Page 77 of Hard Wired

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sylvie walked into the Bennett Security workroom, but she didn’t make it as far as Max’s office. Her boss saw her come in and hurried over to meet her. “Where the hell have you been?”

She nodded goodbye to Tanner, who was quickly making his way toward the elevator, probably hoping to avoid Max’s wrath.

“I got held up. There’s a lot to discuss.”

“I sure hope so. Did you install your malware on Crane’s network?”

Sylvie glanced around at her coworkers. They all appeared to be busy at their workstations, but she was sure they were listening. If this got a little too personal, she didn’t want them to hear.

And damn it, she felt protective of Dominic now. She didn’t like Max talking about him in front of everyone. “Could we go up to your office please? It would be better if we discuss things there.”

Grumbling, Max led her up the open-riser staircase. She made sure his door was closed before she started to speak.

“I didn’t install the programs I wrote.”

Max had just sat down behind his desk, but now he rocketed back up. “What? Why the hell not?”

Sylvie blinked slowly, trying to figure out how to say this. The same thing she’d been doing this morning while Dominic thought she was sleeping, and later, while Tanner drove them to headquarters.

“Nothing went wrong, exactly. But I couldn’t go through with it.” She raised a hand when Max opened his mouth. “A lot’s changed, and this would be better if you’d just let me explain. Can you do that, boss?”

Max sank back down into his chair. “Fine. But please, for the love of all things holy, don’t tell me you chickened out because you’re sleeping with the guy.” He’d obviously been joking, but he faltered when he saw the look on Sylvie’s face. “Oh god, no. You’re kidding, right?”

“Just let me get this out, and you can save the lecture for later.”

Sylvie explained how Dominic had asked her to spend the night, and how she’d planned to get access to his computer during her stay. Max kept quiet, though a muscle at his jaw kept clenching.

“But I didn’t know Aaron Sandford—on behalf of the Syndicate—had already ordered Dominic to install something on my computer. I haven’t examined it yet, but it’s supposed to be an upgraded version of the one they tried to hit me with the last time. The whole purpose was to target Bennett Security. Dominic didn’t tell them ‘no’ outright because they were threatening him. But he didn’t do it, obviously. Instead, he told me the truth.” That wasn’t the exact chain of events, but it was close enough.

Her boss leaned his elbows on the desk. “Thank god for that. But I still don’t understand why you failed to complete your mission. If Crane didn’t catch you, what was the issue?”

“It could’ve put Nic in even worse danger if his uncle found out. And…I didn’t want to keep lying to him.”

“Nic? Sylvie, do you have feelings for this guy?”

She pressed her lips together. But that was all the answer Max needed.

“Jesus, I can’t have you involved with this. You aren’t objective.”

“So what if I’m not objective? Nobody’s truly objective. Not even you. We can trust Dominic. He wants his brother protected, and he wants out of the Syndicate. For good.”

“You’re sure about that? There’s no way he’s playing you?”

“Completely sure. He said he’s going to testify.”

“Has he told Lana that? Has he signed a plea deal?”

“No. He only just made the decision. And—”

“Then he hasn’t committed to anything.”

“I trust him, Max. He’s…” She searched for the words. “He’s different than we thought. Dominic never even wanted to be head of the Syndicate. I know it sounds messed up, but he’s been trying to do the right thing. Growing up in a family like his, it’s amazing that he ended up being decent at all.”

Dominic was kind and funny and more accepting than most people Sylvie had ever met. But she didn’t want to gush too much in front of Max. She didn’t want him to know just how much she cared for Dominic Crane.

“You don’t understand how hard it is to grow up a certain way and figure out how to break free of that. It’s scary. And Dominic actually had to deal with the threat of violence if he didn’t go along. And despite all that, he’s always tried to push back against it. Now he’s finally ready to cut all those ties, and I know it’s not going to be easy for him. But if he says he’s doing it, then he will.”

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