Page 67 of Forbidden Access

“Bastards,” Hawk muttered, his voice rough as he rubbed his chest where the bullet had struck.

Damian skidded to a stop beside them, barely resisting the urge to sweep Thorn into his arms, overwhelmed with relief that she was okay. His pulse was still hammering from the adrenaline. Instead, he placed a shaky hand on her shoulder, needing that physical connection to confirm she was really there, really unharmed.

“What happened?” he demanded, his voice tight, still raw from fear.

Thorn looked up at him, her expression calm but eyes sharp, alert. “They attacked, just like we figured. Hawk took a bullet to the chest, but the vest held. Viper’s got a flesh wound, but he’ll be fine. We took down two of their guys.”

Damian’s gaze drifted down the corridor to where two men in firemen’s uniforms lay sprawled on the ground, their bodies riddled with bullet holes—center mass, headshots. Blackthorn Security hadn’t taken any chances. The bastards were probably dead before they even hit the floor.

The smoke was getting thicker, making it harder to breathe. Damian coughed, the acrid taste of burning plastic and fabric stinging his lungs.

“Let’s get outside.” Pat’s voice was rough as he pulled a coughing Hawk to his feet.

“Sorry for the deception,” Thorn shouted over her shoulder as they sprinted past the real firemen moving into the lobby, hoses at the ready.

Damian didn’t get a chance to respond. Water gushed from the hoses just as they reached the exit, the cold spray hitting them like a wall as they pushed through the door—the last ones out of the building.

The night air was a shock to the system, cool and clean compared to the smoke-filled inferno they’d just escaped. Damian took a deep breath, his heart still pounding from everything that had happened.

Thorn was beside him, her hair damp from the spray, but her eyes were bright and determined. He just wanted to take her into his arms and hold her, until the madness had quietened down.

“We knew they’d try to ambush us in the downstairs corridor,” she explained. “It was the weak point in our escape route. Instead of avoiding it, we decided to turn it against them.”

“It was our chance to take out these bastards,” Pat added with a grim grin. Anna was already on her phone, talking to emergency services about retrieving the bodies of the two thugs.

“I recognize them from Las Piedras,” Thorn said, her voice tight with anger. “Possibly Markov’s men.”

“Markov’s liquidating his assets as we speak,” Pat said, filling them in as he surveyed the scene. “He’s getting ready to run. Covering his tracks in case this attempt failed and your update goes live.”

“Bastard can’t be allowed to get away with it,” Damian growled, running a hand through his smoke-scented hair. The fear that had gripped him moments before morphed into something harder, more dangerous.

Rage.

He wasn’t just a target anymore, he was a man with a mission, and Markov was in his crosshairs.

“Let’s bring the update forward,” he snapped. “The conference will have to be postponed, and I want to do it now.”

Pat gave him a hard look. “I’m sure that can be arranged. I’ll talk to the FBI.”

Damian nodded. He was ready to take his scumbag former father-in-law down.

CHAPTER 30

Thorn listened to Damian’s announcement, her heart swelling with pride. He stood tall on the stage, his voice steady and confident as he addressed the crowd.

“I know this is a big change, but my team and I believe it’s the right move. Lydian will continue to grow, ensuring safe and secure transactions across its global network while also remaining a high-performing investment. The added transparency, similar to what you see with other cryptocurrencies, will help us crack down on illegitimate use that fuels criminal activity and terrorism. As an ethical company, we’re committed to this path, and we hope you’ll stick with us on this journey. Thank you.”

As his words echoed through the conference room, the audience erupted into muted cheers. Thorn could sense the undercurrent of shock. It would take a while for the implications to fully sink in. Right now, Lydian’s dark web users were likely in a frenzy, scrambling to sell off their currency, sending its value plummeting. Thorn knew Damian was okay with that. He’d prepared for it. This crash—potentially one of epic proportions—was a necessary evil, a cleansing fire that would burn away the corruption tainting his creation.

She glanced at him from the sidelines, taking in the determined set of his jaw, the way his eyes scanned the crowd, unwavering. He looked every bit the leader he was, standing there behind the bulletproof screen with Hawk and Phoenix—another operative who’d flown in that morning—beside him. Damn if he didn’t look good. Longing hit her in the gut, a physical ache that made her fingers twitch with the need to touch him. To pull him into her arms and tell him how proud she was. But she had to be patient. Everyone wanted a piece of him right now—Pat, the FBI, his company. And nobody knew about their relationship. They had to keep it under wraps until this whole assignment was well and truly over.

After the fire had been extinguished and the chaos subsided, the hotel had returned to some semblance of normalcy. CryptoCon had resumed, and Damian’s announcement had been rescheduled for this morning. The timing was almost poetic—Alek Markov had failed in his assassination attempt, and now, Damian was pushing forward with his vision, undeterred.

The upgrade Damian had installed with James, his brilliant head developer, was already live. Thorn marveled at the complexity of what they had accomplished. The update was designed to insert a transparent ledger into the previously anonymous transactions, stripping away the veil that had allowed criminals to hide in plain sight. It was a masterstroke, a way to weaponize Lydian against those who sought to use it for nefarious purposes. The transition had been seamless, the code slipping into the system without causing a ripple.

Damian had ensured that Lydian would rise from the ashes, just like the Phoenix statue in his Silicon Valley headquarters.

Thorn’s grin widened as she caught Damian’s eye from across the room. There was a secret smile there, a knowing look that made her heart sing. But just as she was about to step forward, the FBI agents moved in.

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