Page 81 of Blackmail of a Billionaire

“I really don’t need a new purse.”

“Yes, you do. This one is hideous. You’re Mrs. Grant Harrington. You need at least two of these, maybe three. Someone may start to think Daddy is neglecting you.”

Julia chuckled at the joke as Sierra offered her the choice between a bright pink bag and a red one. She tried to shake off the heaviness of the encounter with Kyle.

“The red,” Julia answered as James slipped into the store.

“I see you have a bodyguard,” Sierra said as she eyed James. “You haven’t said anything to Daddy about what you saw before…about us?”

“No, and I’m not going to. But, Sierra, why keep it a secret?”

“You don’t understand, Julia. It’s complicated.”

Julia weighed pursuing it, but the tension at her temples stopped her. Sierra ripped the red purse from her hands and tossed it back on the shelf. “You know what, this is all wrong. None of these are good. Let’s go somewhere else.”

“O-okay,” Julia stuttered, confusion setting in as Sierra pulled her past the checkout counter.

“Have those two put on my account and sent to Harrington House,” she said as they strode toward the door.

James followed them outside. As the cool breeze hit Julia, she froze. Something seemed off. A nondescript, battered white van screeched to a halt, its tires leaving black streaks on the pavement. Three assailants, faces obscured by ski masks, leapt from inside with chilling efficiency.

The sharp crack of a gunshot and the spray of blood from James’s shoulder left Julia disoriented, her ears ringing as hands clamped onto her arm and dragged her toward the van.

Time slowed. She flicked her gaze back to James who slumped against the shop’s doors, pain etched on his face. Fear and guilt surged in her.

“James!”

Julia’s heart pounded, each beat echoing her shock. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps as she struggled to free herself. The world spun around her, and she found herself shoved into the van.

“Help!” Julia screamed. She tried to climb out, but the door slammed in her face as the van sped away from the shop. Julia swallowed hard as she realized they’d just been kidnapped.

CHAPTER 21

GRANT

Grant slammed the report down in disgust as he righted his chair and pounded a fist against his desk. He locked eyes with Mike Donovan, his voice a controlled growl. “How did this happen?”

The VP of Security glanced down at the floor, appearing as though he’d rather melt into it. “We’re still piecing that together, Mr. Harrington.”

“How much damage?” Grant’s hand clenched into a fist.

The man swallowed hard, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “We’re still sorting through that, as well, but we do know they downloaded several confidential files. We are not yet certain if employee logins were collected or not, but we will be asking everyone to change their passwords.”

Grant shook his head as a sigh escaped him. Each word was a stab to the heart. And it was more than just the capital. He’d invested his life, his own self into this company. A loss like this wasn’t just financially catastrophic, but emotionally crippling. “What files? And don’t tell me you don’t know.”

“I don’t have a complete list at this time, but before we were able to stop the deluge, they grabbed most of the in-process contract files, government bids, and some of the confidential R&D.”

Grant rubbed at his chin as he tried to keep his anger in check. “And you can’t trace this?”

“We’re working–“

“Work faster,” Grant shouted, his fist slamming against the desk. “This is millions of dollars at stake. We’ll be outbid on every contract, not to mention the losses we’ll take when our technology is stolen.”

“I’m sorry, sir, this never should have happened.”

Grant squeezed his fist again as his mind pushed to find some way to stave the losses. This would not bode well with the board. His shaky ground would be even shakier now. He stood to lose the entire company…if it didn’t go bankrupt first.

“We are also sweeping the office for bugs and checking all computers for key loggers. As soon as I have more information, it’ll be on your desk.”

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