Page 9 of Stitched Up in You
A majority of his media posts are related to his interests, like a new aquarium he created for the dolphins and penguins misplaced by the recently-melted iceberg. He has been the secret wet dream of almost every woman I know in Atlanta, and if everyone else knows about this guy’s animal magnetism, they would understand why, because just his nearness sends desire flooding through me.
“Tell me then, how does one notexactlyhack intomycorporation?” he stops just before being close enough for me to reach out and touch him, and my heart gallops in my chest so fast I begin to shake.
I fight the urge to wring my hands and glance around, my gaze catching on the comfortable looking chairs I wish someone would ask me to sit in. Maybe then the way my legs are shaking won’t be so noticeable. “I don’t know. I didn’t really try to gain full access to it, and what I did find was encrypted. Trust me when I say, I did not take the time to delve into any of Talbot’s files, and I’ve no idea what you’re even talking about. Idefinitelydidn’t take any money, and there was nothing important that Isaw. I swear to you I didn’t mean any harm,” I say truthfully, not liking how the twins are back to blocking me in.
“You didn’t mean any harm?” he asks coldly.
“No, I didn’t, I—just wanted—” I start to say, but have no idea what to say to get me off this hook. Think Bernie, think.
I avoid his gaze as nervousness eats at me, unwilling to divulge that I was only looking into his company because my best friend slept with avampire, and I found his name in Talbot’s database.
“Look at me,” he says, and then he snaps his fingers in front of my face.
A gasp of outrage leaves my lips as my hand raises to slap the absolute shit out of him.Whack. The sound ricochets around the room, and my hair raises at how the shallow sounds of my heavy breathing thunders in my ears.
Oh my god, I’ve lost my mind.
I just slapped Frank Stein, after I hacked his company two months ago.He snapped his fingers in my face like I was a dog.
Whatever was left of my brain must have left the building when he did that. Maybe it was the kidnapping, or being scared entirely shitless, but I just reacted and now he’s staring down at me like a big goliath, extremely large and intimidating.
An involuntary shiver rolls over me when his gray gaze passes over me and clearly finds me lacking.
“Take Miss Crenshaw to her rooms. Some time to compose herself may do her some good. I’ll send for her when I have need of her later,” he says, nodding at his goons.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I’m not just some dog you can summon you know. I didn’tdo anything,” I blurt, unable to keep my mouth shut.
He glares, his gaze cold and unyielding, and I decide against arguing.
Shit.
The meatheads tug me away, and my brows come together on my forehead as I try to figure out what just happened and why do I feel bad, when I’m the one that got abducted, knocked out and cuffed,andbrought to another city. Frank Stein is a complete asshole.
FRANK N. STEIN
“Tell me exactly what happened,” I grate out, attempting to keep the rage coursing through me from impacting my powers. The last thing I need is a rolling blackout because one insignificant human decided she wanted to play with her own existence.
Mikael raises a brow at me from across the desk of his office a few floors below mine, the whole floor dedicated to his handpicked cybersecurity team. I glance at the logo on the small pin attached to the pocket of his suit.
“After locating the human’s computer, we were able to decipher how Pelican Group got ahold of the shipment. The hacks bypassed our defenses because they were done simultaneously. My best guess is that the Pelican’s security team were waiting for such a thing to happen. When Miss Crenshaw attempted to infiltrate Talbot, they stepped in behind her with us none the wiser.”
“How?”
Mikael’s thick brows push into a frown, the blue of the screen overtakes his face as he types faster. “They used her as a shield essentially and got inside, then covered their tracks well. We weren’t able to see it without her credentials.”
“Where are they holding it?” I ask,itbeing the moonflower formula, unsure how such a thing could have occurred. But the important information is where it's being held now.
The last two months have been one disaster followed swiftly by another, to where my task force is scattered, putting out fires as they arise because of human greed and stupidity. Talbot Corp operates at the level it does because of the strength and tenacity of the ghouls, but in recent times, the supernatural are restless, seeing humans as docile, and not what they are in truth.
It pits the supernatural factions against one another when the humans idiotically decide to attempt to take what doesn’t belong to them. If it weren’t for the ever-increasing use of technology and covert groups arising from times of catastrophe, this would never be an issue.
Just last week, an explosion was placed outside one of Talbot’s new surgical facilities. The irony is that ghouls are self-healing and practically immortal. So indestructible, the only way to incapacitate one is to remove its head, and the building attack only served to wound and injure the human population at work near the premise. Another blunder instigated by Pelican Group, I’m sure. The greed of humans knows no bounds.
“We already have an extraction team in place, but it’s clear by what notes we discovered when counterattacking their security, they’re wanting to administer it to humans.”
Which means we are running out of time. If the humans take the concoction themselves, they’ll be turned ghoul, and worse.
“Find it,” I bite out, unwilling to accept that a handful of idiotic humans have caused so much chaos.
