Angel: A Linear Tactical Romantic Suspense Standalone Read online

  They’d only left it open in an attempt to ferret out any remaining system or employee vulnerabilities.

  “But she could’ve accessed it at any time,” he told Kendrick. “She’s had access to a laptop with our operating system for weeks. Why would she come here today and use mine to access it?” It didn’t make any sense.

  “I don’t know,” Kendrick said. “Maybe she didn’t understand exactly what she had at home. But hey, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe there’s something going on we don’t understand.”

  Yes, there had to be something going on they didn’t understand.

  “Oh fuck,” Kendrick whispered, staring at the screen as the security footage came up.

  “What?”

  Kendrick tapped the screen with the tip of his finger. “This is right outside the lobby door.”

  Gabe angled the screen so he could see it better. It was Jordan’s truck. “Who’s that in the driver’s seat? That’s not Jordan.” Gabe knew the answer to his own question before he even finished it. “Michael Reiss.”

  “Yes.”

  Kendrick enlarged the security footage. Gabe watched, his whole world crashing around his feet, as Jordan came rushing out of the building. He studied the image, hoping to find some sign of coercion or struggle. Instead, he watched as a bright smile came over Jordan’s face and she got in the truck with no hesitation at all.

  Then he backed the footage up and watched it again just to be sure.

  Kendrick shook his head. “Shit, man, I’m sorry. Want me to call the police? We can have her picked up before she even hits the Wyoming state line.”

  Gabe tried to wrap his mind around how his life had just completely changed in the past fifteen seconds. “Not yet. Keep the account open as if we don’t know what has happened. Make it look like there’s money available.”

  “It won’t be foolproof for tracing. If she’s smart, she could make it so we never find where she’d put it.”

  “I don’t need to trace it. I just want to see what she does.”

  Maybe Michael was forcing her to work with him. Maybe that smile she’d given him was fake. Maybe there was some sort of explanation and she wasn’t involved at all.

  God, how he prayed that was true.

  But an hour later, Gabe couldn’t deny it any longer.

  Kendrick knocked on his office door and stuck his head in. “Just wanted you to know we got a ping on the account, someone trying to filter out the cash they think is available.”

  “How much dummy money did you put in there?”

  “I made it look like there’s two million in the account.”

  Gabe rubbed his hand over his eyes. He’d spent the past hour trying to contact Jordan, just in case. Calling her over and over. He didn’t know what he was going to say to her if he got her on the phone, but that hadn’t been a problem. She’d never picked up.

  “Did they try to take all of it?”

  “No. Actually, a really weird amount: $622,000.”

  Jordan had found a way to get the money she needed for the life she wanted to live.

  Three hours later, Gabe sat in a cheap folding chair in the southwest corner of Jordan’s living room.

  The blind corner.

  He’d mentally labeled it that way because of how her front door opened. This corner was a vulnerability—you couldn’t see potential danger here unless you deliberately checked for it.

  Ingrained training and habit had always made Gabe look there as soon as he came through the door, to check for any potential threat and make sure it didn’t blindside him.

  Too bad he hadn’t been able to see that the threat right in front of him, right beside him, wrapped around him, the entire time.

  Evidently, he hadn’t learned his lesson a few months ago, when someone close to him had betrayed him. Even worse, he’d blinded himself to who Jordan really was and who had raised her. He’d let himself be fooled by those big gray eyes and sob stories about things she’d never done and places she’d never been.

  The people in Oak Creek he’d been most angry with—the ones forcing her to stay away from them—had been the smart ones after all. The right ones.

  And yet even with undeniable proof, some part of him still didn’t want to believe it. That was why he was here, right? Because he was fool enough to hope there was some sort of explanation.

  It was insanity to be here. He was too close to this. He couldn’t think straight when it came to Jordan and this situation. He should’ve called in law enforcement or even the Linear guys to track Jordan and Michael. Hell, the local sheriff could’ve taken her into custody for a parole violation if she was still around. Nothing else even had to be proven right now. Gabe would be a hero in Oak Creek for providing the footage.

  If she was still around at all.

  He barely controlled the urge to slam his fist against the wall. Had she thought about the fact that she’d be giving up this place she loved so much when she got back in cahoots with her father? Was that worth $622,000?

  Or maybe she thought she wouldn’t get caught. The thing was, if she’d just used the computer here at her house, she might not have. It was still difficult to believe she hadn’t figured that out.

