Page 41 of Ruthless Wars

I freeze as uncertainty pushes to the forefront of my thoughts. Should we walk down together? Separately? How will we speak? Is this the beginning of something?

Obviously, I’m taking too long to answer, because Coop elaborates as he turns me around to help me with my zipper.

“About Travis,” Coop says. “Well, not about him, but about someone leaking information. I hate suspecting people on my team, but my guess is your staff hasn’t changed.”

“Except Travis. He’s a new intern. But everyone else has been with us forever.”

“Yeah, but have you seen him? I caught the kid struggling to switch from selfie view to full shot on his phone. He's practically a promotion away from being the village idiot. There’s zero chance that kid’s working alone. That leaves my team.” Shaking his head, he blows out a frustrated breath. “Fuck.”

“What?”

His kiss is on my shoulder. “Sorry, temptress. I think I just broke your zipper.”

I twist around and reach back to feel the line of the zipper. It’s stuck close to the top and should hold.

“I think it’ll be fine.” Returning to the original issue, I’m ready with a suggestion. “We’ll just have to come up with some fake news to leak. Discredit them.”

Hooking his arm around me, he pulls me close, planting a warm, soft kiss on my lips. “Are you trying to turn me on? Because listening to you and that brilliant brain of yours concoct a devious strategy is addictive.”

“You just wanted an excuse to use cock and dick in the same sentence.”

“Wow.” Playfully aghast, Coop releases me and steps back. “You’ll use any excuse to talk about my dick. You’re obsessed.” He swings open the door. “After you. But let me remind you—I’m more than just a piece of meat.”

Sashaying past him, I smile. “If you say so.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Coop

“You go first,” I say once we’re back downstairs, and shoo Margot gently toward the banquet hall. “But you’re seeing me later.”

Pouting her lips, she blows me a subtle kiss and heads in without a word.

I kill a few minutes checking my phone. With a quick text to Corey, my new cyber guy who commands outrageous fees, I start my own investigation.

Oddly enough, I’ve never met Corey. Couldn’t pick him out of a lineup. Hell, I’m not even sure he’s in the US. But Corey is one of the best. Austin's assurance was all I needed.

These types of investigations are Corey's playground. How Austin knew that, I really didn't want to know. Corey's focus is people, primarily. He runs with a crowd who don’t have business cards or phone numbers. Hell, most of these ghosts don’t even have names.

Usually, these keyboard warriors roam the underbelly of the World Wide Web, known only by a descriptive alias. Deathstar. BlackSkull. HiddenTiger. PrettyKitty1972.

Super secret. Cloaked in darkness.

But not Corey.

To my surprise, Corey Dantes, or CD for communications purposes, gave me his full name and cell phone number up front when I first contacted him, along with a bank account number.

“You’ll never see me,” he wrote. “We’ll never meet. Cash goes into my account, and my rates are nonnegotiable. You’re the first person I investigate because I need to know who I’m working with. As long as you’re good with that, so am I.”

Lo and behold, Corey and his dark-web ways have been a huge asset and are perfect for this new game of fetch.

coop: Urgent job. Get with Austin. Recheck our staff, but only the ones who’ve been at the Long Multinational negotiations this past week.

cd: Situation?

coop: Media leaks. Fast ones. First one was Tuesday. Within minutes of me leaving a meeting.

cd: This one?

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