Page 21 of Saving Penny
“Wow,” she murmured as he guided her through the door. She entered into what looked to be a tech nerds wet dream, for sure. The large room would give NASA’s technology a run for it’s money. She followed him through what she was sure was considered the bullpen for the secret operation. The room was filled with computer monitors, television screens, and people manning the stations. “What is all of this? I thought your company was a security firm. Why hide all of this?”
“There are some things humans don’t need to know of. Upstairs is the basic security firm, providing protection for government officials, events, occasional rescue missions, and anything else that is called on for humans. But down here…” He paused and looked around the room with pride displayed on his face. “Down here, this is the heart of the organization. This is the paranormal side.”
“So everyone down here is like you?” she asked softly, leaning against his arm. She didn’t want to offend anyone. She looked around at the bustle of people who she thought were human. It was hard for her to tell who was human and who was not.
“Yes. Few humans work down here, but they are the ones that are loyal to my family and my kind.”
“Oh,” she breathed, nervousness filling her. Would they resent her for being down here? Would they hate her? Her thoughts began to run wild at thinking that she was the odd woman out.
“No one will harm you. You’re under my protection,” he assured her, bringing her closer to him. He leaned down, causing a shiver to pass through her as his lips brushed her ear. “You carry my scent on you, so they know that you’ve been with me.”
Her eyes widened at the mention of his scent. What the hell? Did she stink or something?
They walked through the bullpen, almost everyone greeting him by name. Curious eyes met hers as she followed along behind him.
“Jody, please tell me you found something.” Drake stopped near a large man crammed behind a small desk.
Jody certainly didn’t look like a computer nerd to her. His muscles bulged from beneath his white button-down shirt. His keen eyes met hers for a second, and she instantly saw the intelligence in them before he turned to Drake.
“Well, whoever sent the message used a public computer,” Jody announced, typing a few commands into his computer. “I hacked into the computer and tried to see if I could access any login information, but the computer is public and doesn’t require one.”
“Where?” Both she and Drake asked at the same time. She cleared her throat as he turned his eyes to her.
“Can you pinpoint the exact location?” he asked, turning back to Jody.
This was more information than the police was able to get for her. Excitement filled her chest at the thought of being one step closer to catching whoever was stalking her.
“It was a coffee shop a few minutes away from her office.”
“The Java Hut?” she asked as her stomach clenched. The stalker knew her favorite coffee shop.
“Yes, that’s the name of the place.” Jody nodded.
“You know the place?” Drake asked.
“I only go there about three to four days a week. They have the best coffee around.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as her stomach rolled. Just the thought of this person having been to the same places she had, left her sick to her stomach.
“And there’s nothing else that you gained from the email?” Drake asked.
“What about the security cameras? I know that they have them.” She’d seen them plenty of times on her breaks when she’d gone there for lunch.
“Thought of that, and I was able to hack into the camera feed. The only thing is, the position of the camera is set to catch a burglar or a robber on their way out the door. The bank of computers are on the opposite side of the place. The time he was there was the busiest time. The place was packed, and I couldn’t see past the crowd.” Jody typed a few more commands into his computer.
Both Drake and Penny leaned forward to look at the computer screen. Penny sighed, disappointment filling her chest. She knew from experience how packed the Java Hut could be around lunchtime. It was located in the heart of the business district and drew large crowds. When the coffee shop began offering mobile ordering, it saved her plenty of time on her breaks when she would run over there, only needing to grab her order instead of standing in the long lines.
“But there was one more thing that I’m not sure either of you noticed,” Jody announced, turning away from the computer. He leaned back in his chair, his intelligent eyes locked on hers. “The email originated from your personal email account.”
“I didn’t send the email.”Penny’s weak voice broke through his thoughts. Jody’s announcement had rocked both of them.
“I know you didn’t,” he bit out, feeling the need to punch something. He clenched his fingers on the steering wheel as he tried to focus on the road ahead of them.
His wolf had wanted to burst forth and tear Jody to shreds for insinuating that she had made the whole stalker story up. He didn’t outright say the words, but Drake knew that was what Jody was thinking.
“Who else would know your password to your email?” he asked.
“Well, no one, really. My personal email is just a regular account. This wouldn’t be the first time it’s been hacked. I’ve been meaning to change services, but it just takes too much to change your email address for everything that you do online,” she sighed.
“You’ve been hacked before?” He tore his gaze off the road and glanced over at her.
