Page 79 of Unspoken Promises

“I’ll have the same. Thanks.”

When the server leaves, Rio leans his elbows on the table and folds his hands, waiting impatiently.

“Ava and I have been a good team on these Mexico hacks.”

“Did you find something?”

My jaw clenches. “I told Ava about Ensenada.”

Rio sits back in his seat, blown away. “That’s… a big deal for you. Did you tell her to help her with the job? Or because you’re falling for her?”

I don’t answer, but his expression tells me he knows it’s both. But I’m not here to talk about how she’s all I can think about these days. I’m not here to talk about how I’m quickly becoming obsessed with her charm, her wit, her beauty. I’m here to talk about how to keep her safe.

Rio leans forward again. “Well, you two need to work faster because Thad has been all over me again to have his daughter work with us.” His expression is guarded. “This was the third time I somehow managed to blow over her coming to GhostEye. It would already be shitty enough to have to babysit his daughter, let alone figure out ways to explain why she can’t look under the hood.”

“Mmm.”

“And shit is getting thick, Zo.” He rips off a piece of bread from a fancy wooden cutting board and pops it in his mouth. “Four people reported their cells were hacked. You and dream girl will be spending a lot of time together. Sorry it’s not under better circumstances.”

There was a breach in employee data? Cell phones? I think back to the fair, Ava getting that text and going white as a sheet. The hacks must have reached other GhostEye employees before getting to her. Fuck.

Has she been found by this father of hers?

My gut twists.Did she lie to me about that text?I need to stay on task. Rio and I don’t have much time together, and I need to leave here with something.

“About the cells… and Ava…”

I don’t know how to say it. There’s so much to explain,but it’s all making sense now. Somebody tried to contact Ava last night. That’s why she ran.

I hesitate too long. Rio narrows his eyes, and as we often read each other’s minds, points his finger at me.

“Don’t tell me I called it. She’s trouble, isn’t she.”

“She’s not trouble,” I growl, low and steady. “She’sintrouble.”

“Are you telling me we have two problems now?”

I don’t think of Ava as a problem. I think of her as mine to protect. “Are you going to be a presumptuous asshole?”

He laughs humorlessly and offers a smug smile. “But I’m so good at it.”

“Listen…” I lean closer and speak low. “Before coming to us, Ava was…”

Last night, Ava’s story was almost beyond comprehension. I’ve seen and heard of horrendous assault and mistreatment. Kidnapping. Prisoners. Human trafficking. Ava’s situation was… was it a cartel, like she said? Was it a cult? She herself couldn’t quite explain it.

“She was held captive from the age of eleven onwards.”

It’s a shock even Rio and his steely features can’t contain. “What?”

“Her mother dropped her at some location, somewhere in Oregon, and left her there. She was never allowed to leave. She described having to witness murders.”

The same rage I felt at hearing about her past rises into Rio’s gaze. “Did they hurt her?”

“A strong case of Stockholm syndrome and having panic attacks at the sound of gunshots. But apart from that, she said she was treated well. Her first chance to get off site was in college, and she used it to win that contest and come to us.”

“She went away for the first time at twenty-five?” There’s rare compassion in Rio’s voice.

I offer a somber nod. All the childhood that was stolen from her. All the youthful joy of chasing ice-cream vans and lemonade stands and… she never learned to swim. So much makes sense now. Her father stole the most precious thing in the world from her, and she’ll never have it back. I seethe just thinking of it.

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