“Yeah.” He huffed out a frustrated breath. “I don’t trust a single thing that’s going on. That’s why I told them I had to pick up my brother from school, and also why I’m currently driving to do just that in case they are monitoring my movements.”
Always thinking a step ahead. That was why I made him the team leader.
“Do you think anyone on the team is a part of it?” I asked, hating that I was putting him in that position.
“If they are, I’d be shocked. You have a loyal team.”
I knew it, but it was still nice to hear. At least I could say I had done one thing right.
“Has Lipton been around?” I asked, trying my hardest to keep my tone even.
Yeah, I was still being cautious. My head was a mess. Who could I trust? Was I making yet another bad call in thinking Violet was being honest?
No. I refused to let my mind go down that path. He was the first name that popped up in my mind when I thought about reaching out to someone from the team. Violet was loyal to me and as honest as they came.
“Hmm,” Violet said. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him. Only his assistant.”
I saw where I’d fucked up. Where it began… my downfall. Lipton had a hand in everything I did. He knew about my idea for the team. He helped make the team happen with his charm and connections. He positioned me right where I was so that I could fall when he pushed me. I was the distraction he needed to slip into the shadows.
Thank God, I never told him about my connection to Reed and his team. And I’d kept what little I knew about Reed’s technology a secret. At least I’d been smart that way.
“Does Lipton have anything to do with what’s going on?” Violet asked almost cautiously.
“Yeah, though I can’t prove anything yet. I know he’s behind this.”
“What do you need from me?” he asked, sounding like he was ready to jump in and help without any more information because he had all the trust and faith in me.
I met Austin’s eyes. For a flicker of a moment, a softness washed through his gaze as he stared back at me, his light brown eyes sparkling with a hint of gold.
“I need to get access for Reed’s team,” I said like it was something that could be done.
Violet choked out a stunned laugh.
“I’m sorry, what? How do you expect me to do that when they’re watching us like we’re…”
“Distributors of child pornography?” I said because that was the label they had me wearing. The thought made my stomach roil. Saying it out loud like that, even if it was to makea point, one that we all knew was fucked, nearly made me throw up.
Violet growled, and I could see his face in my mind. Lip curled, disgust weaved through every part of his expression. It would only last a second before he pulled his mask back down. I’d seen it more times than I could count over the years. That was how I knew he’d be good for my team and the reason I trusted him, because pure disgust like that couldn’t be faked.
“I need to know what to do,” Violet said, the edge in his voice still very much there, like a sharp knife ready to cut.
Austin’s brow went up, almost as if he was impressed by how loyal and dedicated to taking out the bad guy Violet was.
“We need proof of who planted those files,” I said. Not that he’d have the first clue how to go about finding out that info.
“How did you know… that the FBI was after you?” Violet asked, hesitation in his tone.
I sat back on the couch, rubbing at my brow as I tried to think. Something about his question twisted my gut into an uneasy knot. Same as it was doing for him, I imagined. And if the look on Austin’s face said anything, he was feeling the same.
“I got an alert,” I said, thinking back. It was all a bit hazy, and the dots might have only started to connect as I thought back. “I was at home, sitting in bed, and I got an alert on my phone about a file I’d requested access to. But the thing was, I’d been denied access two days earlier. I hadn’t pressed because I had plans of getting the information another way.”
Austin gave me a pointed look that I nearly rolled my eyes at like a child.
“Anotherlegalway,” I stressed for Austin’s benefit. “The file would have just been more convenient. I thought it was strange that I’d been given access to it after I’d been denied, but what bothered me more was that the alert had come at three in the morning.”
“So you hopped out of bed,” Violet joked in a halfhearted tone. It wasn’t a funny situation, but humor was how he got through things sometimes.
Not unlike Austin, I guess, now that I thought about it.
