“For one, your father probably didn’t,” Alexandria answered. “It’s more likely that an assistant of his assistant did that for him. But more importantly, we don’t have to guess anymore.”
Seb jerked his head up, then spun his stool toward Alexandria. “You got the password?”
“Bingo.”
“What was it?”
Alexandria turned her laptop. “That’s it. Bingo. Well, Bingo123, but pretty close.”
Seb laughed. “Perfect.”
Alexandria rubbed her hands together. “And now comes the fun part, reading a bunch of private emails from people I don’t know.”
Seb nodded. But as he used the password to open up the files on his own laptop, anxiety crept up the back of his neck. Maybe there would be information in there that he didn’t want to know, real risks to his safety. Despite how awful the two attacks had been, he knew that he was safe so long as Declan was around. It felt natural, somehow, to turn to the older man and get lost in his arms.
But even so, the truth wasn’t going to be easy to hear.
In fact, it was probably going to be ugly as hell.
A knock broke through the silence, and Ellie yipped from the hallway. “Just checking in,” Declan said as he pushed the door to the lab open. “Everything good in here?”
“Hey, Declan,” Alexandria said, drawing his name out with a teasing smile.
Declan grinned her way. “You look like you’re causing trouble.”
Alexandria laughed. “Only the good kind. We’re making progress.”
As surprised as Seb was to see the two of them take to each other, he realized it only made sense. Coming from a family who played all the social games and ladder climbing of high society had made Alexandria value people who were straightforward and to the point, like Declan was. The fact that he instantly appreciated her banter, rather than shying away from it, only sealed the deal.
“I wanted to let you know I called in some extra security. I’m going to take off for a couple of hours, if that’s all right with the both of you.”
Alexandria twirled a finger through her hair. “This place is a fortress already. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
Declan turned to Seb, his eyes clear and warm as he waited for an answer. “Sure,” Seb said, trying to ignore the ache he always felt when Declan left the room. “No problem.”
“Good,” he answered. “My nephew is passing by. We’re meeting at a little diner off the highway so I can fill him in on the latest. If you need me, just call. I can get back quick.”
“We’ll be fine,” Alexandria said again. “Won’t we, Seb?”
“We will,” Seb said, still holding Declan’s eye. “I promise.”
DECLAN
When Declan got the text from Gray, he had been about five minutes away from tearing his hair out. It was one thing to stand around the house all day with nothing to do. It was a whole different thing to try to keep himself busy when there was a whole crew of professional security doing his job for him.
Not to mention Seb and his friend holed up in the lab, solving exactly the problems Declan had failed to solve himself.
He pulled his truck up to the diner. Through the big front windows, he could see Gray was already waiting at a booth. When Declan stepped out into the cold, he casually reached for a smoke from his pocket before remembering.
Hell of a time to quit, but sometimes Declan thought it was better to pile the shit on all at once, to just get it the fuck over with.
He kicked the snow off his boots, then headed across the diner. Gray had his hair slicked back and a smile on his face and one arm cocked up on the back of the booth. “Shit, Uncle Declan,” he said, rising to his feet. “You been sleeping, old man? Because you look tired.”
Declan snorted a laugh. “You know me. I sleep with one eye open anyway.”
As they sat down, Gray raised an eyebrow. “You seem pretty cheery about it.”
The waitress came by with a pot of coffee, and they put in orders for a couple of slices of pie. Something about drinking coffee satisfied the urge to smoke Declan was feeling, like it took the edge off, and seeing Gray brought him back to himself a bit more.
