Micah could readthe despair on Bryn’s features and wished there was a way to reassure her that everything would be okay.
But he was very much afraid things would get worse before they got better.He tried to focus on researching the data center project, but every cell in his body wanted to pull Bryn into his arms to hold her close.
Maybe that is the right answer, he thought grimly.He went back to his earlier idea of liquidizing his assets to buy fake passports for them and disappear.
Forever.
The urge to sweep Bryn out of the country was strong.She’d resist, but he was confident she’d soon realize that starting over in some remote location far away from here was a better alternative to sitting in jail.
Or worse, being found guilty of first-degree murder.
“What’s that article?”Bryn’s voice pierced his thoughts.“Why are they talking about data centers from foreign countries?”
“I just did a general search.This is not necessarily related to the Wild Prairie Data Center.”He scanned the article.“It mentions data centers from foreign countries pose a risk to national security.”
“Why is that?”Bryn looked confused.“Aren’t data centers basically big buildings housing high-powered computers?I know the computers need to be in climate-controlled spaces, which is why the Midwest tends to be a good place to have them.”
“That’s true.The Midwest also has more open rural spaces to build them.”He glanced at her.“They like to be close to the city to attract employees, but at the same time, the amount of property needed factors out cities like Chicago or New York.”
“That makes sense.”Her brow furrowed.“But I still don’t see the risk to our national security.”
This wasn’t necessarily his area of expertise either.He continued scanning the article.“I guess there’s a concern about data security.Like maybe a foreign country will try to penetrate our systems for their own use.”
“Like information piracy?”She shook her head.“I guess, but can’t they do that without data centers?We’re always hearing about hackers from overseas who are working hard to scam their way into our personal bank accounts.”
“True.This could be a way to get data from other companies, though.Not just your bank information or mine.That’s like picking one apple at a time.I’m sure the goal is to have access to information from several large companies.Companies who would pay to have their data stored in a center like this one.”
Like the company Bryn worked for?Maybe, although despite how well they were doing, that also seemed like small potatoes in the big scheme of things.He had to assume the ultimate goal would be to target even bigger fish, like billion-dollar companies.
Was that the play here?Was Bryn a sacrificial lamb in a much bigger conspiracy?
He wondered if he should float that theory past Rex.Not that his boss was particularly happy with how things were going.As much as Rex felt responsible for Tommy’s death, along with several of the other soldiers who’d died during the exfil that day, he knew Rex wasn’t convinced of Bryn’s innocence.
Maybe it was better to wait until they had something more tangible to go on.Right now, there wasn’t any concrete evidence to indicate the Wild Prairie Data Center was at the heart of Damien’s murder.
In fact, he was pretty sure the murder was related to the missing money, probably the cash from the data center project.
Why would Richard take money from his own company, blame Damien, and frame Bryn for the embezzlement and the murder?It made more sense that Richard would kill Damien in a fit of anger and frame that on Bryn, but that didn’t explain the missing money going through her account.
Unless Damien had done that.
Micah hoped he wasn’t going down the wrong path.They could be making more of this than there was.Revenge made more sense in the long run.
What did killing Bryn give Richard, though?Did he think that once Bryn was out of the picture the feds would return the missing money?The money wasn’t hers; it was proof of a crime.It was logical that the money could be returned to the rightful owner.
But that could happen even without Bryn’s death.Killing her would implicate someone else.Someone other than Richard.
Like one of her colleagues?Maybe.
“What are you thinking?”Bryn asked.
“Nothing really.”He didn’t want to upset her by outlining the various scenarios whirling through his mind.“Just trying to make sense of things.”
“Good luck with that,” she muttered.“If we don’t find something soon, you should turn me over to the police.Save yourself, Micah.There’s no point in both of us being arrested for crimes we didn’t commit.”
“Let’s just wait to see how things go.”He would rather disappear with her somewhere they couldn’t be found than turn her in, but that was a conversation for later.Once they’d run out of options.
He continued with his search, frowning when he found another article describing the construction on the data center being halted until further notice.He tapped the screen, turning to look at Bryn.“Did you know any of the details behind this?”
