call?”

The voice at the other end of the phone was both confident and the very definition of laid-back. Then again, if Rocco’s suspicions were correct, he wouldn’t expect anything else. “He did.”

“I hear you’ve got a problem and could use some assistance. Fill me in.”

Rocco was glad the call had come through while he was in his quarters. Sasha might not be there, but neither was anyone else. He gave Ghost a rundown of everything that had happened to date, including Charity’s news about the escalation of the threats. “According to the analyst who’s been working with Charity and this expert—”

“Tex.”

That came as a surprise. Rocco hadn’t considered there might be a connection. “That’s the guy. You know him?”

“Tex and me, we go back a long way—so do the guys in my team. You were saying?”

“They think whoever’s behind this is getting ready to bring it into the real world, and with Linzi attending the awards on Sunday, there’s a very good chance they’ll choose that event to do it.”

“I wouldn’t disagree with that. Look, I’ve got a couple things I can’t get out of tomorrow, but I can be in your area Friday—want to meet up then?”

“Can you come out to the compound?”