Page 60 of Lying Lainey

“We all love kids, and if the opportunity were to present itself to bring one into our family, I think we’d all jump at the chance. I think one reason we haven’t is because we work so much and would have to have a nanny to raise the kid, which, to me, isn’t really being a parent or giving the child the love and care they need. I’m sure if we started to talk about it seriously, our schedules would change, but it still wouldn’t be ideal,” Halstead answered as I stepped out of the room.

Quintin reached out and took my hand, twining our fingers together. “How do you feel about kids?”

“To be honest, I don’t think I ever really thought about it,” I admitted. “There was no one I would want to have a kid with, so it seemed logical to avoid that from happening. Like you guys, I’ve been focused on my career, and I move around fairly often because I like to see the world and have that freedom. It’s not something I’ve spent much time thinking about, so I don’t have a good answer for you.”

“I think that was a perfectly acceptable answer,” Quintin determined and squeezed my hand. “There are some answers in life you don’t know until you’re put in the time and place you need to think about it.”

While I appreciated he wasn’t going to demand an answer from me, I didn’t think he realized just how little time I had to determine how I felt. At the end of this week, regardless of what the Syndicate wants me to do or not, I need to know if I’m pregnant. It was clear that drug did something to me while I was in heat. It was different enough that it was apparent to the guys it hadn’t been normal. Now I was left to wonder what the hell I would do with my life if that test came back positive.

“Hey,” Quintin murmured as he pressed a kiss to my temple. “I hate to do this, but I need to get some work done. It shouldn’t take me long, but since this wasn’t a planned break, I couldn’t put everything off I wanted to.”

“Same for me,” Halstead added. “I told the general in charge of the DOD I’d meet with him, and today was the only time he had in the next two weeks. I doubt it will take me long to listen to him apologize and tell me how it should never have happened for about ten minutes before he changes his tune and gets pissed I turned down the work and kicked out his employee.”

I grimaced at his description of their conversation. “Oof, that sounds like so much fun,” I said sarcastically. “Go do what you need to do. I could use a break from all the testosterone flying around this place. I think I’ll go up and check out your library if that’s okay with you?”

“You are welcome to whatever’s in this house, Lainey. What is ours we will happily share,” Halstead answered then kissed my lips before heading toward his office with Quintin.

I smiled as I watched Halstead wrap an arm around Quintin’s waist and kiss him on the neck lovingly. It was a side that I was beginning to love seeing but knew it would never happen at work unless Halstead changed his mind about keeping their relationship quiet. Turning, I headed upstairs, but instead of going to the library, I walked toward the nest room, which I refused to call my own. Some sort of distance had to be maintained as I failed miserably in all other areas. It was like ordering a Diet Coke as you ate ten pounds of pasta. One didn’t outweigh the other, but it certainly made you feel better.

Grabbing my phone off the nightstand, I went to the last message the Syndicate sent me. Now was the perfect time for me to sneak into Kerian’s room and figure out if he had any devices there he might have the code on. What I needed was information on what to look for, a name of the code, part of a numeric sequence, anything I could search to tell me I was looking at the right thing on a programmer’s computer.

I typed out my request and sent it along with an inquiry if they had anything in mind for destroying the code once I found it. There hadn’t been a drive with a crash code or even a virus that would remove it from the hard drive. I was savvy around computers, but I was no programmer, that’s for damn sure.

Ms. Caddel,

Thank you for reaching out with your request. Please wait one moment while we find the answer for you.

I cringed at the way the message had the overly perfect office response email like a robot had written it. Hell, maybe one did write it, and I’ve been letting some artificial intelligence rule my life the past week.

Thank you for waiting. Your instructions are as follows:

The code’s name is UNVEIL, and we can confirm it is not the whole code, only part of it. At this time, we request that you destroy all copies of this section of code from Mr. Lewis’ devices. Your phone is equipped with a virus already, so all you need to do is place the phone on top of the device, and it will automatically start to download the virus. In order for the virus to work, the code must be placed in a secure folder so that the virus does not spread to other parts of the computer. If you have any troubles or require further instruction, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you once again for helping the UOS create a world where we can place Omegas in power.

“Yeah, sure, no problem… happy to help, you fucking psycho organization,” I muttered as I slipped my phone into my jeans pocket and headed back downstairs.

twenty-five

Lainey

Acting like I was going down to the main floor, I paused at the point no one could see me on the stairs to the ground floor, then stopped. Straining my ears, I tried to listen intently to every little sound in the house. I needed to be sure everyone was where they said they’d be. I also wanted to ensure that Ruth wasn’t working on her cleaning chores and would then be making her way up to the second level. Nothing gave me the impression I was in danger or at risk of being caught, so now the only choice I had to make was—go for the office or the bedroom?

I landed in the office as it was the most logical choice, and being discovered in the bedroom would be far easier to explain. It was simple to figure out which two of the four doors not to open since I could hear Halstead talking and Quintin typing. I tried the one next to Halstead’s office, but it was locked, so I moved across the hall, and that one opened. Peeking in, I found an incredibly modern-style office that could only be Kerian’s. The other two like their traditional vintage vibes too much.

Slipping in, I closed the door behind me and took in the space, noting the wrought iron desk with the glass top as the focal point of the room. It was placed so the person sitting at the desk would have their back to the window allowing the sunlight to brighten the room and their desk. There was a closed laptop on the desk but also a massive triple-screen setup connected to a computer tower on the floor. As I rounded the desk, I noticed a tablet off to the side with one of those special pens allowing you to draw or write. I certainly had my work cut out for me going through all of this, but it was to be expected from a group of men who lived and thrived in the technology world.

Starting with the desktop, I felt like it would be the most logical place he’d be working. The screens lit up, and of course, the prompt for a password appeared. Taking a wild guess, I decided to try one before seeing if the Syndicate had something else to offer.

Tater-Tot!1

There was no way this basic-ass password would ever work, but I figured what could it hurt if it ended up working. Of course, it gave me an error telling me that wasn’t right, so I placed the phone on the tower, and it buzzed with a message appearing.

Please select application:

Password cracker

Decryption