He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Yes, if I can use your system.”
Taryn pushed back from her desk and stood. She gestured to her chair. “It’s all yours.”
She swore he mumbled something under his breath.
He took her chair and within seconds his fingers flew over her keyboard with the expertise of a pianist. Taryn knew he was a skilled hacker, but this was beyond her wildest imaginings.
She watched the master at work. He must have been amazing before they took away his port. He could wreak havoc. And did, she realized, based on the trouble that had rained down on Tremaine Corporation a few months ago.
With a man like that at her side... they could do amazing things for the street girls. But she’d blown her chance at that.
“Done.”
“You’re sure?” Enough trouble had come her way lately.
“Yes. The signal will bounce around a bit. It’ll look like I’m still in town but not here.” He paused as if he were considering saying something else. “I also erased any information that might tell people that I’ve been coming here.” He sounded sad about that.
The thought made her sad too. Would she ever see him again after she freed Hope?
Chapter41
“I assumeyou aren’t going back to Tremaine headquarters now?” Taryn asked.
Ash flinched. He’d well and truly burned that bridge. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if Portia tracked him down. She’d been pissed at the thought of him letting Caspar into the Tremaine network.
He logged out of Taryn’s system and turned off the computer. It hadn’t been lost on him that she’d let him use her network. He could have planted any number of bugs or backdoors and she wouldn’t have noticed. Did that mean she trusted him? Should she trust him?
“What if Tremaine Security shows up here?” Had he brought trouble to Taryn’s door? He was still mad at her for losing Hope, but he didn’t want her harmed. And he was very afraid that corporate security would have no qualms about trampling innocents to get to him if Portia ordered it.
Taryn’s smile was fierce. “I don’t think so. It didn’t work well for her the last time.” He must have looked puzzled, because she added, “She sent them after Dizzie and Killian when they were hiding here. I don’t take well to people coming into my bar and starting something. So, I finished it.”
Well, damn. Ash hadn’t realized that the Jack had been involved in Dizzie’s escape. He’d tried to steer her clear of the bar, but maybe he shouldn’t have. Taryn was a fierce protector.
“I can’t go back to headquarters. Portia wants me under house arrest. If that happens, I may never leave the building again.” He shuddered. “Once we rescue Hope, we’ll have to leave the city immediately. In the meantime, can I stay here?”
Would she turn him away? The distance between them was growing, the accusations slowly tearing them apart and leaving ragged scars on his heart. He regretted his harsh words, but he hadn’t been completely wrong. It was the fault of her people that Hope wasn’t somewhere safe.
“I can show you to a room,” she said.
“There’s a cot in the hacker room. I can stay there,” he said. “If that’s all right?”
Disappointment flickered over her gaze, so fast he almost missed it.
“That’s fine,” she said.
“I can tinker while I’m down there. I assume your plan involves that setup?” he asked.
“You wait there for Caspar to contact you.” She leaned her hip against the desk right next to him.
It would be so easy to pull her into his lap. But he didn’t want her to freak out again—or to banish him from the bar. He had nowhere else to go.
“When Caspar calls you, ask for proof of life. He has to be expecting it, so he should be near Hope. We can track his location from that call. I’ll take my team to rescue Hope. Meanwhile, you can use the hacking chair for the fight against Caspar. If you think it will work. Do you need to be at headquarters?”
Ash shook his head. “I’ve spent years in their system. I think I can use that knowledge to lure him in and then trap him the way they trapped me.”
“That sounds dangerous,” she whispered.
Ignoring the instincts that told him to take her hand and offer comfort, he just said, “Dangerous for him, with any luck. I’ll have my team as backup, although they won’t know it.”
