Page 16 of Sizzling Nights

He said, "Yeah, she's good. She's good."

Jace stepped forward then. He let out a deep breath. "Okay, so you're the only one who knows where the blockchain-protected documents are, and you're the only one who knows how to retrieve the password?"

"Yes."

Mitch nodded. "And no one else?"

"Correct. No one else. Only me. And I have it further protected with a dead man's switch. So if something happens to me, it will automatically go out to law enforcement, media, television stations, newspapers, and all over the internet via a private account that no one knows I own."

Marco nodded slowly. She watched him. He almost seemed as though he admired her. That made her smile a little. Actually, speaking all this out loud made her feel better about everything. She had done the right thing. She protected the data. And if they didn't want it to get out, they had to leave her alone—or at least not kill her.

They didn't have to leave her alone, but they needed her to stay alive.

She felt stronger now. She should tell them that much. It would give them pause. Maybe.

She said, "I have everything protected to the best of my ability. It doesn't mean they can't kidnap me and try to beat it out of me. I would prefer they didn't do that. But they're not going to get it out of me, and no one else knows anything about this."

Mitch nodded. "Okay, well, that's good. I'll say this—don't tell anyone right now either, including Marco or Jace. Sorry, guys."

Marco shook his head. "Nope. Nope. That's all right. We need to protect her the best that we can, and by her being the only person who knows how to uncover this information, I think that protects her even more."

Mitch nodded. "Yep, I think it does too. So here's what we're gonna do right now. I'm gonna reply to this phone number, and I want you to say only you know where the information is, only you can uncover it, and you have no intention of doing so until you're guaranteed safety. And that guarantee will come by tomorrow night at midnight. Let's push the envelope a little bit and force these bastards out."

Theresa swallowed and nodded. "Yes. I've been living under the radar for far too long and looking over my shoulder all the time. It's time we settle this. Thank you."

Mitch nodded. He tapped on her phone a few times and held it up for her to speak, exactly as he had told her to do. She did so and felt immediately better. But she added, "I have the information dead-man encrypted. If I die, the whole world will get the information I have. All of it."

Mitch hesitated a moment and glanced at Marco. He stared into her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Mitch nodded and sent it.

She breathed out a sigh of relief. It was the first time she was actually taking steps to make this stop. She wasn't running. She was fighting back, and she had an amazing group of people with her.

Hopefully, no one would get hurt.

11

Mitch shook hands with Marco and left the Sandbar. After he was gone, Marco secured the restaurant once more and turned to Theresa.

"Do you have more to do out here?"

She looked around, glanced at Margo, and shook her head. "No, I think we're finished here."

"Okay, let's get ready to go then. He just got that phone call, so we want to get out of here before he has time to come here and react if he's close."

"Okay."

Marco looked at Jace and nodded. "You good with this?"

Jace nodded in return. "Yes, we'll all get out of here right away."

They quickly turned the lights off, shut down any equipment that was still running, and the four of them left quickly. The doors were locked up tight.

He helped Theresa into his vehicle. He heard her sigh. He knew she was frightened. Who wouldn't be? She was one woman against the entire world at this point.

He hoped she understood that she had him, Mitch, Jace, and Margo. And if he needed to bring in Quinn, Mason, or even Sid, they would all be there. Between all of them, they had contacts they could reach out to. They helped each other out. That’s what friends do for each other. That’s what he would do for any of them.

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