Page 83 of Sinister Intentions

So, that left me with only one option going forward.

Running away.

Hiding.

Starting a new life.

So, this was my farewell party, of sorts. I raised my glass to my lips again. The thought filled me with sadness, but at the same time, it felt oddly freeing.

As if having finally made the decision was like shedding a weight I’d been carrying for far too long.

I caught Iset’s eye from across the room—we’d ditched the table a while ago.

She cocked her head and looked at me, and I smiled at her. She was probably the only one in here who would understand if I told her about the decision I’d just made. And maybe I should. She would make a good ally. And I desperately wanted at least one person on my side—one who knew what I was about to do.

I moved across the room until I was standing next to her. She raised her brow, and I shrugged, my throat suddenly tight.

“We’ll find a way, I promise,” she said to me as if she could read my mind.

I nodded.

“Why don’t we enjoy the night and brainstorm tomorrow?”

I nodded again and held her gaze, a silent understanding passing between us.

For tonight, at least, I could still be Jemma Donnelly. I could be young, carefree, and alive.

And as the night wore on, that’s exactly what I did. I drank, danced, I flirted. I enjoyed joking around and laughing with my friends.

And the weight that had been weighing on my shoulders fell away, if only for tonight.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Iturned around when the beeping sound of the door to our server room indicated someone was trying to access it—whose access was being denied.

Who the hell dared to come in here without permission? I exchanged a look with Michele, who shrugged, then I glanced at my watch. And at this hour?

It was almost midnight, and I should probably send Goofy and Peaches home since they’d been at it for far too long.

I was surprised by their tenacity and motivation to get the job done, but at one point, their brains just started to decline—it would be the same for anyone.

I crossed the room in two strides, burst open the door, and blocked it with my body.

To my surprise, I came face to face with Matt, Alex, and Marco Bianchi, our head of security, and the one man—aside from Michele—in a position of power within Salvini Global Enterprises that I knew, without a doubt, was on my side. His people were the ones who noticed the hack first. He was the onewho kept silent about it to anyone when I asked him to. But he was also the one man who should’ve known to keep my brother and Alex away instead of leading them here.

I glared at him, and he just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head—so much for that. Just because Michele and Marco were on my side, didn’t mean they blindly followed my orders. And rightly so. Blind obedience was not what I was looking for in my men. I didn’t need a bunch of yes-men. I wanted them to think for themselves, needed for them to make decisions without me, and I wanted them to challenge my orders—that’s how I became better, that’s how our relationship evolved, and that’s how the business would grow.

I focused back on Matt and Alex.

But Matt was looking behind me. He stared at the people in the room, froze for a second, then sidestepped me and entered. “What the hell?”

Alex barged in behind him, narrowed his brows, and his head snapped to me. “Why are the guys from Security Operations Group Bravo in your server room?” he said, his voice tinged with the same surprise that was written all over his face.

How did Alex know Peaches and Goofy well enough to recognize them as members of SOG on sight?

Goofy chuckled. “It’s not SOG anymore; ever since Hawk and Midas decided on the merger, we’re all one happy family at Raptor Security now.”

Alex narrowed his brows even more, clearly not pleased by Goofy’s cocky answer. “That was not the question.”

---