Page 25 of A Man of Prestige

“Do you have anyone you trust that can get me access to encrypted files?” I ask.

“I do,” he replies slowly.

“Like, right now?”

“I…yes.”

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“Ells, do not test me. What is going on?” he asks.

“I…” I trail off as I walk out to my balcony. “I found some files on the admiral’s computer. I suspected something and I got access to them, and I need to know what’s in there.”

“Ella, what’s going on?” I can hear the concern in his voice.

“I’ll come over if you think it’s safe.”

“I’ll see you in a bit.” He hangs up and I grab my things and hurry to my car. I check it for trackers, finding none. I turn off my personal cell phone and drive to his house. As the gates open to his private street, I can’t help reflecting on the craziness that has become my life in a matter of a few days.

I need to call my sister and my parents. I need some normalcy in my life. I’m hesitant about my sister coming to stay with me this week. What if something happens? But if I stop her, will that flag me as suspicious? So many contradicting things are running through my mind as I pull into Aiden’s driveway and park.

He’s waiting at a side door, and I follow him inside.

“I take it you have a thumb drive?” he asks. I hold it up and he takes it from me.

“Our security guy knows someone who claims they can get us the files in a few hours,” he states as he plugs it into a computer. I watch him get on a secured server and then upload the files. His phone rings.

“Yes. Just finished. Thanks. We’ll be waiting.” He hangs up and looks at me. “And now we wait.”

I look everywhere but at Aiden. I feel the magnetic pull between us, and my instinct is to tap it down. Because it’s only going to lead to a conversation that I’m not ready to have, not yet.

As I look past him at a painting on his wall, I feel his finger on my chin. It moves my face until I’m forced to look into his eyes.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I lie.

He narrows his eyes. “You were always a bad liar.”

I narrow my eyes. “You were always an overbearing alpha male.”

I watch his lips twitch as he fights the smirk that eventually wins out and emerges on his face. I roll my eyes at him.

“Typical,” I mutter under my breath.

I pull my head away from his hand.

“There is something important I think you should know.”

“What’s that?” His head cocks to one side as he considers my sudden change of subject.

“I have an employee who was followed on her jog today. And, when I was back at my office, I learned from another employee that she had labeled the samples I was running additional tests on, our samples, as hers. I have her follow a protocol on occasion to keep things separate, but it would appear to others that they were hers. Someone who I don’t know came by the office earlier. I don’t want to think these things are connected, but I think they might be.”

“Shit.” Aiden’s eyebrows furrow and he reaches for his burner phone and sends some texts. “Do you have security cameras outside or inside your office?”

“Yes,” I say slowly, not sure if I should share that information.

“Can you access them?”

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