"Is it that obvious?"
"To anyone who knows him? Yes." She shifts, one hand resting on her belly. "Boone has been alone since he came to Guardian Peak. Friendly with everyone, close to no one. Whatever happened between you, it's changed him."
I watch him across the room, deep in conversation with Deck about perimeter security. "He told me about the mission. The one that went wrong. The men he lost."
Vivian nods. "That mission broke something in him. He threw himself into planning and protocols, convinced that if he could just control every variable, he could prevent anyone else from dying." She pauses. "But you can't control everything. Especially not people. Especially not love."
"Who said anything about love?"
"No one." Her smile widens. "But you didn't deny it."
Before I can respond, Sully lets out a sharp curse.
"We have a problem."
Everyone converges on his laptop. On the screen, a series of communications between David Chen and an unknown contact.
"David was supposed to deliver more than just files," Sully explains. "He was supposed to deliver Mara."
My blood goes cold.
"The plan was to grab her during transit to the retreat," Sully continues. "When that failed because she dismissed her security and drove herself, they switched to the backup. Access the files, prove they have leverage, then use that leverage to draw her out."
"Draw me out how?"
Sully looks at me, his expression grim. "By threatening to destroy your company from the inside. According to these communications, they've planted malware in your systems. Unless you meet with them, alone, they'll trigger it. Your entire infrastructure will crash. Years of work, gone."
"When?"
"Tonight. Midnight deadline."
The room erupts. Deck starts issuing orders. Mace reaches for his phone to call the FBI. Wolfe pushes off from the wall, already moving toward the door to coordinate with the perimeter team.
But I'm looking at Boone.
His face is pale beneath his beard. His hands are clenched at his sides. And his eyes, those ice blue eyes that have looked at me with heat and humor and hunger, are filled with something I've never seen in them before.
Fear.
"No." The word cuts through the chaos. "Absolutely not. She's not going anywhere."
"Boone." I move toward him. "We need to discuss this."
"There's nothing to discuss." He grabs my arm, not roughly but firmly. "You are not meeting with these people. I don't care what they threaten."
"My company..."
"Can be rebuilt. You can't." His voice cracks slightly on the last word. "I won't lose you, Mara. Not for technology, not for money, not for anything."
"You won't lose me." I cover his hand with mine. "But we need a plan. A real one. Not just hiding and hoping they go away."
He stares at me for a long moment. I can see the war behind his eyes. The tactical planner fighting with the man who held me all night. Control versus chaos. Protocol versus passion.
Finally, he exhales.
"Fine." His jaw is tight. "We plan. But you don't leave this compound, and any meeting happens on our terms. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
