Page 23 of Tango
The knot in my chest tightens.
He would have been a great asset to any team. Lord knows he was an asset to my life.
I lean back in my chair, happy with what I’ve seen when combined with everything else I’ve learned.
Tucker Hunt is a good guy.
Okay.
After closing some windows, I open up a new one then log into the VPN so all activity is routed through it and at least a half a dozen others. “Let’s see how good you are, Mr. Hunt.”
A few hours later, I’m still staring at an empty email inbox.
I’d expected Tucker to notice that I’d hacked his computer, but so far, either he hasn’t been at his computer yet today, or he’s planning his response. I didn’t do much inside—a good portion of his files are completely inaccessible even to me—but I did change his wallpaper from the solid black geometric background to a handful of German shepherd puppies sitting in a meadow.
I smile just thinking about it. It’s a game Ramiro and I would play, and while I’d seriously considered not playing the same game with Tucker out of respect for my friend, I know Ramiro would have gotten a kick out of me doing that to the big bad special operations soldier too.
So I did. And now I’m waiting.
Feeling a bit claustrophobic, I push to my feet and pull the tail of my ponytail through the back of a baseball cap before pulling it low over my head and stepping out onto the porch that overlooks the popular hiking trail.
Even now, there’s a family happily making their way down the trail—the mom holding the hand of a cheery toddler and the dad wearing a baby in a harness on his chest.
Will I ever get the chance to have a family?
To know what it feels like to grow life in my belly and have a man look at me with complete adoration as we vow to love each other forever?
At this point? I’m honestly not so sure.
Ramiro certainly didn’t get that chance.
The image of him smiling as we climbed the rock wall at our favorite gym pops into my head. He had so much more to give, and now he’s lying dead in a morgue somewhere, likely waiting to be buried until they have answers.
Then again, as far as Logan and the others at Web Safe are concerned, Ramiro is just missing. Will we even be able to find his body to bury him?
Tears fill my vision before slipping down my cheeks. The pain is still so fresh. The grief so powerful. God, help me through this. Please be with me. I don’t know how to do this without him beside me.
Will I even make it to his funeral?
Will I get the chance to tell his mother just how much he meant to me?
Behind me, my computer dings, so I wipe the tears from my cheeks then head back inside and lock the door. After grabbing a bottle of water, I take a seat and smile when I see that my computer’s wallpaper has been changed to a rabbit hole tucked away beneath a tree.
Alice in Wonderland. Clever, Mr. Hunt.
I open my email then decide what I should say. The message has to be clever, but not blatant. A funny nickname pops into my head, so I roll with it.
MadCode,
Clever wallpaper. Fitting even, given the circumstances. I trust that you followed through on your end of the bargain?
-404Wonder
After choosing 404Wonder as a fun way to tease him that he still hasn’t tracked me down while also keeping with the theme he set with the wallpaper change, I keep the message relatively vague, just in case someone from Web Safe is watching. While I’m confident in my belief that no one there is as good as I am—at least not anyone still breathing—it’s still a risk I can’t take. Besides, the techy twist nicknames on Alice in Wonderland characters is bringing me a bit of joy when everything around me is falling apart.
Whoever orchestrated Ramiro’s death and the data breach we discovered has deep pockets and contacts within Web Safe itself. No one inside can be trusted. I may not be sure of much right now, but I do know that.
My hope though is that Tucker Hunt is everything I think he is and will be able to help me uncover the truth. Unless, of course, I’m killed first.
