Page 47 of Wine Whiskey & Lipstick

Against her better judgment, Dillyn turned to her friends and silently pleaded. “Just five minutes.” Againsttheirbetter judgment, Cat and Palmer left the room. As soon as they were gone, Dillyn turned to Steven. “It’s been six months. I hope you don’t think you can come crawling back—”

“Dillyn we’re divorced. It’s final. I’m not trying to win you back. I’m trying to save your life.”

“What?” She was confused.

“I know what you do and whom youreallywork for. I’ve always known.”

“Stop talking in riddles. You know I work for myself.”

“Dillyn, I don’t have time to waste playing games. I need you to get me access to this.” He handed her a sheet of paper. “Or things are going to go very badly for me, you, and everyone in this house.”

Dillyn glanced down at the paper. Slowly, she lifted her head. Dillyn laughed in disbelief. “Steven, you’ve got to be kidding. Seriously, I can’t get into CyberCom.”

Steven ran a hand down his face. “Did you not hear me? When you went snooping into my shit, you opened yourself up to this. Now, you’ll help me get inside, or we’re all going to end up in tiny little pieces.”

Dillyn took a deep breath. “I don’t know all of the shady shit you’re into, but I can’t help you. I handle basic IT security and tracing digital footprints. What you’re asking is impossible. You need a master hacker. That’s not me.”

“You hacked into my shit! I had some very sophisticated encryption codes set up by the people who run world markets and governments. There was no way you could get into some of the systems you did without having access to CyberCom systems. As I said, I know who you are. I know whom you work for.”

“You keep saying that! Who? Who is this mystery person you speak of?”

“Syntax.”

“Syntax?” Dillyn tried to remain calm. “Steven, did you really fly from New York to Tennessee to ask me about someone who doesn’t even really exist?”

“He exists, and you know it.”

Dillyn glanced heavenward. “If so, the dude is anonymous. He’s a ghost, and you think I know him because you are a predictable ass and never change your passwords? A high schooler could have gotten into your devices. You’ve lost your mind. I thought you came here to apologize for trying to destroy my life, but you only came here to involve me in whatever crazy scheme you’ve got going. Truth be told, if you needed help unlocking your password to your laptop, I wouldn’t help you. Your five minutes are up. You need to leave.” Dillyn was about to show Steven the door when he grabbed her by the arm.

“Did you not hear me? This is not a joke. Our lives depend on this.”

Dillyn was shocked. Steven had never been violent with her, and there was real fear in his eyes. “You’re hurting me.” She tried to sound calm because he was starting to look unhinged.

Steven’s eyes bulged. “Bitch! You’re going to get me inside that system!”

He was gripping Dillyn’s arm so hard that she knew it was going to leave a bruise. Not only was it evident that Steven was scared, but now, so was Dillyn. She had no idea what he had gotten himself into and what he was about to do.

*****

Ben stood on Dillyn’s doorstep. He had left her a message several days ago, but she hadn’t returned his call. Ben would have come sooner, but he’d been in a funk dealing with all of his emotional crap. He didn’t want to bring that energy around Dillyn. Initially, Ben was going to let sleeping dogs lie when it came to her, only he felt so much better when she was around. Ben liked who he was when they were together. So, he made up his mind. Ben was now in full pursuit of Dillyn. He understood that she was just getting over a divorce and might not be ready to jump into a relationship, but he was patient. They could take things slow. Lucas wasn’t right about a lot of things, but he was on point when it came to the Cash charm.

Ben raised his hand to knock on the door when he heard a man yelling. “Get me into the system, Dillyn!”

“Steven! Stop. . . I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

Ben recognized Dillyn’s voice,and there was genuine fear in it. He didn’t waste any time. It didn’t matter that the door was unlocked when he rushed inside. Ben would have broken the damn thing down if he had to. Ben saw red at how Steven had Dillyn’s arms in a vice grip.

Ben arrived at the same time as her friends came into the room yelling. Ben didn’t have words for the guy manhandling Dillyn. However, when he found his voice, Ben’s tone was low, almost a growl. “You clearly don’t like breathing above ground.”

Dillyn didn’t know where Ben had come from, but she was grateful.

Steven looked up into the face of Ben Cash. “This ain’t your problem, country boy. You might want to turn around and go home. This is between my wife and me.”

It took two steps and one hard punch to Steven’s jaw to lay him out.

Steven’s knees buckled as he crumpled onto the floor, holding his mouth. “You dumb shit! You have no idea you’re trying to protect a lying slut.”

Ben was ready to give Steven the beat down he deserved when Dillyn stepped into his path, stopping him.

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