Page 11 of The Omega Project

“The project I’ll be working on is for a foundation called Vise Solutions. I met with…”

I’m off the couch before she finishes her sentence. “Finn Visser?” I grit out the name like it’s two separate curses, and it definitely should be. The guy has haunted me for months. “He’s the CEO of Vise Security.”

“Whoa.” She sits back with a hand pressed to her chest. “He said you guys had some history, but you look pissed.”

The laugh that tears out of me sounds more like a bark. Holy shit.The Vice is trying to screw with my mate.

I shove my panic down hard, striding over to the table and grabbing my laptop. “Finn Visser’s company does everything in security - cybercrime, corporate surveillance, asset protection, plus a bunch of murky shit for the military. If there’s a threat out there that could have a costly payday, he’s probably involved.”

Em follows me over, looking worried. “So, he’s a bad guy?”

I grip the back of my neck, frustration burning in my gut. “His company has dirt on everyone, including politicians, business leaders, even the military brass. It means the normal rules don’t apply, and he can get away with pretty much anything.”

Em’s eyes narrow. “Did he do something to you, Derek?”

“Um… yeah, but I kind of deserved it.” I cringe at the memory. “A couple of months ago, I poked around in his backyard, and he chased me out with a big fucking stick. It’s why I said I was out of town visiting my aunt. I needed to draw him off, and to see if he was going to come after me for real.”

Em marches back over to the food, her movements jerky as she cleans up our dinner. “And you think he still has it out for you?”

I pause, thinking about the night I hacked the king of the black hats in this country. He’s a ghost online, but I piggybacked off an email from one of his friends, injecting a rootkit into his personal system. I wasn’t after his secrets, exactly, but once I was in, I saw enough to know I’d fucked up big time. In my arrogance, I’d assumed it was a clean breach, confident his security bots would never find me creeping past their firewalls. Imagine my surprise when Visser himself dragged me out of hiding, chasing me out of his system like a feral wolf defending his turf.

His countermoves had been… visionary. I don’t think I took a full breath all night, my fingers cramping from having the bastard snapping at my every keystroke. Not that he couldn’t have decimated me much sooner, but he didn’t just want to bootme out of his system, he wanted to make sure I never dared return. He’d tossed zombies, botnets, and infected payloads at me like missiles, not even pretending to cloak his movements as he hunted me down, infiltrated my network, and then blew it all to hell. It was the hacker equivalent of getting your pants pulled down in public and your arse spanked raw. It was both brutal and breathtaking, and if my stupid dick got hard in the process, can anyone really blame me?

“Um… I don’t know. He hasn’t come near me since, but that doesn’t mean he’s not watching.”

Em gives an annoyed huff as she strides into the kitchen and starts stacking leftovers in the fridge. “So, is the job he offered you a genuine offer?”

“I’m more concerned that he’s only offered you the job to get to me.” She freezes, her hand gripping the counter, and I could punch myself in the dick for putting that look on her face. “Shit, I didn’t mean that. If it’s a scientific study, then it’s probably legit. You’re too good a researcher for it to be anything else.”

She gives me a small smile, but I know I’ve laid some pretty heavy doubts in her mind. Em suffered through a lot of bullshit growing up, first with her psycho army dad telling her she wasn’t worth anything unless she was an alpha, and then when he took off, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her already unstable mum. Abandonment issues run deep in her family, and if there’s anything that she hates, it’s feeling like she’s been manipulated by another man. I think she despises that about her ex almost as much as she loathes the fucking bite mark he left on her wrist.

I’m trying to think of another way to undo the damage when she grabs her phone and starts searching the contacts. “Let’s just call him and ask.”

“Call who?” I’m still thinking about the dickhead in Lycra I want to ram through a wall, so it takes me a moment to make the connection. “You meanVisser?”

“Yep. He gave me his number and told me to call if I had any questions.” I gape at her, but she seems completely unconcerned by the fact that the most reclusive billionaire in the country gave her his direct line. “Hello, Mr Visser? It’s Emily Nash, from today. Yes. Oh, we’re good. We just had spicy noodles.” She pauses, her cheeks going a pretty shade of pink as she listens to whatever the fuck he thinks about our dinner choices. “No, I’ve never been to Thailand, but it sounds amazing.”

I think she can hear my molars grinding, because she shoots me a quick glance and then says, “Mr, Visser, I told Derek about the job offer, and he’s concerned it’s payback for hacking your system.” I scowl at the answering chuckle that comes down the line, and Em’s spine stiffens, her protective instincts on high alert. “If you’re just messing with us, you need to back off right now.” She listens some more, then holds the phone out to me. “He wants to speak to you.”

Fuck me.

I shoot her an aggrieved look as I take it, but then a smooth voice is in my ear, making every hair on my body stand on end. “Derek, it’s good to finally talk to you directly. I was following your work a long time before you approached me, and I have to say, I would’ve tried to poach you earlier if you weren’t caught up in the CIC mess.”

“Caught up?” I echo, my throat tightening with panic. I started my own digging into the company I work for a few months ago, after more than a few flags were raised on a project they were running off the books. I wasn’t aware of a formal investigation, but if the Criminal Intelligence Commission is involved, someone is going to prison. “You mean I’m implicated?”

“Not at all.” His voice is now a soothing rumble. “I spoke to the head investigator and vouched for you, so you’re free to leave any time you want. All benefits or backpay are frozen,unfortunately, but you’ll get an advance from me, so it shouldn’t put too much of a strain on you.”

Astrain?Is this guy delirious? And how can he sound so calm when I feel like I’m about to have a heart attack?

“Like I told Emily, this is a confidential project,” he goes on, that alpha rumble worming its way further under my skin. “But since you’ve already had a look under the covers, I can confirm it has to do with switching and designation manipulation.”

“I was only searching for some information to help my friend,” I splutter in my defence.

“Clark Robinson, your former housemate,” he confirms. “He’s part of the project now, so you can discuss it openly with him if you join us.”

I glance at Em, who’s biting nervously on her lip. I don’t know if this guy is being honest with us, but without my current salary, there’s no way in hell we can swing the rent on this place. And I’d walk over hot coals before I let that dream slip away from us.

“You get that we’re a package deal, right?” I growl, not giving two fucks if it pisses off the alpha that’s about to have my figurative balls in his hand. “I won’t let anyone fucking hurt her, okay?”

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