Page 39 of Unspoken Promises

Both revelations were too much to comprehend in the moment. A whirlwind of emotions swirled inside, but somehow, I remained steady as I worked through granting her access to private parts of our infrastructure and tried not to bring up her panic attack again. I knew shedidn’t want me to talk about it. I wanted to; I know PTSD when I see it. Two of us four brothers have grappled with it over the years.

Gabriel.

And me because of that summer in Ensenada where my cousin bled out right in front of me and it was all my fault.

I know the trapped breath, the lungs of iron. I know the weak legs and the need to close your eyes and hide in the darkness. I worked with a therapist over the years and I’m much better at managing my physical symptoms than I used to be, but the emotional symptoms stay with you forever.

Ava has been through something bad. She’s not the threat. She’s running from it. One backpack. No official IDs. Needing to be here immediately. It all adds up to a runaway. Whatever is after her, it won’t fucking catch her here. I’m protecting her come hell or high water.

Just like she’s offered to protect me. Fucking hell, how on earth does she know about a hack? Did she gain access without me granting it? Jesus, she’s more talented than I even gave her credit for. More skilled than anyone here. Even possibly me.

I gaze at this woman beside me. A woman who is so much younger but very much my equal. I’ve been looking for a partner to trust for years here at GhostEye.

It pains me that she felt she had to offer me something in return for her safety. I don’t need her to help me to help her. And yet, that she has that sense of fairness, that justice at the basis of her actions… it’s admirable. She’s in trouble, yet she offers all she has to make things equal.

I respect the shit out of that.

And I’ll respect her privacy, too, for now.

We worked the rest of that day together. She had time to show me where and when a breach in our system took place. She showed me the phishing text she sent to one ofour cybersecurity staff to help her clone his details and figure out his password. It’s a top-tier phishing attack, but still, that guy is fired.

I already knew about the hack she found but didn’t let her know that. It was the one from six months ago. I observed the way she showed me the unusual network activity with a mixture of emotions. Obviously, she was thrilled to show me her discovery. Less than a day with more access on our system, she found a second.

Finding a hack is like watching a horror movie. It’s mentally and physically stimulating in a way that causes a rush of adrenaline and a dopamine hit from the success; despite the fact that a hack is never good news, it can feel like it in the body.

She tempered that excitement with compassion. Concern. And I almost laughed for a second time when she said she’d work toget the fuckers. If only I could tell her how goddamn hard it would be because I know there have been several other attacks and I haven’t been able to extract enough information to trace them. But I’m not ready to share that with her.

And even if I was, I have to talk to Rio first. We agreed to keep them secret. I can’t do anything about her finding them herself, though. And why should I?

These attacks aren’t just business, they could be personal. I’m about as ready to tell her that as she is to say who’s after her. But at least we have one thing now—I feel a lot more comfortable letting her into confidential access zones. There, she will prove her mettle.

And then, I’ll have to prove mine and do something about this.

But as serious as the hacks are, knowing Ava isn’t safe is nearly all I can think over the following days, as it’s now theusual to work together, and seeing her all the time isn’t going to help me stop obsessing about it.

Finally, I have Wednesday dinner at Julia’s and hope the non-work conversation will change my train of thought for at least a couple of hours. Just me, Rio, Santiago, and Dad will be at Julia’s, and with the most likely shared conversation being horses, I’m sure I’ll be able to forget about Ava for a while.

Not long after we began working above the tack shop years ago, Julia started inviting us brothers around for pierogis, which at first, I must admit, looked to me like the Polish version of empanadas. Once I tasted Julia’s cooking, I knew she put as much love into it as my own mother did hers. I never would have voluntarily chosen cabbage as an ingredient but now I look forward to it. Have been for nearly a decade.

When I arrive at Julia’s, Rio and Santi are already at her kitchen table having ridden their horses over on the trails. It’s nice to see Rio in a white t-shirt and jeans but he got into his comfort zone just before I have to tear him open and tell him about Ava. He is going to be pissed she knows about the hacks.

Julia threads her arm through mine for our walk through to the kitchen, and she tells me about Arthur’s collection that just sold.

“I have to say, I never thoughtPhallaseawould sell, but now some buyer has snatched up every single one of thoseFunky Pussiesbefore they even made it on the walls at Café Luna.”

“Did they say who bought them?” I ask.

“No. But they think it’s the same buyer as his last series because they paid upfront in cash, no negotiating for thecollection.” She grabs the back of a chair and puts a hand on her hip. “I guess it’s never too late for admirers.”

Santi takes off his baseball cap, scratches his head, and throws the hat on the table where he’s sitting. “You talking about Arthur’s pussies?”

Julie sticks a thumb and a finger into her eye sockets. “Why did I know I’d regret bringing this up?”

“Ah, Jules…” Santi says, “I’m not twenty anymore. I’m past jokes about sex organs. I’ll have you know I have a Georgia O’Keefe in my collection. But it’s a ram skull, not a vagina flower. Then again, sometimes if you look at the skull a certain way…”

Rio deadpans, “Aren’t you cultured.”

“Hey. Don’t underestimate me. I even understand the deep hidden meaning. Her skulls and bones were intended to link Heaven to Earth.” He puts on a sophisticated tone, almost like a British accent if he could do one. “O’Keefe presented the universe through the portal of the bone.”

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