Page 50 of Guarded from Sabotage

“I know you can. I just don’t want you to feel like youhaveto.”

Her lips curve up into a hint of a smile. “I know, Dante. I love that you want to protect me. But I have to know.”

But once Matt and Xavier are sitting in the two recliners opposite us, Matt frowning at his laptop and Xavier’s features set in a scowl, she looks less certain about it.

Sarah’s hand is trembling; icy-cold despite the heat of mine wrapped around it. Her foot is jittering and her jaw is clenched tight. Fine lines of worry are etched across her forehead and between her eyes. And I can feel the rapid fluttering of her pulse each time my thumb brushes over her wrist.

I wish like anything she didn’t have to go through this.

If I’d just planned something here, none of this would be happening. We’d probably be cuddled on the couch together; Sarah completely relaxed after the dinner I cooked and the massage I was planning to give her. Our kisses would probably evolve into something more, like they have been the last few nights. Maybe I’d even see her naked, and I could kiss her all over, and?—

“I found some very interesting information at the impound lot.” Matt taps a few keys on his laptop. “Information about the car, I should say.”

Shit. I should be paying attention to Matt and not letting myself fantasize about a night that didn’t happen.

Looking over at Matt, I ask, “What did you find out?”

“Well.” His gaze lifts from the laptop to me. “You know I worked part time in a repair shop back in high school. So it was easy to check the brakes and accelerator for any signs of tampering.”

“And?”

“There weren’t any.” His brow creases. “Which didn’t make sense. With your car being only a few years old, there’s no reason for the brakes or accelerator to malfunction like that.”

“I just had it inspected a month ago,” I reply. “Everything was fine. And no one went near it at the restaurant. Right?”

“Right,” Matt affirms. “I was watching the entire time. Which means it was tampered with a different way.”

My molars nearly grind to dust as I grit out, “Did someone mess with my car when I was in town earlier today? Is that what happened?”

Shit. I never even thought. Did I put Sarah’s life at risk through my own oversight?

“No.” If possible, Matt’s expression goes even more grim. “After I checked the obvious places, I looked deeper. I scanned the car’s diagnostic trouble codes, and that’s where I found our answer.” He pauses. “Someone hacked the computer in the car and took over the brakes and accelerator.”

“Shit.” I bite out the curse just as Sarah flinches.

Guilt slams into me again. Not only did I put her in a dangerous situation, completely miss a looming threat, but now I’m upsetting her. “Sorry, Sarah,” I soothe, forcing a calm I’m not feeling. “I didn’t mean to?—”

“It’s not you.” Tears well up in her eyes. “I was afraid… it had to be my fault. And you almostdied, Dante. Because some asshole has it out for me. They weren’t trying to hurt you. It’s all me.”

“No, it’s not.” Taking both her hands, I hold her gaze. “It is not your fault, Sarah. Not even a little.”

“It’s not,” Xavier echoes. “You can’t control what this fucker does.”

“But I can make sure I’m not around other people,” she retorts. “Not out in public. Not where this person can get to me.”

“I should have thought of it,” I tell her, the guilt a heavy weight on my chest. “I should have been more careful.”

“Ishould have thought of it,” Matt interrupts. “I’m supposed to be the tech guy. This is on me.”

Xavier stands up. “Enough.” He walks behind his chair and puts his hands on the back of it. His gaze moves from Sarah to Matt, and then to me. “The only person at fault is the one who pulled this shit. Hacking a car? That’s something new. It’s not a surprise none of us thought of it.”

To Matt, he says, “You can’t anticipate everything. No matter how good you are.” Turning to me, he continues, “And you took all the precautions. You even brought a damn bomb detecting device with you. And Sarah—” His voice softens. “This is not your fault. It just isn’t.”

Matt nods, but he still looks unhappy. “I’m going to find out how to make sure all our vehicles are safe. There’s got to be a way to make the computer systems unhackable. Dante, I’m going to work on tracing the signal that took over your car. Hopefully, this will at least give us another clue to who’s behind this.”

I lift my chin at him. “Thanks, Matt.”

Glancing over at Sarah, my heart twists at the sadness in her expression. None of this is her fault, but I know she’s blaming herself for it.

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