Page 63 of Hard Wired

She’d been so wrong about him.

But Sylvie had to be tough. She had a responsibility to Bennett Security. If she didn’t install that malware on Dominic’s network, then the Syndicate hackers would take advantage of her weakness. Dominic’s uncle could hurt countless innocents too, not just Bennett Security and its clients. She had to stay strong.

But maybe she could help Dominic in some small way.

Sylvie kicked off the covers and grabbed her phone to send a text to Max. Put a bodyguard detail on Dominic’s younger brother, Raymond Crane. Danger from Syndicate is real. But please keep discreet. Must be very unofficial.

Max wrote back immediately, which didn’t surprise her. He was usually working late. Where are you? Have you completed your task yet?

She hadn’t told Max she was spending the night at Dominic’s, nor did she intend to. She’d already sworn Tanner to keep his mouth closed. I’ll get it done, boss. But please do what I asked?

On it, Max wrote. Keep me posted.

Sylvie went to her door and listened. Everything was quiet in the rest of the house. She opened the door a crack and peered into the dark.

No footsteps, no light. Dominic was probably asleep by now.

She had to do this. If she let her feelings for Dominic get in the way, then she’d failed.

Sylvie went back to her laptop bag and got the flash drive from a zippered pocket. She stashed it in the back pocket of her pajamas.

Her feet padded silently along the carpet.

When she got to Dominic’s office, she closed the door almost all the way. The room was nearly pitch black, so she used her phone as a light. She snuck over to the laptop and pushed open the lid.

A password window appeared, but that wasn’t a problem. Her program was designed to bypass the need for a password altogether.

Sylvie pulled the tiny rectangle of plastic from her pocket. It was so lightweight, yet it held such power. Hours’ worth of work and cleverness. She was proud of this bundle of programs. And she also despised what it would do. Not the part about tracking down the hackers or harming the Syndicate.

But once she loaded what was on this device, there was no going back. Not where Dominic was concerned.

She found the USB port on the side of the laptop.

She inserted the drive.

Her fingers drummed against the desk as the laptop restarted, opening into safe mode. A tiny window appeared, and her code started scrolling. A status bar blinked to life, a counter marking rapid progress.

Thirty-eight percent. Thirty-nine.

Cold sweat broke out all over Sylvie’s body. Her breaths were shallow. Her pulse thrummed violently at her neck.

Seventy-two. Seventy-three.

Her throat kept constricting tighter and tighter.

Ninety-seven. Ninety-eight.

What am I doing?

With a curse, she grabbed hold of the flash drive and yanked it free. The status bar froze at ninety-nine percent.

Cancel?it asked her.

Hands shaking, she hit yes and then went through the steps of erasing any evidence of the aborted download from the computer’s RAM. She shut it down and restarted. When the password request appeared, she closed the laptop and backed away, shocked by what she’d just done.

What is wrong with you?

She’d lost her fucking nerve. She might not get another opportunity to access Dominic’s computer. And Max was already getting impatient.

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