Page 40 of Hard Wired

He gripped the skin between his eyes. “Okay. Back up. What about the physical attack on Crane’s house? Clearly the timeline means something.”

“It has to. The Syndicate’s used similar techniques before. So we have to assume the same people were trying to gain access to my laptop and attack Crane’s house. They did try to shoot him.” Which weighed on the side of Crane having nothing to do with it.

“But did you see that happen? Did you see the gunman aiming for Crane?”

“No. I was upstairs with my laptop. They exchanged gunfire in the kitchen.”

“So you don’t actually know who shot at whom. Or if it was all just staged.”

“But that would mean that Maureen, his housekeeper, was in on it. I can’t see that happening.”

Yet Maureen had handled the whole thing pretty calmly. She’d barely seemed frightened at all. In the moment, Sylvie had assumed the woman was tough. She’d worked for Crane for two years, including the time he’d ruled the Syndicate, so she’d have to be.

But what did Sylvie truly know about either Maureen or Dominic? Almost nothing. All she knew was they’d both been kind to her today, though in extremely different ways. But kindness could be faked.

Which made her feel even sicker.

Now that the seed had been planted in her mind, it started to spread. Maybe the guy who’d fired into the kitchen intentionally missed. Even if Maureen was innocent of any deception, that didn’t absolve Dominic.

Max tapped his fingers against his desk. “At this point, we have to examine all possible explanations, including whether Crane’s behind it. But whoever’s responsible, I want to know what they were after and how much damage this might’ve caused.”

“I’m going to get onto my machine and start investigating. I’ll study every log, every packet of data, every clue they might’ve left behind. I’m going to find out who these people are and where they came from. You can be sure of that.”

She blew out a heavy breath. Her hands fidgeted, eager to be at her keyboard working so she didn’t feel so powerless.

Max came over and sat on the arm of the sofa. “I can bring someone else in on this if needed. I know this day’s been really rough.”

She didn’t want to dwell on the fear, or even on the uncertainty she felt about Crane’s motives. She just wanted to dive headfirst into her computer and find those bastards who’d tried to attack her inner sanctum.

“I don’t trust anyone with this but myself.” Not because she thought her team wasn’t loyal, but because their skills couldn’t rival hers. That wasn’t cockiness, it was just true.

From somewhere deep inside, she conjured a smile.

“All I need is that mirror drive, a secure internet connection, and your permission to use the company expense account. Because I’m going to order a shitload of takeout to get me through the next few hours.”

* * *

After Sylvie finished with Max,she called her cousin Ethan.

“Hey, what’s up?”

Ethan had no clue anything unusual had happened today. Sylvie often worked long hours, sometimes not getting home until the middle of the night. So her cousin had no reason to suspect anything could be wrong.

She’d managed to hold herself together while she talked to Max. But now she felt her composure slipping. “I was wondering if you’d had dinner yet. I was going to order Chinese, and I could really use a friend here with me.” She bit back a sob.

“Sylvie, honey, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“I’d love to explain it to you. But I can’t come home. That’s why I was hoping you could come here and share some pork buns with me?”

“Of course I will. But are you sure it’s okay? Are you supposed to let outsiders into your fancy secure building?”

Ethan had only visited the public areas of their headquarters. But Sylvie was in no mood to deal with restrictions. “I’m the boss of almost everybody here. And I don’t think even Max Bennett will deny me today.”

“Wow, that bad of a shitstorm?”

“Get over here so I can tell you.”

Half an hour later, they were eating fried rice, beef and broccoli, and steamed buns in the breakroom. Ethan had barely touched his serving. He’d been too shocked by what she’d described. And she hadn’t even mentioned anything that happened between her and Dominic before the attack had started.

---