“Oh, ye of little faith,” I say. “As I mentioned, this person’s good at covering their tracks. Their coding skills aren’t shabby either,” I tell him.
I don’t say I recognise the signature. That would not be wise at the moment.
“Don’t do that,” he says. “It sounds like you admire what they’ve done.”
I look across but drop my gaze at his expression.
“Sorry. I don’t agree with what they’re doing, but it is hard not to appreciate their skill. This is pretty ingenious.”
“Can we fix it?”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Let me guess. You appreciate their skills, but you’re better,” he says.
It’s a statement rather than a question.
When I say nothing, Elijah smirks and shakes his head.
“Glad to see your modesty hasn’t diminished over the years.”
“They’re good, but Iambetter. I’ve cracked it, haven’t I?” I say.
He looks at me, and I can see the questions swirling around.
“Don’t ask,” I say. “I don’t have time to go into it now.”
“I trust you, Pen. I always have.”
My stomach contracts at his words. The pain of what was and what could have been coming to the forefront. I move my hand to where his is now resting on the table and squeeze.
“Good, because I’m going to need you and your rusty coding skills in a little while.”
He nods, turning his hand over and interlinking our fingers, returning the pressure.
It’s my turn to look at him.
“Thank you,” he says, his eyes softening, lighting up under my steady gaze.
“You’re welcome.”
I break our gaze and return my hand to the keyboard. I need to concentrate, not lose myself in the gaze of Elijah Frazer. I allowed myself to do that once before, and it nearly broke me.
As if sensing the change in my demeanour, Elijah stands up.
“I’ll make us a fresh coffee and raid your cupboards for some snacks. I need to recharge. It’s going to be a long morning.”
Needing to put some distance between us, I say, “Go and grab a shower, freshen up. When we’re done here, you’re going to need to go into the office. Appear as if nothing’s wrong. We cannot risk alertingthe molethat you’re onto them. Not if we want to catch them in the act.”
“Can we?”
CHAPTER 22
ELIJAH
Pen offers a sly smile.
“There’s nothing more enticing than a game of cat and mouse. Especially if you’re the cat. I know exactly what trap to set.”
