Page 132 of Mangled Memory
I rub a hand against my shoulder where the bullet ripped my flesh. The phantom pains still exist. But the memory… that’s unforgettable. Either they came for me and she could’ve been killed. Or they came for her and I was in the way. I’ll always be in the way of someone coming for her.
I don’t have to be speaking to her, but she won’t be hurt if I can help it.
And I can help it.
It’s been three days, and I’ve taken to sleeping at my office. I know a hotel would be a better option, but that would be defeat, and I won’t admit defeat. I refuse.
Rumpled suits and wrinkled shirts aren’t defeat. Disheveled hair and ties permanently askew aren’t defeat. They just happen.
My phone buzzes and rings constantly.
If it’s not Ayla, it’s one of her brothers. I take none of their calls and never respond to their texts.
Ren and Fitz check in.
I drink.
I’m rubbing four days of stubble growing across my chin, enjoying the prickle of whiskers and the scratching sound as they move against my palm when my phone buzzes with something worth my attention.
Liam Murphy: Footage from the night you were shot was “patched.” Old, empty video overlaid actual.
Liam Murphy: I managed to peel off the layer. High tech shit, by the way. Whoever did this has money, knows their shit, and has hackers to bypass my firewalls and security.
Liam Murphy: Ayla was right. Two fuckers were on your property. No faces. All black—head to toe. One has a slight scar at the temple. It’s the only thing I can find to clue us in so far, aside from weight. Heat signatures put one at 220 pounds. The other at 190.
Before I can respond, another message arrives.
Liam Murphy: Actual footage sent to you and Gallo. Omitting Young since Ayla saw him on those cameras, too, and not where he said he was.
Liam Murphy: And she knows what she saw.
Me: How do we know if anything has been patched before? Or since?
Liam Murphy: I’m running diagnostics with forensic level shit. Digging in now. You’ll know as soon as I know.
Liam Murphy: Assuming you want me to add the forensic filter to everything moving forward?
Me: At home. In Aspen. And on my office. We’ll discuss the holdings later.
Liam Murphy: On it.
Me: Might need to consider it for you and Cian, even your parents.
Liam Murphy: That goes without saying.
Liam Murphy: Ayla sounds awful when I talk to her, by the way.
I don’t respond to that. I can’t. This whole situation is untenable. I miss her. I want her. I don’t know how to trust having her.
I send a message to Ren.
Me: Ayla was right about the hooded figures. Liam found the security footage was tampered with.
Ren Gallo: The hackers were fast.
Me: Explain.
Ren Gallo: They tampered with it immediately. They disabled the motion sensors in real time. Which means they knew our system better than we did. Better than Liam did. That’s scary.
