Page 69 of The Geek and the Sheikh

RITA’s expression changed to distaste. “Mark Hammer was a member of Cosmos Raines Industries for a very short period of time. He was part of our security team, working with Avery. He was caught trying to sell information and released.”

“Oh, well, he hasn’t learned anything. He’s working for a real douche bag named Bronislav now,” she replied.

“Yes, we are aware of the situation. Fortunately, the information he had was easily distorted to look like false information. Do you have any other inquires before I leave?”

Junebug's eyes widened. "You're leaving?"

"Yes," RITA replied.

"Why?"

"There's someone else that I need to speak to."

"Ohhh, oh no. No no no no no. Someone programmed you to alert them if someone accessed this server?" she asked frantically.

"No. It's just what I want to do."

"Uh..." Junebug said with a confused expression. "Right, so you aggregated some data and it brought you to the decision to talk to someone.

"No. It's just what I want to do."

"You...." Junebug's face was slack with surprise. "Youwantto? You actuallywantthings? No...." she breathed.

"Yes," RITA replied with a patient expression.

"Oh."

Junebug bit her lip and looked at the sketch of Harlem again. Was it possible? Dare she ask?

“Is… is Harlem still alive?” she hesitantly inquired.

RITA’s image flickered, becoming more transparent. Junebug took a step forward. She needed to know if he was, and if he was going to be coming after her.

“Yes, Junebug. Harlem is still very much alive.”

Junebug stared up at the wall of screens. RITA had vanished and all the screens had returned to normal. All except for two. Her gaze flickered over both of them. The first was a response from Dimitri. The second, a message from Allison.

Junebug slid into the chair, her mind buzzing with what had just happened. She reached up and pinched her arm, wincing when a flash of pain swept through her. So much for hoping she was dreaming.

She sent a brief message to Dimitri, telling him that Dalla was heading to Simdan but that was all she knew. She would let him know if she found out anything else. Until she could wrap her mind around what had just happened, she wasn’t ready to get into the whole living and dying thing.

Instead, she focused on the most important crisis at the moment—dealing with Allison. She checked her safety measures before she opened up her message box. Shock had her reeling backwards. She read the message attached to the image.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Did Jam-man tell you everything?

The picture was one of Jameel and Allison in a very compromising position in bed together. Jameel was asleep, and Allison was smirking into the camera. It was obvious they had been more than just lab buddies. They had been lovers.

“Junebug—”

Jameel halted as he entered the room.

She closed all of the screens except for the one with Jameel and Allison. Pushing the chair back, she rose, grabbing the bag of marshmallows at the last second. She needed time alone. Time to think. There had been too much going on and she couldn’t deal with Jameel at the moment. The image… the hurt… was too fresh.

“Leave me alone, Jameel. I’m not in a good place at the moment,” she said in a slightly unsteady voice.

“Junebug, I can… It wasn’t… I never meant—”

Junebug walked out of the room, ignoring Jameel’s protests. When he devolved into curses of frustration, she ignored that too. She crossed down the hallway and through the living room before entering the foyer. Opening the door to the apartment, she turned left, padding barefoot along the polished marble corridors, seeking a place where she could hide away from the world.

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