“How long did he wait, exactly?” Sebastian asked as she found the file she needed and copied it to Sebastian’s hard drive.
“Over a decade,” she answered. “Now, I need an address or account number for your internet service provider.”
“Seriously?” Sebastian asked.
“What? You don’t think I can hack your system with a little information?”
He shrugged. “That was more a question of Alex’s timing, but…also your hacking skills.”
“Come on. You had some tech skills, right?”
“Not a ton. I hired someone to do a lot of what I wanted. Actually, I hired a few people and had the tasks parceled out so no one knew what they were doing, then put everything together.”
Ava shifted in her seat, impressed by his savvy in getting the job done without the tech knowledge he needed to do it. “Good work, Sebastian.”
“Yeah, well, I actually learned something from The Board.” Before he could answer, his cell phone chimed.
He glanced at the display, his knuckles tightening around the device. “He answered. He’s coming.”
He pounded across the virtual keyboard, telling him to come alone.
“He may not do that. He doesn’t like you.”
“I’m not exactly fond of him,” Sebastian answered.
“Let him bring Doc.”
“Absolutely not.” Sebastian straightened, shaking his head. “No way.”
“Alex is going to need support in that house. If he can’t tell Doc, he’s going to go crazy.”
Sebastian slid his eyes closed. “Fine, he can tell the kid, but I’m only going to meet with Alex right now.”
“Fine, whatever. Now, give me your service provider, and I’ll get your program while you’re bringing Alex here.”
He passed the information along before he grabbed his gloves. “Don’t do anything stupid or risky while I’m gone.”
“I’ll play it safe…oh gosh, if we’re going to work together, you really need a nickname and Raven is tainted.”
“What?” His features crinkled as he stared at her.
“You need a nickname. We can’t call you Sebastian all the time—it’s never going to work. We don’t even call Kyle ‘Kyle,’ and that’s just one syllable.”
“Just call me Sebastian.”
“Sure thing, Shadow.”
“No,” he said with a shake of his head.
She glanced back at him, a devious smile on her face. “Mmm, it feels right, and I think Alex will love it.”
He heaved a sigh as he shook his head. “It’s a good thing I like you, Ava.”
She grinned at him as the door banged shut, returning to her work trying to get into Sebastian’s computer.
With any luck, soon, they’d decrypt the file, have a bead on The Board, and she’d be reunited with Alex.
An icy breeze snaked past her, a shiver creeping down her spine. She couldn’t shake the feeling that they were on the edge of something dangerous and uncertain, and hoped the chill wasn’t a premonition of the storm to come.
