“Shower first?”
She nodded and sat up as he rose from the bed, every gorgeous naked inch of him. “No tattoos,” she said, propping herself on her hands. “How’d you get through the Marines without one?”
He chuckled. “I know, right? They’re practically mandatory.” His smile dropped and he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “In juvie, too.”
Valerie wanted to kick herself for bringing it up now.
“I haven’t really thought about why before, but I’ve never wanted ink. The idea of handing over control to someone else, giving them the ability to mark me forever has never appealed to me.” He crossed his arms. “There was very little I had control over when I was younger, even my body. So now I’m reluctant to relinquish it. I don’t trust easily.”
But he trusted her, and her heart did a slow flip as she realized now how much of a gift—and responsibility—he’d given her.
He held out his hand and she took it, letting him pull her to her feet and toward the shower.
Twenty minutes later, Scott set a mug of steaming coffee and a bowl of instant oatmeal next to Valerie’s computer and joined her at the dining table with his own breakfast.
“Thanks,” she said, without looking up from the keyboard. She had swept her hair up into a high ponytail before their shower, and several damp strands curled around her ears.
God, what was it about her? He was quickly getting in over his head with this woman. Neither of them could afford the distraction, but it was too late to turn back now. He was hers for as long as she’d have him.
Right now, she needed an experienced tracker and killer on her side, but if they ever got their lives back, that would change. Even if she could love him, he’d never trap her in the sham of marriage. Never keep her tied to a man like him, who’d been born to violence.
And, hell, when had he started thinking aboutlove? He massaged the back of his neck. What a fucking goat rope.
“You’re not eating,” she said, glancing his way. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just thinking.” He took a bite of the goopy oats. Too sweet. “We can’t get anything done if we stay holed up in here.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Too close to the bed?”
He laid down his spoon and lowered his voice. “I think we proved that we don’t need a bed.”
Her face flushed a sweet shade of pink, clashing with the red sweater Tara had left for her. The way it snugged across Valerie’s breasts almost made him want to kiss Tara in thanks.
He resumed eating with great effort, welcoming the distraction of scalding coffee. “What are you trying to get off the Aggressor computers?”
“Originally, I was hoping my email conversations with Duncan would still be on the mail server, but everything pertaining to the illegal hacks he assigned me has been conveniently deleted. I copied them onto a thumb drive and hid the drive at work, but it’s not like we can waltz in there and get it.” She frowned and ate a spoonful of oatmeal. “So, now I’m trying to get into the servers where sensitive documents are stored, hoping to find any piece of evidence that helps us.”
She sighed. “I have a backup plan since we can’t wait around for Eli to connect to the remote server. Everything’s finally in place to start a coordinated attack on Duncan’s friends and family, as well other people at Aggressor. I’ve already sent a friend request to his wife Cathy on Facebook posing as a member of a private book club group she’s in, and I have a few other lures out there.” Her fingers tapped at the keyboard again. “Did you know Sid collects stamps?”
“Really?” Scott shook his head and tried to imagine the uber-pumped security specialist carefully placing a stamp into a book with tweezers. If that’s what collectors did. “How does that help us?”
“We can go phishing.” She smiled. “I can tailor my email to something he’ll be more inclined to open.”
“Like what?”
“A message that appears to come from his favorite website saying their server was hacked and he should log in to change his password. Hopefully, he’ll assume he accidentally signed up using his work address and not think about it too hard.”
“It almost seems cruel, tricking people like that.” As much as Scott needed and admired her skills, the things she—and others—could do were enough to make him want to live in a cabin in the woods, completely off the grid. “Makes me glad you’re on the right side.”
“I wasn’t always.” She cast her eyes downward and bit her lower lip. “I hate doing this to Sid too, but I’m not going to mess with his personal info. I’m only using him as a door into Aggressor.”
“I know. It’s okay.” He squeezed her hand. “Do you have to create an entire website for that?”
She smiled. “No, I’m going to grab an unused piece of real estate on the deep web and create a splash page. If Sid clicks the link, he’ll get to that screen and then receive a server error if he tries any of the page links. By then, I’ll have control of his computer, and once I’m in the network, I can access anything that’s not encrypted. Assuming there’s anything to find at this point. I’m sure Aggressor is even more locked down than ever, and I expect Duncan would cover his tracks. But if anything’s still there… We have to try.”
“Definitely.” What else were they going to do? Scott’s head spun. She hadn’t been idle during her time on the run. Not even close. She’d spent every waking hour putting together pieces of the puzzle, planning her own attacks, and researching.
Reconnaissance and surveillance. At her core, she was a patient observer, just like him. Only she tracked targets, searched for defensive weaknesses, and attacked online instead of in the field. She cloaked herself in bits and bytes as effectively as he concealed himself in a ghillie suit.
