Page 2 of Broken Trust
Steele had opted for a shot in the high right shoulder, ensuring Cipher wouldn’t die outright…but that he would require medical treatment before he bled out.
Con directed their attention to long strings of code on the screen. “Sophie solved a cryptogram that points to an imminent cyberattack. Something big. Timeline suggests that we have less than a week to prevent a devastating power grid outage across multiple major cities.”
A few seats away from Mason, Chase jumped into the discussion. “Someone hacked a power plant’s system?”
Con dipped his jaw. “That’s right.”
“Can’t Dante hack in and see who’s behind it?”
Con and their tech guru Dante were both shaking their heads before Chase finished the question. “Dante’s good, but this goes beyond him. We need a specialist.”
Dante didn’t look up from his laptop, but redness climbed his throat—the only indication that Con’s statement stung.
Mason glanced at Ash and saw their rookie wore a sympathetic expression. Nobody liked their shortcomings aired to the team. Didn’t change the fact they needed to be aired so someone could take up the slack.
But who would take up the slack from Dante?
Con scooped up a thin file and flipped it open. “Her name is Elin Lindgren.”
Everything in Mason stilled.
“Swedish national. Freelance hacker for hire, and she’s known for only choosing the right side. She works with humanitarian organizations and whistleblowers. Sometimes she takes government contracts. Sophie vetted her through the FBI database—Lindgren always picks the good guys.”
Mason stopped listening to his leader because his world was fucking tilting.
His heart threw itself against his ribs.
Swedish.
His mind raced. But Elin, the equivalent of Helen, was common in Sweden. And Lindgren was the same as Smith or Jones in the United States.
Odds were good it was some other Elin Lindgren.
It had to be someone else.
Please let it be someone else.
But his pulse hammered as memories raced through his mind of meeting Elin, who was working closely with his SEAL team, their connection instantaneous, undeniable…and explosive enough to level a battlefield.
When a handoff involving Elin went sideways, he was only able to shoot off a one-word text to her:Abort.
Within hours, Blackout recruited him and he disappeared from her life completely.
Leaving her life kept her out of his dark world. Kept her safe.
The sound of the war room door opening might as well be a gunshot given how Mason jumped.
The air thinned, every molecule charged. No one spoke. Even Con paused mid-sentence, following Liam’s line of sight.
Jesus Christ. Elin.
She froze in the doorway, eyes as sharp as ever, her professional mask slapped over her stunningly beautiful face.
Without a doubt, she was every inch the specialist they needed. But Mason only saw the woman he’d left behind. The one he convinced himself he was protecting by vanishing from not only her life but the whole world.
Her gaze swept the room, cataloging each man like they were threats or allies—then landed on him.
Liam’s heart punched against his ribs again. Years of training, discipline, denial. All useless now.
