Page 44 of Wine, Whiskey, & Lipstick 2

She’d been hacked.Fortunately, the Labyrinth that was her security had built-in contingencies for something like this. She hoped it had held. “I woke up feeling . . .” Dillyn paused. She decided not to go into too much detail about her feelings. “It was too quiet in here. My system is not loud, but if you’re used to hearing something when it quiets, you hear it.”

Dillyn’s fingers started flying across her keyboard, and the monitors finally came to life. She was now working in what was called “safe mode” just as a precaution. She continued to explain. “I don’t think they actually got into my network.” At least, she hoped. “But they definitely got through the first line of my defenses. However, once you arein, it’s like standing on a closed-in porch of someone’s home with the lights off, unsure of the layout, and tripping the silent alarm. In this case, it caused my entire system to shut down, and they were immediately put into quarantine. Quarantine mode mimics my system when it’s live.” Dillyn glanced up at him. “That’s why it was so quiet in here. That’s why there wasn’t the low-grade buzzing sound I’ve heard every day for the past twenty-plus years.”

Ben raked his hands through his hair. He was clueless when it came to this kind of thing. “What can I do?”

“Nothing just yet.” For long moments, Dillyn didn’t say a word. She continued to type in numbers and codes that Ben couldn’t make heads or tails of. He could only watch different screens pop up that looked like jigsaw puzzles until, finally, her fingers stilled over the keys.

Dillyn’s eyes closed briefly as she released a long sigh of relief. “There.”

Ben was anxious. “What?!”

“I’ve got him. Him or her.” She turned around and spoke into the darkness. “They broke into my system and got lost just as I hoped.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yes and no. It would take a highly sophisticated system and a very skilled person to get into my system. Fortunately, they couldn’t figure out where to go once they got in. They probably thought they could leave quietly and that I would never be the wiser. They were wrong.” Dillyn glanced up again into his eyes. You know what this means, right?”

Ben didn’t believe in coincidences. He knew exactly what it meant and didn’t like it one damn bit. “Syntax told you that it was handled. Leave it alone.”

“Clearly, Syntax doesn’t have it under control. Otherwise, whoever this is wouldn’t be trying to get into my house and network.” She whispered almost to herself. “I must still have something they want. And how can Ileave it alonewhen I’ve got them?” She pointed toward something on her monitor that regular people would never understand. “I’ve got them! I will use the trail they left as a backdoor to get into their system and unravel this mess!”

That was not what Ben wanted to hear. His fear for her safety was masked as anger, “You don’t even know if it’s the same people!”

Dillyn tilted her head and gave him the,yes, I do, look. They both knew it.

“Okay, for argument’s sake, let’s say they are the same. Don’t get involved.”They most likely kidnapped Selah! Ben didn’t say the words out loud because he knew Dillyn carried that guilt, but his frustration got the better of him. “They’re murderers!”

“They hacked intomysystem!” Dillyn released her own righteous anger. “They were on my property! They’re already coming after me. If I don’t try to figure this out, everyone I love could get hurt.”

Ben knew his words sounded hollow even before he finished saying them. He returned to his original argument, “You don’t even know who’s behind this.”

“You just said . . .” Dillyn stopped in midsentence and softened her tone, “I can end this.Safely. No one will even know I was in their system. I’mthatgood.” She pleaded with Ben, “Have a little faith in me.”

He had faith in her, but this situation was like a made for a TV movie. He suspected none of them really knew what they were truly dealing with.

It was evident by the look in Dillyn’s eyes that Ben had lost this round. She was determined. Her mind was made up. He rolled his head around his shoulders, hoping to loosen his muscles. “Set up a meeting between Syntax and me.”

That’s impossible.

He could read the expression on her face and barked his response, “Make it happen!” Ben immediately regretted taking out his frustration on Dillyn. He ran a roughened hand down the back of his head. “Please.” He added the last part to soften his tone.

Ben held her gaze for a moment more to make his point before pivoting and walking back toward the bed.

“I can end this,” Dillyn whispered.

Or it can end you.“I heard you the first time.” Ben would never recover if anything were to happen to her or their baby. Ben had his back facing Dillyn, which meant she couldn’t see the anguish on his face. He placed his hands on his hips and dropped his chin to his chest. Dillyn was stubborn. If Ben pushed too hard, she would do the opposite, probably to spite him. That much he knew. She would try to untangle this mess with or without his approval; there was nothing he could do about it. But Ben could be with her every step of the way while doing everything in his power to keep her safe.

How?That was the problem. They were already doing everything humanly possible, yet someone still got on their property and into her network.

Dillyn remained silent. She understood his worry, but Ben needed to trust her. All she had to do was put the pieces of the puzzle together. Dillyn was confident it could be done without anyone even realizing it. Then, Syntax and his team could handle the rest.

Ben got back into bed. There was no falling back to sleep tonight. His mind was too busy with thoughts about what to do next. “You’ve quarantined the bastards. It should keep until tomorrow morning, right?”

“I-I guess, but . . .”

“Is there anything I can say to convince you to work on it in the morning?”

“I won’t be able to sleep.”

---