After his time in the Middle East, he probablycouldsleep under any conditions, but would he even try here? He and Alan had been cordial, but there was no mistaking the tension between them. She guessed Scott was not happy about giving up control, and had yet to decide if he could trust the other man. Then again, he understood the potential advantages of a third person or he would have left already.
A cool chill swept through her. The last thing she wanted was to push him away.
“Okay, then.” Dropping her bag onto the bed furthest from the door—and closest to the sofa—she said, “Thank you.”
Looking up, she caught Alan watching her, a wary expression on his face. “You two done?”
She ignored his jab and merely nodded.
“I’m going to get a pop,” Scott said, striding toward the door. “You guys want anything?”
Alan shook his head.
“Would you get me a bag of Skittles?” she asked. She needed fuel.
As soon as the door fell shut, Alan said, “What’s up with him?”
She shrugged and removed her toothbrush and toothpaste from her bag.
“And who says ‘pop?’” he asked, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
Offering up a light laugh, she said, “No idea.”
Alan moved up behind her, quiet as a cat, and toyed with a piece of her hair. “How are you holding up?”
Turning, she settled into his open arms and let out a deep sigh. “Okay, I guess. All things considered.” What choice did she have? “Falling apart isn’t really an option.”
He rubbed her upper back. “You’ll beat this, Valerie. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
She looked up at his handsome face. Why hadn’t some girl scooped him up yet? Or maybe one had. She knew so little about his life now. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
“Not just for today, for everything. You’ve been the one good thing in my life since my dads… I hated that we had to cut ties.”
“Me too. You and Filiberto were almost like family to me. Better than my own. In real life, I was a skinny math nerd with secondhand clothes who got bullied by the punks on my bus. Other than the one guy who took an interest in me and showed me my first online game, my home was a revolving door of men who treated my mom like shit. But online, I was part of a community. I could be anyone. And then I met your papá and he showed me where the real power was.”
“It’s addictive,” she said. Her dad had sucked her into that world too, and she’d found the anonymity and ability to create any persona far more thrilling than the analog world. “You’re finally with your tribe, and you feel so smart, so superior, like an intellectual gladiator.”
Alan nodded. “But your father got cocky and sloppy. I knew he was in for a fall—though I didn’t expect anything worse than jail time for him—and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Once you went away to college, I figured you were better off without me in your life.” Alan pulled her in tight. “I should have tried harder to keep you out of the hacker world, both when you were still a kid, and after you dropped out of school. I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“I sh—” The lock whirred and the door opened with a loudthunk.
Valerie shot backward out of his arms and looked to her right. Only Scott’s leg was visible as he strode away. The heavy, metal door slammed shut, leaving her alone with Alan again. “What the hell?”
He jerked his head toward the door. “You should go talk to him.” His eyebrows rose meaningfully.
She could feel the heat rising into her cheeks. “There’s nothing… We’re not…”
“Okay, whatever, but you need him. Go,” he said, gently pushing her forward. “I’ll set up a secure connection and start digging around.”
Outside, the few working lights did little to dispel the shadows that clung to the squat two-story motel. At the end of the cracked pavement she caught a glimpse of Scott rounding the corner to the far side of the building that butted up against a deserted industrial complex with roll-up doors.
Afraid of drawing any attention from the rooms along the exposed corridor, she jogged on her toes, following him around the bend without calling out. He was waiting for her, and she had to pull up short to keep from crashing into him.
She stifled a yelp and placed a hand on the cool stucco wall for support. “Where are you going?” Goose bumps raced across her skin. After two weeks on the coast of California, she’d forgotten the rest of the country was experiencing winter.
