Page 2 of Beautifully Ruined
I’d be flippant, say I like danger, which I do, but I’m being serious. I poke him and he’ll be distracted, I poke and prod enough, and the added danger keeps me on my toes.
I don’t want to overplay. I won’t risk Vi. But we’re dead if I don’t buy enough time to think and work out my strategy.
Which is alerting Enzo in a way they won’t know.
So, I focus on Ivan. “We run into a booby-trapped fire wall, or set off a defense they put in it, you don’t get a cent. Worse, they’ll trace us. And if we trigger a silent cyber mark…”
“Just do what I told you.”
A hand squeezes my shoulder tight. “One more thing. Try anything funny, call in anyone, and you’re dead. Your girl’s dead, cut up into little pieces.”
I don’t look at Ivan. I don’t need to.
“No one wants bloodshed less than me. I just want to walk away and pretend we never met.”
“And you will.Ifyou do as I ask.”
I can almost hear him smile, and the gloat in his voice scrapes down my spine.
My mind turns to the task at hand.
Knowing Enzo, he’ll have Isaac’s info up, his bank accounts. I’m sure he’s thinking of stealing or watching to see if there’s activity. Even if he doesn’t, it buys me time to set up the bigger hack.
And if Enzo gets two alerts from me, then he’ll know to trace me. To find me.
The best thing is I can do it sitting here, in front of them, and do the best I know.
I really don’t want to steal from our clients, but for Violet, I’d do anything.
Fuck, I love her that much.
I suck in a slow, careful breath, calming myself. “Look, you’re going to need me for whatever it is Isaac has. His secrets would have been hidden on his computer, or he would have gotten them for you some other way, correct?”
The hacker is the one who answers. “Da.”
“His computer is offline. He smashed it. Presumably to kill what he had.”
“Check.” Ivan’s command isn’t to me. It’s to the hacker.
The man does, frowning.
All I can think of is Vi somewhere. Scared. Alone.
Worse.
I shut that pathway down.
I have to.
Going along that tangled road is dangerous and filled with madness. I can’t afford the distraction or losing my fucking mind.
The man speaks to Ivan in rapid Russian. He says something like everything’s offline, and he can’t get in at all. He tells Ivan I’m right, and they should have just forced Isaac to get them everything they wanted.
This tells me something vital.
Whatever Isaac had for sale was either a lie or not online. I might have it. On that thumb drive.
“You are right,” Ivan says.
