Page 49 of Hacker Unknown

“You need more tests.”

“I’ll be back in a week. I have a woman to catch and an art gala to attend.”

I jumped out of the bed and dropped the medical gown to the floor.

“There is a bathroom you could change in.”

“No time.” I quickly dressed before following Kat and Antonio out the door.

Antonio’s phone connected to the speakers in the SUV. CJ’s voice came in crisp. “I sent the coordinates to the GPS. From surveillance, only the two fuckwads are at the house. The nurse left a little bit ago. I’m tracking her and sent the second team to pick her up. You want me to call the director?”

“Nope. Already sent him a text that he was about to be down two men. He’s blowing up my phone. I will talk to him after we get her back,” Kat answered.

I pulled the letter from my pocket, tempted to read it, but shoved it back away. No matter how much we thought nobody was afterher, someone would always be hunting for her. The only way to protect her was for her to have a permanent bodyguard.

The SUV slowed to a stop near the end of a warehouse. I jumped out before Kat and Antonio and opened the back door. I pulled the hatch open of a large black box. I could always count on Kat to have her vehicle fully equipped and ready to go to war. I pulled a Glock from the case and then two smoke bombs. Kat slid next to me, pulling out a second gun and throwing stars.

“Where the hell did you get those?”

“Japan,” she stated like I should know already. I stood back and watched as she pulled a sword from a case and attached it to her side.

“Don’t bother asking where she got the sword. It will leave you with a hell of a lot more questions,” Antonio suggested as he holstered a gun and grabbed a flash bang.

Our phones dinged, and I looked down to find CJ had sent blueprints of the building. It used to be a medical facility ran by the government. We followed Kat to a side door. She picked the lock and pulled it open.

For an abandoned building from the outside, the inside was remodeled and lights illuminated the hall. Antonio pointed to the first right. We could hear two men arguing.

“The director told us to stand down. I told you we should have run this idea by him.”

“We’ve spent years on this case. She is the key to getting our hands on her mother.”

I stepped forward to push my way into the room, but Antonio held up his hand. I was tempted to punch him in the face.

“The entire point of killing Devon was to bring her mom out in the open. If that damn nurse would have sent us the photos earlier, we wouldn’t have had to go that far.”

The boss had enough information. I didn’t want to wait any longer. I pushed into the room to find Sonali on the bed, not moving. The two men reached for their guns, but before they could even pull the trigger, I shot the man to the right, and he dropped. Kat fired next to me, and the other one dropped.

“We could have handled this without having to lug bodies,” Antonio complained.

I rushed to the bed and pulled Sonali into my arms. Her head lolled. They needed her alive if the plan was to bargain, which meant it was only a sedative.

Antonio held out his keys. “Take her to your place. We can clean up the mess. And Paolo.” He patted my arm. “You’re fired. That woman is going to want you at her side twenty-four seven. And before you worry about money, you will get a nice severance for the work you’ve done for us.”

I didn’t wait for my boss to change his mind. When I walked outside, CJ and Asher pulled up. “In the building to the right. Two men down.”

CJ groaned, but they headed in anyway. My only goal was to get Sonali home. I placed her into the SUV and buckled her in. I weaved through traffic, every few minutes reaching over and pressing my fingers to her wrist.

When we reached my place, I pulled her out of the vehicle, carried her to the master bedroom, and laid her on the bed. I stripped down to my boxers and crawled into the bed next to her. The team kept me in the loop via text as they cleaned up the mess. The director apologized, saying he never gave the order to kill Devon. He also promised to stop the search for Sonali’s mom.

But I didn’t believe him. Sonali stirred in the bed next to me, and I rolled her over. Her eyes fluttered open. “Paolo—am I dreaming?”

“Not a dream.”

“What happened?”

“The woman I love tried to run from me.”

Her mouth opened and closed as she stared. “You love me?”

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