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“Midnight tomorrow.” Declan slumped his shoulders and hung his head.
“Not much time. Ransom?” Mind racing, she hoped the Inverness trip would be quick because the clock was already ticking.
“Yep. The kidnappers want Firefly and Rapadon, but whatever the hell Rapadon is, it’s not ours.” Declan brushed a palm over his sweaty forehead.
Still surveying the lay of the land since the ill-fated tech review, Tess pressed on, hoping to unearth some positive news. “What’s happened in Ops during the last twenty-four hours?”
“Shite. Nothing, which is bizarre. A subset of Kyle’s code is out there, but we don’t know how it slipped out.” Glancing down, Declan dumped another packet of sugar into his coffee.
“Any unusual network activity?” Keeping her voice neutral, she hated lying, especially since she knew precisely who released the code and why. She leaned toward trusting Declan but resolved not to disclose any of Kyle’s information until she found the Raven.
“None. Zip. Zilch. Last night, Operations worked to harden our network perimeter, and they’re running diagnostic tests continually. If anyone even considers breathing near our servers, alarm bells will ring loud enough to wake the dead.”
“That’s reassuring.” The coffee scalded the roof of her mouth, and she winced. Tess snuck a glance at Mark, who was paying close attention to Declan’s every word. “Any sign of a mole inside the development team?”
“Not a chance, mate. Our engineers are rock solid, and nobody’s off brooding or launching Molotov cocktails.” Declan stirred his coffee, then clinked the spoon against the ceramic saucer.
“Good.” Could David have succumbed to blackmail? What if he faked his kidnapping to safely wait out the crisis? Unlikely—David was no coward. Besides, getting kidnapped could confirm David hadn’t sent her to perish at Cedarcliff. Only one possibility on their executive team remained but she loathed asking. “What about Kavita?”
Declan dropped his jaw and stared. “You’re fucking kidding, right?”
His red cheeks and disgusted expression left no doubt she’d insulted him, but she sidestepped starting an argument. “These terrorists are violent and often use blackmail. Any one of us could be compromised. After David, you, and me, Kavita’s next in line.”
“Jesus, I can’t believe you’d doubt her for a moment. She was injured at Cedarcliff, too, remember?” He leaned forward and growled. “What the hell happened to you in Canada? Did you blow a gasket or something?”
Gritting her teeth, she flicked her gaze upward and formed a fist under the table. “You’re the one who told me she aimed to steal my job. Tell me why.” Try as she might, she was losing her patience.
“Kavita showed up with a thirty-sixty-ninety-day executive plan on how to run your VP office. Super detailed, like she’d been scheming a long time. Given the chaotic circumstances, she was quite prepared.”
“God, does she ever stop?” Tess gulped down more coffee. Having stoked Declan’s ire, she chose her response carefully to avoid setting him off. “To be clear, I respect Kavita’s work and dedication. However, have you noticed anything unusual about her the last couple of weeks?”
“Other than she survived a terror attack and got her arms sliced up? No. Without fail, she delivers like clockwork. What are you playing at? Suddenly, you don’t trust anyone. When did you become so effing paranoid?” He backed away with raised hands.
“After terrorists gunned down Riku right next to me.” She mustered every ounce of restraint to resist hurling something at a wall.
“Shite.” Elbows propped, Declan rested his head in his hands and groaned.
No one spoke.
Mark squeezed her hand under the table, and his phone buzzed and lit up on the café table.
In her peripheral vision, she spotted the sender’s photo filling the screen and glimpsed a red-headed woman, early thirties, with supermodel cheekbones and perfect makeup. Elena Rabinowitz.
—Great to connect yesterday. Video call tonight?—
Mark punched a button to stop the buzzing.
Although annoyed, she projected calm and exhaled, determined to avoid assuming anything about Mark’s love life in New York. “Let’s move on. Declan, I’ve sent you and Kavita everything you need to deal with the press today. Any questions?”
“Why aren’t you dealing with the press yourself?” Declan shifted his knees, and the café table wobbled.
“I’ll be gone the next twenty-four hours. Mark and I are tracking a lead to help save David. You and Kavita need to cover today.” A stack of buttered rye toast filled the air with a savory aroma, and she devoured a slice to silence her growling stomach.
“What kind of lead?” Arms crossed, Declan jutted out his jaw and squinted.
“I can’t discuss it, but I should learn more later today.” As her discomfort grew, Tess curved away from the table. Declan’s expression exuded suspicion, and she wanted to leave before getting caught in a lie.
Declan rose to his feet, and the back of his chair knocked against the wall. “You’re David’s number two, and the first thing you do as acting CEO is to skip town with a guy you just met and refuse to tell me what’s going on? I trust you and David more than my own crazy family, and you’re shutting me out now?”
