Page 25 of Command and Control: GHOST Operative

I force in another slow breath, trying to calm the urge to touch her again. Feeling how hot she burns has only made everything worse. Only made the desperate need clawing through my insides sharper.

By the grace of God, I'm saved by the ring of my cell. I yank it from my pocket, stepping away from her body as I connect Amos’s call.

"We’re back up." As always, my second in command cuts right to the chase.

I offer him the same. "I know. It won't happen again."

I ignore the way Julieanne’s brows lift. "I'll touch base with you again in an hour." I should tell him to have Igor schedule me a flight home now, but I want to tie up a few loose ends before I leave.

And I have to leave.

"I'll make sure I'm available."

My stomach growls as Amos ends the call. Since arriving in Nashville, all I’ve had are the couple bites of burger I took before Julieanne's face flashed across my computer screen. It’s still probably sitting on the floor where it dropped when I stood up, ready to storm over here, before deciding I needed some time to get my head on straight.

Clearly it hadn't helped, because when I did come over here all hell broke loose and I ended up fucking her against the wall. I want to hate myself for allowing things to get so out of control, but I can't findit in me to regret knowing what it feels like to have her come undone around me.

Sex has always been fine. Good. A way to let off steam and relieve some stress. Fucking Julieanne didn't do either of those things. If anything, it only has me more wound up. More frustrated. More pissed.

I shove the phone back into my pocket and point at her computer. "Now delete it."

Her head bobs back in surprise. "Delete what?"

"Everything. All the code. All the programs. All the data. I want it gone." I move closer, pretending I can threaten her into agreement. "And then I want you to fucking stop. You don't know what you're dealing with, and you're going to get yourself hurt."

Julieanne's dark eyes narrow on me. "Soyou'renot going to hire me, and now you want to make sure no one else does either?" She lifts her chin, glare sharpening. "Fuck you."

I lean closer, drawn in by her willingness to come back at me. "You already did that, Angel Face.”

Julieanne stares at me a second longer before her lips slowly curve. "If you want it deleted, you're going to have to do it yourself."

She spins and storms away, leaving me in her office. Giving me free rein of her entire set up and permission to use it.

But she's only done it because she thinks I can't scrub it clean on my own.

Does she think I'm some sort of fucking amateur? After a year of looking into me, seeing what I've accomplished, does she seriously believe I can't do this?

Obviously, yes. And it's a little insulting.

I drop into her seat and pull out my phone, contacting the most talented hacker on my team. Elias answers on the first ring. "Vincent my man. How's everything going?"

"Are you at your desk?" I keep my reply terse and all business. If I don't, he’ll try to engage me in casual conversation for a good minute and a half, and I don't have time for that shit. "I need you to help me wipe a system remotely."

"Sure thing, boss." His tone is informal and relaxed. "Do we know who the system belongs to?"

I grit my teeth. Ten years ago no one would've talked to me like this. And they sure as shit wouldn't have called me by my first name. I want to call him out on it, but I want him to break into Julieanne’s system more, so it will have to wait. "Julieanne Marello."

The line goes quiet, which is not normal for him. He's the kind of guy who likes to fill any silence with the sound of his own voice.

"Elias?"

"I'm here." I hear him sigh through the phone, dragging his feet a little longer. "The problem is, we've been trying to hack into her system ever since she got into ours, and we haven't had any luck."

"Then try harder. I want it scrubbed. All the data she’s collected, gone. All the programs, all the firewalls, everything wiped." If Julieanne won't look out for herself, then I will. I'll call it an act of mercy since she's too fucking hardheaded to understand she's playing with fire.

I end the call and rub one hand over my face. All I can do now is wait. The second they tell me she's been cleared, I'll book my flight home and put all of this, andJulieanne, behind me.

"Knock, knock." Julieanne peeks her head through the doorway.

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