Page 70 of Country Mist

“No.” The word came out on a moan. “Don’t tell me that.”

“I’m sorry, kid.”

Celine banged the phone against her forehead. Not now.

Her head hurt when she brought the phone back to her ear. “What do you recommend?”

“You don’t have a choice,” he said. “But I’ll make sure you won’t ever get hit again. I’ll get you the best computer protection money can buy.”

“Okay.” She sighed. “Do it.”

“I’ll take care of everything,” Monty said.

Celine hung up. The Bearer of Bad News kept giving her more bad news all the time. She should have thought to ask what “the best computer protection money can buy” would cost her.

“This sucks,” she said and dropped the phone onto the mattress. Now she couldn’t decide if she should review the papers Monty had given her, to get the bad news out of the way all at once—or ignore them in favor of drinking more wine.

The wine won.

She took a long swallow. Screw sipping.

What about my bank accounts? Business and personal? She frowned. Could they have been attacked, too?

Celine slid her laptop out of the tote beside her on the bed, then booted it up. Maybe she wasn’t the most tech savvy person, but she could find her way around a computer pretty well.

First, she checked her personal and business bank accounts. Her business account looked a little low, but then she’d had to spend money for one thing after another—necessary expenses per Monty.

Next, she did a Google search for software that would protect personal computers from outside attack. Multiple links popped up and she chose the most promising. When that company proved useless, she made her way through three more before she found one that could potentially work.

She never mixed her personal accounts with her business accounts. Monty had said he would be happy to take care of both, but she had declined. She needed to have control of something.

When she finished, she shoved the laptop into her tote and sagged against the pillows again.

Hopefully she’d protected her personal accounts. But she was out the door already on the twenty thousand ransomed from her business accounts.

This sucks.

Her mobile rang again.

“Go away,” she wailed.

She glared at the screen, then relaxed when she saw Meredith.

“It’s so good to hear your voice,” she said in way of answering.

“You hadn’t even heard it yet.”

“I don’t care,” Celine said. “You could just breathe and I’d be happy.”

Meredith laughed. “What’s going on? Homesick?”

Celine didn’t know what it was like to be homesick. She shook her head. “Long day, that’s all.”

Meredith knew about Celine’s business and about a lot of the people in it, but Celine never shared financial issues. She never talked business with friends.

Not that she had many friends. A handful, if that.

“Come home and let Rod, Trevor, and Monty handle this commercial thing.” Meredith’s voice pressed into Celine’s head, forcing her to pay attention.

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