Page 52 of The Maverick

He pulled out the device synced to the Spur’s internal system and dropped it onto the kitchen island. It lit instantly with a stream of code. Reed’s back trace pulling up log-in attempts from the original patch Miles had slipped into the network. The file had been dormant—quiet enough to avoid tripping red flags. But now that they were looking for it, the trail was there.

“He accessed archived footage, event logs, reservation systems, transport manifests,” Hawke said. “He knew your scene history. Your partners. Your preferred nights.”

Vanessa’s jaw clenched. “He’s trying to become the story.”

“No,” Hawke said. “He thinks he already is.”

He tapped a folder markedJan—Security Override,and the screen flooded with another layer of code.

“This one,” he continued, “is more recent. Reed thinks it was an attempt to bypass Silver Spur’s lockout protocols. If he’d succeeded, he could’ve overridden camera feeds in real time.”

She blinked. “He was trying to walk back in.”

“Or watch without us knowing.”

She leaned on the island. “Tell me you have a plan.”

“I always have a plan,” he said. “And this one starts with me finding him before he realizes we know.”

Vanessa’s gaze met his. There wasn’t fear in it. There was fury.

“Find him,” she said. “Then give me five minutes alone with him before you finish the job.”

Hawke’s truck cut through the dark like a blade, headlights sweeping across the parking lot of Silver Spur Security headquarters. He didn’t wait for the engine to stop rumbling before he was out and moving. The team was already waiting in the upper-level war room—Dawson at the wall screen, Gavin pacing, Jesse sitting backward in a chair with a rifle case propped beside him. The team dialed Reed into the conference via the secured tablet.

“We’ve got one shot at this,” Hawke said as the door sealed behind him. “Brenner’s smart, but he’s arrogant. He wants to be seen.”

Dawson nodded toward the display. “We traced the backdoor code to an anonymous server that pinged off a commercial hub downtown. Public Wi-Fi, rerouted through three separate proxies. Whoever accessed it knew the system cold.”

“He doesn’t just know the system,” Hawke said. “He built part of it. Before we blacklisted him, he consulted on Spur’s third-gen surveillance net. He left himself an open door and walked through it like he owned the place.”

“And now?” Gavin asked.

“Now we give him a reason to come knocking again.”

Reed’s voice came through the speaker. “You want to bait him?”

“I want to end this,” Hawke said. “We plant false updates in the security logs—Vanessa moving locations. Then we leak access credentials tied to a dummy login, one that looks like someone on the inside is feeding him. It’ll lead him exactly where we want him.”

“You really think he’ll take the bait?” Jesse asked. “He’s already gotten inside her house. He’s done it before.”

“He hasn’t done it with me watching,” Hawke snapped. “Not like this.”

The room went still.

Gavin cleared his throat. “And Vanessa?”

“She’s staying put. I’m assigning a full team to her property. Perimeter guards. Internal sweeps every thirty minutes. No one gets in or out without my say-so.”

“That’s a lot of manpower,” Dawson muttered. “You expecting a war?”

Hawke turned toward him slowly. “This isn’t overkill. It’s insurance.”

“You’re not leaving much to chance,” Gavin said.

“I’m not leaving anything to chance.”

He didn’t wait for objections. The plan was already in motion. If Brenner wanted a scene, Hawke would give him one—only this time, he would control the stage.

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