Page 116 of Sinister Intentions

She turned to me, green eyes flashing with a mix of defiance and uncertainty. “You don’t seriously believe that.”

I reached over and gently took the sheet of paper from her hands, folded it, and put it in the pocket of my jacket. “Yes. I seriously believe that.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re insane.”

I smiled at her, then nodded once in acknowledgment. She was right. All of this was crazy.

I was crazy.

For her.

“Now tell me the truth,” she said.

Just then, a call came through, and I wasn’t surprised at the caller ID on the display upfront. But, at least it gave me a couple of seconds to come up with an answer for her. If we’d met under different circumstances, if we were different people, dating would probably be the next logical step. But something inside of me told me dating Jemma wouldn’t be enough.

I nodded at Hero, who accepted the call. “Hawk? You’re on speaker,” I said.

Jemma straightened right next to me, and I shot her a glance.

She sat ramrod straight and stared straight ahead.

“Hey, we’re almost finished and ready to pack it up,” Hawk’s deep voice resonated through the car. “But there’s something you have to hear in person.” He sounded serious. “Can you come to Salvini Global Enterprises?”

“You’re at the company?” I was surprised. I knew Hawk had arrived in the city a couple of hours ago; I even cleared his access with security yesterday. I just didn’t expect him to join his team straight away.

“Yes, I’m here with the boys.”

I nodded. “We’re on our way right now. I don’t have a lot of time, but we’ll be there in five. Meet me in the elevator,” I replied, hung up and ignored Hero’s questioning stare.

The traffic light turned green, and we accelerated. “Jemma,” I began cautiously, “I know there’s a lot we have to talk about?—”

“Was that Noah Hawthorne of Raptor Security?” she asked, cutting me off mid-sentence.

I narrowed my eyes. “Yes, why?” How did she even know Hawk? Through Gabe and Sophie? Had they ever met?

She nodded. “What are they doing for you? What are they almost finished doing?”

I side-eyed Hero, who was eagerly awaiting an answer, before I focused back on her. “How do you know Hawk, and why do you want to know?”

“Answer the question.”

She sounded dead serious. Her eyes were fixed on the traffic in front of us, her hands clutched in her lap.

“Hawk’s guys are conducting a forensic investigation on our IT system.”

Her head snapped to me, and there was so much guilt in her eyes. It hit me that we’d never really addressed the elephant in the room.

The reason that even brought her to my attention.

“The hacking?” she whispered.

I nodded.

“So, you know?”

I nodded again.

“Know what?” Dante asked, but we both ignored him.

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