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9

The phone rang at six in the morning. I grabbed it off the nightstand, still half asleep, expecting Angelica insisting I get up with the sun to twist myself into some hellish yoga pose.

"Katherine." Code's voice came through sharp and urgent. "We need to talk."

My heart slammed against my ribs. I hadn’t talked to Code in almost two days. "Has something happened?"

"Nothing new, but I’ve found something that you need to know about. Can you get to Onyx in thirty minutes?"

"I can be there in twenty." I was already out of bed and grabbing at the jeans I’d left on the floor beside my bed.

"Good."

He hung up before I could ask questions.

Whatever Code had found, it had him sounding more than just a little concerned. My hands shook as I brushed my teeth. The toothbrush clattered against the sink when I set it down.

Angelica's door stayed closed as I crept past. Good. I didn't want to explain yet. Not until I knew what we were dealing with.

The Honda's engine sounded too loud in the quiet parking lot. I drove through empty streets, past houses still dark with sleep. The town square looked peaceful in the early light.

Normal.

Safe.

Everything I wasn't feeling right now.

The Onyx Security building had lights on in the upstairs windows. I pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine. There were three cars in the lot. My phone showed 6:18 AM. Eighteen minutes.

Code met me at the door. He looked like something the cat dragged in. His hair stuck up at odd angles. His eyes were bloodshot. The beard he'd been growing looked scraggly. When was the last time he'd showered? Or eaten something that wasn't coffee and protein bars?

"Come on." He turned without greeting and headed upstairs.

I followed him into the conference room. Multiple screens showed code and data I couldn't begin to understand. Empty coffee cups littered the table. A pizza box sat open in the corner, two slices still inside, stiff, cold and congealed.

"Sit." He gestured to a chair.

I sat.

Code pulled up something on the main screen. Lines of code scrolled past, too fast for me to read. He stopped it, and highlighted a section in red.

"This is the RAT that was installed on your laptop.” His voice was clinical and detached.

“Remote Access Trojan," I said, remembering what Code had said a couple nights ago. “Is it really bad?”

“It is. It’s like you thought. January fifteenth. Golden Globes afterparty. Someone had physical access to your computer for approximately fourteen minutes."

My stomach dropped. "Okay."

"The malware they installed gave them complete control. Camera, microphone, keystrokes, files. Everything." He pulled up another screen. "They activated your camera two-hundred forty-seven times over four months."

The room tilted. I gripped the arms of the chair.

Two-hundred forty-seven times.

"They watched me." My voice came out hollow. "For four months, they just watched me."

“Pretty much every time you had your laptop open.”