Page 51 of Pressure

13

Lance watched Marissa as the jet touched down on the runway in southern California. They had talked quietly for part of the trip, but she’d spent most of it dozing and he was OK with that. The conversations they were going to have to have about their past were intense and the work they had ahead of them at Solitaire was heavy enough without adding emotional baggage to the mix.

She glanced over at him and touched his thigh, as if she knew he was thinking about her. On the way to the prison, she slipped her hand into his and he was grateful for the physical connection. He’d chosen to use a driver so he could work in the backseat. Instead, he just held her hand and they whispered about the plan once they arrived. Sebastian didn’t know exactly who was coming to see them. Lance still wanted to throttle Marissa for hacking in instead of letting him make a phone call. Although, she was right, her way was more fun.

There was a time when he probably would have done the same thing.

When they arrived, Lance slid out of the car while their driver opened Marissa’s door.

“I might need you to calm me down in there,” she said when he rounded the car and took her hand again.

“What do you mean?”

“This is the first time I’ve come face to face with the man who stole from you and consequently ruined my life. Needless to say, I’m a little pissed.”

Lance stopped mid stride and turned to face her. “Keep your anger focused on me, Riss. I’m the one who fucked up where you’re concerned.”

He bent to kiss her, but she turned her head to the side, so he pecked her cheek instead.

In the prison, they went through the security checkpoint and signed the necessary waivers before being escorted to a visitor’s room.

“Today isn’t one of our normal visiting days so you’ve got the room to yourself,” the guard said as he showed them to a table.

Lance glared at Marissa who just gave him a smile and batted her lashes. “You want to punish me so bad right now. I see it in your eyes,” she murmured when the guard was gone.

He draped an arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear. “Oh darlin, you have no idea.”

When her breath caught and she refused to look at him, he knew he’d had the right effect on her, so he kissed her temple and pulled his arm away.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” a voice said from the other side of the room.

Lance looked up to see the guard escorting Sebastian through a door. He tried to keep his expression neutral while the guard walked with him to the table.

Marissa gave the man a little wave which seemed to confuse him.

“What the hell are we doing here, Moss?” he said as he sat down.

“We’re here to talk to you about your hack into one of my security systems,” Lance said when the guard had retreated to the other side of the room.

Sebastian looked at Marissa and then back to Lance. “Are you serious right now? I’m in prison for computer crimes. You really think they’re going to let me near an internet connection for more than two minutes at a time?”

So, he did have some internet access, Lance thought.

He stood and the guard started in their direction.

“You don’t understand, I found your signature in the code. Three lines of text that don’t really make sense to most people, but it was a message. Right?”

Lance stared at Marissa. Why hadn’t she told him that?

Sebastian waved the guard away and sat back down with a slow grin on his face. “How’d you know that?”

Marissa shrugged. “Talk to us and maybe I’ll tell you.”

“Decipher the message and I’ll talk to you.”

Lance hadn’t paid enough attention to the random lines of text. He was relying completely on Marissa now to get them the conversation they were after.

“I believe the exact message was revenge is a dish best served cold and lucky for you I don’t mind cold food.”

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