Page 44 of Second Chance Savior

But he was different. Wasn’t he? He’d left me behind too many times in the past. But not tonight. Maybe River had changed more than I’d realized, and maybe these Protectors were part of the reason why.

“Okay,” I said. “What else do you need to do?”

“Contact a hacker who goes by the name Cerberus. He’s involved in our investigation of Stillwater, and he’s worked with Genevieve Blake in the past. He was her source. Cerberus is who told me about the threat against you.”

“Then I need to thank him.”

“I’ll pass that on, but he doesn’t do it for gratitude. He’s a kind of warrior, in his own way.”

“And you trust him too?”

“Completely, and he trusts me. We have some of the same kinds of skills. Though mine cross over into the real world more often than his.”

My brow wrinkled. “Hodge called you Rubicon.”

“That was my call sign in the SEALs. Now I use it online for certain purposes, depending on my goals. For some ventures, I use dozens of different accounts, different handles. Different personalities, even. I can be a ghost. But when I want to rely upon my reputation as a hacker, I go by Rubicon.”

Wow. River was kind of amazing. And scary smart. I’d suspected as much when we were kids, but he’d lived up to that potential.

I wasn’t about to share that opinion though. He had a big enough ego already.

“But you don’t work for the CIA anymore? You were honest about that?”

“Yes, Charlie. I’ve been completely honest with you. I might not have shared everything yet, but what I’ve said has been accurate.”

I didn’t comment on the nickname. Or his claim of sincerity. “Why do you need to contact Cerberus?”

“See if he’s got any updates from his end.”

“We have to find out why Stillwater wants to kidnap me.”

His gaze was intense. “Yes. Three more days until the deadline they set for that bounty. Stillwater’s people won’t give up. I know that’s hard to hear.”

“Don’t look at me like you’re expecting me to break, River. I won’t. I saw terrible things tonight, and I won’t forget it anytime soon. But I’ve never caved when things got hard, and I don’t plan to start now.” I leaned my elbows on the table. “When you showed up last night, you promised you’d explain what’s really happening. You started, but youdidn’t come close to finishing.” I gestured at the RV living space. “We’re stuck together with nowhere else to be. As soon as you’ve contacted your friends, I want to knoweverything.”

I sat beside River as he worked, and he didn’t object to me reading over his shoulder. Not that I could follow very well.

He’d opened a window with a black background and started typing in code. More code appeared. Now River’s fingers flew over the keyboard, though from my perspective, it looked like he was typing in another language. I supposed he was.

Why was that so…sexy?

Maybe I had a thing for nerd chic. Smart guys did it for me. But I’d never been able to account for how intriguing River was.

When I was sixteen, I had been attracted to him.Wildlyattracted, if I was being honest. Later, I had denied and ignored that attraction for years.

Now, it was back. Making my blood pump as I watched him in hacker mode.

River started getting responses from Cerberus right away. Apparently the guy had been waiting in front of his computer, but if he was a high-level hacker and he’d been keeping an eye on the news, then he’d probably been anxious to hear from Rubicon.

“He doesn’t have much for me yet,” River said. “Stillwater’s leadership has gone quiet again. No new orders. They’re letting the lieutenants battle it out to find you.”

“Does Stillwater know you’re helping me yet?”

“Cerberus is watching for that. No indications so far. He’s watching police and FBI communications as well, but thisstuff takes time. You and I need to get out of Denver before a BOLO is issued on my vehicle. New plates will help. I’ve got some with me.”

“Do I want to ask where you got those?”

“Probably not.” His long fingers continued to move over the keyboard like a musician with an instrument. “I’m sending messages to the Protectors now through our secure server. Owen is the sheriff. He’ll need to be ready for law-enforcement inquiries. Just a matter of time until someone calls him about me.”

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