He had to beat Caspar. It was the only way he and Hope could truly escape and live free. If anything happened to him...
Her heart twisted at the thought.
It would be hard enough living without him when he left town. Living without him because he was dead or brain burned? That wasn’t a world she wanted to live in.
Taryn circled the chair and studied the cables and plugs.
She didn’t know when it had been purchased, but she knew it had been top of the line when it was new. Like the Jack before her, the hacker Jack had enjoyed the best things in life. He would have purchased the best chair he could, which would probably mean the most advanced at the time.
“What the hell are you doing back there? Why are you circling me like a shark?”
“I’m looking for something.”
“Look for it where I can’t see you. I can sense you moving and it’s distracting as hell.”
Distracting him was bad, but Taryn was irrationally glad that her presence disturbed him. He disturbed the hell out of her. “I’ll do my best,” she said.
Taryn crouched down and took a closer look at the base of the chair. “Gotcha.”
The panel was dusty and the printing was tiny, but she found the symbol she was looking for—the one that indicated peripherals could be attached. Ash had told her that he was used to a keyboard these days. So, she’d get him a keyboard.
She bounced to her feet and faced Ash. “I think I can help. I’ll be right back.” She raced out of the room without waiting for his reply. She knew what she needed and where to get it.
How long would it take Ash to do whatever it was he was doing? Hacking sounded like magic to her. How else could you insert yourself into a computer?
Shaking off those thoughts, Taryn sprinted down the corridor to her office. She grabbed the keyboard off her desk, hoping that it would be able to pair with the chair. Taryn tucked it under her arm and yanked her office door open.
Dani waited the other side, about to knock. “We have a problem.”
“Can you handle it?” Taryn begged.
“It’s better if you do. Giselle’s pimp is in the bar.”
“Not again!” Why now? Taryn had no time for his shit. “Who’s minding the bar?”
“Neecy arrived right after you left. She was hanging out when he walked in, so I asked her to watch the bar while I got you. She’s got the guys with her.” Dani glared at her. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“I was taking care of Ash.”
Dani looked at the keyboard in Taryn’s hand then back at her, a million questions in her gaze. “Well, I hope you’ve solved that problem, because we’ve got a bigger one out there.”
Fuckfuckfuck.
Taryn focused on the bigger problem. “I need to drop this off, then I’ll be back. Ten minutes, tops.”
“What is wrong with you? The bar is getting full and a man you told not to come back has come back. The fucking office supplies can wait!”
“You don’t understand, Dani. This is more important than it looks. I’ve got to get back to Ash.”
“You say you care about these girls, but you’re putting a keyboard ahead of rescuing one? Screw you, Taryn. Go play secretary or whatever the fuck you’re doing. I’ll figure it out.”
Whoa. Dani rarely lost her temper.
She grabbed Dani’s arm. “I’m sorry. All the shit is hitting the fan at once.”
“There’s a big old pile of it out front. If you want to keep Giselle and the bar, you better get out there.” Dani turned and walked away.
“Hold on, Ash,” Taryn whispered under her breath. “I’ll take care of Hope if it goes wrong for you.”
