Page 17 of Broken Trust
Con stepped closer. “You’re sure?”
“As sure as anyone can be when chasing a ghost,” she replied. “This breach wasn’t meant to destroy—just to test. He wanted to see how fast we’d respond.”
Con grunted. “If he really wanted in, and you hadn’t been there to stop him, how bad would it be?”
Elin exhaled slowly. “Entire states blacked out. Commerce would be frozen—credit systems, trucking routes, even air traffic control comms. Hospitals and emergency services locked up. People would die.”
He swore under his breath.
“Unfortunately, the infrastructure wasn’t built for a total blackout, but the good news is the hole’s patched. I rerouted relays and wrote a phantom patch I designed to make Cipher think it’s his own footprint. I also built in notifications. If he circles back, I’ll know.”
Con nodded, the tight line of his mouth softening. “That buys us time.”
“Time’s all I need. I’ll finish running diagnostics tonight and head out in the morning.”
He studied her for a beat. “You sure you’re done?”
“Yes. The system’s stable. I’m leaving before I start dreaming in binary.”
He chuckled once, low, then headed for the door. “You did good, Elin.”
When the door closed, the hum of the machines filled the silence again.
She leaned forward, watching the green lines blink across her display—soothing and hypnotic. She couldn’t shake the idea that if she left now, Cipher could slip in and reap more chaos.
Next time he made an attempt, it would be worse.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Could she really walk away now? It went against everything she knew about herself, what she’d built her whole life around.
Saving people, protecting them. Hacking for the right side.
She rolled her neck, intending to refocus—but a faint scent drifted through the room, stopping her mid-breath.
Clean soap. Metal. And something warm and enticing beneath.
Her neck prickled before her mind even caught up. She didn’t have to look to know who was standing right behind her.
Liam.
He hovered over her, not announcing himself or apologizing for disrupting her flow.
Just watching her.
She turned slowly in her chair and took in his empty hands. “You didn’t bring coffee?”
His eyes flickered over her face. “They’re brewing a fresh pot.”
She arched a brow. “Then why are you here?”
His mouth opened, but he hesitated.
Never in a million years would she ever have guessed this was the point they’d come to—holding banal conversations, saying nothing when there was everything in the world to say.
There was once a time when neither of them could stand to be in the same room without touching. Now an invisible gorge spanned between them.
He cleared his throat. “Kennedy and Sophie need you in the kitchen.”
Her spine stiffened. “The kitchen?”
