Page 53 of Slap Shot
The officer nodded, making notes. "We'll need to contact federal authorities then. In the meantime, we're taking him in on the assault charges. You'll both need to give statements."
"Everything's documented on secure servers back at our facility," Heather said. "Attack logs, network traces, evidence of data theft and extortion attempts. The federal authorities will want access to all of it."
As they prepared to transport Kai, he caught Oliver's eye one last time. The hatred there was pure and undiluted, but something else lurked underneath, a kind of desperate disbelief that his carefully constructed revenge had fallen apart.
"This isn't over," he said. "They can't hold me forever."
But Heather saw something different in Oliver's expression than she'd expected. Not the fear and trauma that Kai's threats used to inspire, but a kind of calm resolution. He'd faced his past and survived the confrontation intact.
"Yeah, it is," Oliver said, his voice steady. "It's over."
The officers led Kai away, leaving his equipment to be processed as evidence. The office that had been a command center for digital warfare now looked like what it really was, a rented space where a desperate man had tried to rebuild his life through revenge.
"We'll need you both to come to the station for formal statements," the lead officer told them. "Federal authorities will probably want to interview you as well once we contact them about the parole violation."
As they walked toward the elevator, the weight of the past few weeks finally lifted. Kai was in custody, his operation dismantled, his immediate threats neutralized. The salary leakand media attacks would take time to fade, but the source of the poison was finally contained.
Chapter Sixteen
Heather
The elevator ride to Oliver's apartment seemed endless. Heather stood beside him, close enough to feel the heat from his body, but neither of them had spoken since leaving the police station. Her hands were shaking—not from fear anymore, but from rage.
She was furious with him. The kind of bone-deep fury that had nothing to do with work and everything to do with the sick terror she'd felt when she'd realized he was walking into Kai's trap alone.
Oliver's keys rattled as he unlocked his door. His hands were shaking too.
The moment they stepped inside, Charlie launched himself at Oliver with desperate relief. Sixty pounds of golden fur and unconditional love, whining and covering Oliver's face with kisses.
"Hey, buddy," Oliver murmured, dropping to his knees. "I'm okay."
Watching Oliver with his dog, seeing his shoulders finally relax, something cracked open in Heather's chest. All the anger and fear she'd been holding back came pouring out.
"What the hell were you thinking?" The words exploded out of her. "You could have been killed, Oliver. He had a knife. He was waiting for you. And you walked in there alone."
Oliver looked up from Charlie, surprise and guilt crossing his face. "Heather—"
"No. Don't." She was pacing now, terror converting to fury. "You left Charlie behind, which told me exactly how dangerous you thought it was going to be. Then you went anyway. Without backup, without a plan, without even telling me where you were going."
"I was trying to protect you."
"Protect me?" Heather whirled to face him. "I'm a grown woman with advanced degrees in cybersecurity and martial arts training. I don't need protection from my boyfriend. I need honesty. I need partnership. I need you to trust me enough not to go off on suicide missions."
The word 'boyfriend' hung in the air between them. She'd just defined their relationship in the middle of an argument.
Oliver stood slowly. Charlie was right there at his side. "You're right. I should have waited for backup. Should have coordinated with you instead of going alone."
"Damn right you should have." Some of the fight was going out of her as she saw the genuine remorse in his expression. "Do you have any idea what it was like, watching your location move toward that building? Knowing you were walking into a confrontation with someone who'd already betrayed you once?"
"I was scared too," Oliver said. "Not of Kai. I was scared of what he might do to you if I didn't end this. Scared that my past would keep destroying everyone I care about."
Her anger was shifting into something else. Something deeper and more vulnerable. "And what if he'd killed you? What if I'd arrived at that building to find you bleeding out on the floor? Did you think about that?"
"No," Oliver admitted. "I was thinking about protecting you. About making sure Kai couldn't hurt you the way he hurt me."
The honesty in his voice, the way he was looking at her, made something flutter in her chest. This was the problem with Oliver Chenofski. He made her feel things she'd sworn she wouldn'tfeel again. Made her care about someone in ways that left her exposed.
Made her fall in love with him despite every rational reason to keep her distance.
