Page 25 of Duty Compromised
“It is today.”
Her mouth opened to argue, and then she noticed our still-joined hands. Color bloomed at her collar as she pulled away. “Fine. But quick.”
“Quick, I can do. I’ll even promise not to confuse you with the receptionist this time.”
Her lips twitched, almost a smile. “Thank you. For the food. And…for getting me out before I cracked. And I’m sorry for what I said Friday. About you not being?—”
“Don’t,” I cut in, brushing her arm. “No apologies. No thanks. We’ll just both do our jobs and get this handled.”
“Okay. Tha— Okay.”
I pushed my badge against the reader to get us back in the door, holding it open for her, ignoring how my body responded to hers as she brushed past me. I had other things I needed to focus on.
Because my gut told me the corruption wasn’t random. And if I’d learned anything in the field, it was that the thing that looked like coincidence usually wasn’t.
Chapter 8
Ty
I pushed open the door to Alex Richards’s office. Alex sat behind his massive mahogany desk, already on the phone, gesturing for me to take a seat. The floor-to-ceiling windows behind him showcased the city skyline, gray clouds hanging low over the buildings.
“George, I’ve got Ty here now,” Alex said into the speakerphone. “Let’s get him up to speed.”
George Mercer’s voice crackled through the speaker, and I could hear the tension even through the distortion. “We’ve got a problem.”
Of course we did. For three days, Charlotte and her team had been working their asses off to get caught back up with the countermeasure. I should’ve known things wouldn’t continue smoothly. “What’s the issue now?”
“Our intel indicates a terrorist cell is putting the Cascade Protocol on the black market.” George paused. “In ten days.”
My stomach dropped. Fuck. Ten days. That timeline changed everything.
“That’s not enough time,” I said. “Charlotte’s team just had to restart the stabilizer code development three days ago.”
“Then they need to work faster.” George’s voice carried that particular FBI brand of authority that brooked no argument. “Right now, it’s just opening for bids, but if it’s sold in ten days, the damage that could be done is catastrophic. We need that code finished before the Protocol goes up for sale. Once it’s out there, we’ll never be able to contain it.”
Alex rubbed his temples. “The team is already working as hard as they can. Charlotte’s been working eighteen-hour days. She’s running on fumes as it is.”
“I don’t care if she needs to work twenty-four hours straight. Put the needed pressure on her to make it happen. Whatever it takes. Threaten her job, her clearance, whatever motivates her. But get me that code.”
I recognized the edge in George’s voice—not cruelty, just the weight of responsibility crushing down on him. The man was carrying the burden of potential disaster on his shoulders, and it was bleeding through despite his professional façade.
Alex shot me a look across the desk. We both knew Charlotte wasn’t going to respond to threats. Hell, she barely responded to normal conversation.
“We’ll handle it,” Alex said finally. “But George, you need to understand—Charlotte Gifford isn’t like other computer scientists. She’s…unique.”
“I don’t care if she’s the Queen of England. Get it done.” George’s voice softened slightly. “We’re doing everything we can on our end to figure out who’s behind the sale and prevent it. But if we can’t smoke them out, we have to have that countermeasure.”
“Understood,” I said. “We’ll get it done.”
“Ty, I need you to stay out there if you can. I know that you’re almost already at the two-week mark, but…”
“Consider it done. At least until the countermeasure is finished.” I definitely wasn’t going to add to the stress by bailing now.
“Thanks.” The line went dead with a click that seemed to echo in the large office. Alex leaned back, the leather chair protesting like it had opinions.
“Well,” he muttered, one brow ticking up, “that was about as warm as a tax audit.” He got up and started pacing, as if each step he took would present the answers.
“He’s scared.”
