Page 37 of Shadowed Hearts: Frost
"Your team's intrusion signature." I spin toward my main terminal, fingers flying across the keyboard. "See this? Your encryption protocol is nearly perfect, except for tiny gaps where your custom code interfaces with standard security architecture."
For the first time, I see genuine surprise flicker across his features. Heat crawls up my neck as he steps closer, studying the terminal over my shoulder.
His presence behind me is intense. Warm. The scent of peppermint wraps around me.
"You found vulnerabilities in our system."
"Three of them. Nothing major, just authentication overlaps." I shrug, suddenly self-conscious about the messy bun my hair's twisted into. "I wrote patches that would fix them. Force of habit. When I find security flaws, I fix them."
He moves even closer, the heat of his body registering against my back. "This is advanced cryptography."
"Your team has better security than most government agencies I've seen." I bite my lower lip. "But there's always room for improvement."
Asher's attention shifts from the screen back to me, and those dark eyes seem more focused than before.
"Why are you doing this?" His voice drops lower. "What's your stake in this?"
I turn to face him fully, which puts us way too close together. "Because it matters. Because women are disappearing, and no one seems to notice or care. Because systems fail the vulnerable, and sometimes the only way to fix that is from outside the system."
I gesture toward the projection on the wall. Photos of missing women whose cases went cold. The purple LED backlighting makes everything look ethereal and sad.
"I don't need personal connections to care about injustice. The data tells the story—these women vanish into controlled circumstances, their digital footprints manipulated to suggest everything's fine."
My fingers find the stress ball shaped like a miniature keyboard, a gift from my cousin Paolo. The repetitive motion helps organize scattered thoughts.
His expression doesn't change, but something shifts behind those eyes. "You could have taken this to law enforcement."
"With what evidence?" I shake my head. "Suspicions based on encrypted files from a dead journalist? Financial patternsthat look legitimate unless you know exactly what to look for? I'd be dismissed before I finished explaining. Or arrested."
"So you hack secure systems, steal personal information, conduct illegal surveillance, and then propose collaboration?"
Every nerve ending fires at once as danger, attraction, and defiance mingle into this cocktail of adrenaline.
"I decided to follow the evidence wherever it led." I plant my feet and hold my ground even though my skin hums with awareness at how close he stands. "It led to the same targets you're investigating, but with resources I can't access. I'm hoping that means we're on the same side."
"There are no sides in this." His voice drops even lower. "Just people who understand the danger and people who don't."
"Then help me understand it." The words come out softer than intended. "Because there's something else. Something local that changes everything."
Those dark eyes sharpen with interest.
I pull up a new screen, geographic data overlaid with financial records. "Vertex Models appears legitimate on the surface. But look at this—financial transfers, staffing patterns, client acquisition methods."
The data flows across multiple monitors in patterns that feel like visual music. Red lines connecting shell companies, blue highlighting suspicious transactions.
"It's all here, twenty minutes from my apartment."
"Local intelligence." He studies the data, glancing at my family photos clustered beside my monitors.
"Actionable intelligence." I follow his gaze to the photos. "While the expanded network proves scope, this gives us immediate action potential."
My eyes land on last year's family reunion photo. Everyone crowded around Lola's dining table. Asher's eyes follow mine.
"That's my ate Mikaela," Seeing his puzzled look, I explain, "ate means older sister in Tagalog. And that's kuya Miguel, kuya is older brother."
Something almost soft crosses his features before the tactical mask slides back.
"Large family."
