A moment later, AJ’s eyes widened. “No way.”
He could hear the quick staccato of keystrokes as she verified the gift he’d just given her. “Did you just...was I just granted carte blanche access to Soteria Security? Why the hell would you do this?”
“Because I was framed. And considering you’re the one who followed the evidence that led to me in the first place, I figure you’re my quickest route to freedom. Thanks to you, I don’t have a lot of equipment at my disposal to get to the bottom of this, which means I’m in the market for a contractor.”
Her gaze was shrewd as she stared into the camera. “This is a paying gig?”
“You clear my name, I’ll meet your going rate. You don’t, you get nothing.” Mostly because if she didn’t, his assets would remain frozen indefinitely.
“Okay, hold up. Let me see if I’ve got this right. Not only are you going to pay me, you’ve given me a free pass into the inner workings of the best cybersecurity firm in the business and you’re telling me that someone framed you?”
“Yes.”
“Cash, computers and conspiracy theories.” She leaned forward and her face took up the entire screen. “You know those are like, three of my favorite things in the world, right?”
He did. Because Wes made it a point to know everything about people who had the ability to destroy him. “So you’re in?”
“Oh, I’m in. I’m all the way in.”
Wes took his first easy breath since AJ had answered his call. One good thing about hackers, they were always jonesing for a bigger target, a better takedown, which meant their loyalty could be malleable, if the price was right. “Have a look around. Check Soteria’s original assessment of the hack on Whitfield Industries against your own. Let me know if anything rings any bells. I’ll be in touch.”
“Sure. Whatever.” Her attention was already back on her computer screen, and the rhythmic click of the keyboard let him know she was digging into her present with the gusto that made her such an ace hacker in the first place.
“Before you go, I need a secure connection that will keep any heat off me and my current location.” He could have done it himself, but why waste the time?
“God. If I’d known you were so needy, I wouldn’t have agreed to take your money.” A couple more clicks of her keyboard and he had what he needed. “If this is for porn, I’m going to be so grossed out. And next time you call me, put on a shirt.”
Wes lifted his head at the rebuke, wondering why the idea that had just struck hadn’t occurred to him earlier. “Yeah, about my current wardrobe situation...”
With a few curt instructions for AJ, Wes disconnected the video chat, and used his shiny new untraceable internet access to pull up the latest about Soteria Security. According to several news sites, there was a press conference starting in about an hour, and everyone was all atwitter at the prospect of watching Jesse Hastings announce the future of the company now that his scummy ex-partner was out of the picture.
Which gave said scummy ex-partner just the right amount of time to try to convince the building’s concierge to loan the stranger squatting in Vivienne Grant’s apartment some tools. Wes glanced at his ankle monitor, then over at Vivienne’s Roomba docking station.
He needed a screwdriver.
CHAPTER EIGHT
IT WAS LATE afternoon when Vivienne stepped tentatively into the men’s department at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills.
She’d filed everything that needed filing before noon and spent the rest of the time looking for reasons not to go back to her place. And then she’d remembered that Wes had nothing but the suit he’d walked out of prison in. And he really needed to start wearing more than boxer briefs to bed if this roommate situation was going to continue. That was how she’d ended up in the T-shirt section, wondering if XL was big enough for his shoulders, and debating the merits of crew necks versus V-necks. And the fact she cared at all was so stupid that she—
Something brushed against her purse, and she whirled around at the slight movement of the strap to find Jesse Hastings tucking his phone into the breast pocket of his stylish navy suit.
“Jesse!”
He looked almost angry for a moment, but it gave way to a smile. “Vivienne.”
She stepped woodenly toward him, exchanging de rigueur air-kisses with her former classmate and Wes’s business partner. Also former, she reminded herself, and the familiar churn of guilt turned over in her stomach.
“Fancy meeting you in Neiman’s men’s department. What are you doing here?”
“Nothing.” The lie came out too sharp. “Just, ah, running some errands,” she prevaricated, pushing her hair behind her ear. “My dad. His birthday is coming up so, yeah, I thought he could use a new tie.”
“That’s funny. I thought your dad’s birthday was in January.”
Vivienne started. Her father’s birthday was in January, but she couldn’t think why Jesse would know that specific piece of trivia. The two men had never even met.
“I like to stay ahead of things,” she offered. “If I’m not four months early, I’m late.”
It felt like a long time before Jesse nodded. “You’ve always been very...proactive.”
The adjective choice struck her as odd, but she couldn’t say why.
“How are you holding up, anyway? You know, with Wes in jail and everything?”
Vivienne didn’t let herself flinch at the question. So, he hadn’t heard Wes was out yet. And he definitely hadn’t heard she was the reason.
“It’s been a long time since Wes and I were together,” she lied.
“Well sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’d never do anything to hurt him. Right?”
Vivienne’s stomach dropped as her mind cataloged the multitude of her offenses against the man she’d once loved. “Right,” she agreed weakly. Shame ate at her. Seeing Jesse was a stark reminder that Wes’s life wasn’t the only one she’d ruined when
