Page 84 of Sinister Intentions

There was some kind of unspoken animosity between Alex and Goofy, or maybe it was between Alex and Raptor? Wait, was it because of Gabe’s years working for Raptor?

“Guys, no pissing matches allowed in my server room,” I growled when the tension intensified with every second of silence that ticked on.

Matt was the first to act. He nodded once, elbowed Alex, and sauntered farther in. “Have you lost your damn mind, Brother? What are they doing in here? They’re basically show ponies for the government.”

Peaches, who didn’t even stand up when Matt and Alex came in, leaned back in his seat, stretched his arms, then interlaced his fingers behind his head—the epitome of relaxed and not threatened. “Show ponies? More like prized stallions,” he deadpanned.

I looked back at Peaches, caught his wink, and rolled my eyes before I focused back on Matt and Alex who were both glaring at the Raptor guys.

Okay, this was enough.

“I hired them for a job, and if I want to hear your opinion about how to conduct my business, I’ll let you know,” I said, lacing my voice with a growling edge.

The moment Matt showed some serious interest in our family business, I would start to include him in my decision-making process. But not a second before that. “Gabe recommended them for the job,” I added, directed at Alex, who gradually relaxed when I mentioned his brother’s name.

“And what exactly is the job you hired them for?” Matt asked, looking around, staring at the racks of servers and blinking LEDs surrounding us, then his gaze snapped back to me. “We got computer problems that are severe enough to need outside help?” He seemed baffled by the fact.

I had no idea why he was surprised by that. Did he think we still conducted business out of small black books?

“How did you even know I was here?” I narrowed my brows. “Or is there another reason to wander into our server room in the middle of the night?” I gave them the death stare and included Marco.

I didn’t think he or Matt would try to sabotage me. But I knew better than to underestimate my father. If he had something to blackmail Matt with, he wouldn’t even blink an eye about pitching my brother against me.

If that was the case, he should’ve given him access first, though.

“We had security find you for us since Father called an emergency meeting, and your phone is unreachable.”

I looked at Marco who nodded once.

The server room was equipped with EMC shielding, which acted like a Faraday cage protecting the hardware against EMP and EMI and blocked all cell reception. But Marco could’ve called the landline extension in here. So why didn’t he? Because he wanted Matt to see what was going on? Why?

“What’s the reason for the meeting?”

Matt shrugged. “Who knows what goes on inside his head? But I’m guessing whatever guerilla war you’re waging against himhas him in a bad enough mood to call in a meeting on a Sunday night?”

I glared at Matt. It was an open secret how there was no love lost between Father and me. Though only my brothers and people close to me knew how deep that animosity ran.

But since I kept tabs on my father’s dealings, my bet was this meeting was unrelated to me. More likely he wanted to either celebrate his latest deal, or he had encountered an unexpected hitch. My father still thought things worked like they used to when in reality, blackmailing and bullying people was so outdated.

“Let’s go,” I said but neither Matt nor Alex moved.

Instead, they both kept on staring at Peaches and Goofy.

I sighed. “We had a data breach, and Raptor Security helps with the forensic investigation.”

“A data breach?” Matt said and focused back on me. “What kind of data breach?”

Was this the moment to come clear? I exchanged a glance with Michele, who shrugged, then looked at Marco, who held my stare.

The fact that he’d led Matt here told me he thought it was time to let my brothers in on what’s been going on.

“We were hacked a couple of months ago.”

“Hacked?” Alex and Matt said in unison.

I clenched my jaw, the admission tasting bitter on my tongue. “Hacked. As in, someone hacked into our online gambling platform and siphoned off a chunk of change.”

Matt’s eyes widened. “How much are we talking here?”

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