  Almost as difficult as it was to believe how asinine he’d been to give her unfettered access to his company.

  No matter what, he had to see her face. Would she lie to him? Treat him as if nothing had happened?

  Had she planned this all along, or had it been a crime of opportunity? Would she deny it when he confronted her? Beg for mercy? Try to seduce him?

  Show any remorse whatsoever? He had to know.

  The door clicked open. He was about to get his chance.

  He remained hidden in the shadows, knowing Jordan didn’t have the combat-honed instincts to check for the vulnerability.

  It was something he’d meant to go over with her, but he’d thought he had more time.

  When she didn’t turn on all the lights like she normally did, he stayed where he was.

  Something in him broke apart when she rushed over to the desk with the CT computer. She turned on the small desk lamp and booted up the system. Moving silently behind her, like the warrior he still was, he positioned himself so he could see the screen clearly over her shoulder.

  She was accessing the Collingwood Technology internal system again. Jesus, was she going to try to take more?

  Her fingers flew over the keys, quickly gaining access to the heart of the system. The last tiny bit of hope he’d harbored that she wasn’t involved in the illegal activities disappeared as she accessed the account once more.

  His phone vibrated silently in his pocket and he took it out. A message from Kendrick.

  Account accessed twenty minutes ago by somebody named Allan Godlewski.

  Godlewski. Jesus. That pretty much told him everything he needed to know. Jordan’s interest in Gabe had been a setup from the beginning. Hell, maybe they’d even planned the first day Gabe had driven in on Allan manhandling her.

  Gabe’s control snapped. “Going back to the scene of the crime?

  Jordan shot away from the computer with a scream. She turned, all the color leeching from her face.

  “Gabriel . . .” She held her hands in front of her in some sort of gesture of supplication.

  He shook his head once. “Oh no, you don’t get to call me that. I’m very definitely not your angel anymore.”

  She flinched, but he didn’t care. He refused to let himself care, refused to be drawn in by those guileless eyes.

  “What are you doing, Jordan? Didn’t you get everything you came for this afternoon? Why did you stop with $622,000 when you could’ve gone for two million?”

  “I can explain.”

  He took a step forward, and she took a step back. It was easy to see he was scaring her.

  Good.

  “You can explain how you used the access that I trusted you with to infiltrate my business and steal money from me?
”

  “Yes. You see, my father showed up earlier today. He forced me to—”

  “Forced you to?” Gabe tsked. His voice was low, even. “It didn’t look like there was any forcing going on when you ran back out to him in your truck, smiling.”

  She rubbed her fingers against her forehead. “Of course, you have security footage. I know it looks bad, but it’s not what you think. Michael showed up today and told me I had to plant the code that would give him access to some of your accounts. He was going to steal money from you. You had some accounts that were vulnerable, and somehow Michael found out about them.”

  “Yeah. We were already aware of those vulnerable accounts. That’s why we were watching them, trying to catch someone we thought would be stealing from us. I just didn’t think that person was you.”

  Gabe clenched his fists. Never again. Never again was he going to trust an outsider. Hell, he couldn’t even trust an insider. And he definitely couldn’t trust his own instincts, which had told him Jordan was a good soul.

  She was shaking her head rapidly. “No, it wasn’t like that. I promise.”

  Gabe took another menacing step forward, unable to help himself. Fury coursed through his whole system. “I’ll listen to everything you have to say, every single word, if you can explain to me why you headed straight to the computer without bothering to turn on the light. What were you doing?”

  The remaining color fading from her face told him everything he needed to know. Keeping his eyes on hers in the dim light, he reached over and struck a key; the monitor lit back up. They both glanced over at the screen. They both knew what it held.

  “Looks like you were going back in and covering up your tracks. Tell me that wasn’t what you were doing, Jordan.”

  She had no earthly idea how much he wanted her to tell him that wasn’t what she was doing.

  “No, I was, but I was trying to get in and change the system before Michael could access the money.”

  “Why didn’t you just call me? You’ve obviously been away from him for a while and yet my phone hasn’t received a single message from you.”

  “My phone broke. I couldn’t call you. I had to go into town. I was at New Brothers Pizza.”

  Now Gabe laughed, although there was no joy in the sound. “Jesus, Jordan, your father obviously has a lot left to teach you when it comes to cons. You’re going to have to lie a lot more effectively than that. There’s no way in hell Mr. DiMuzio let you inside of his restaurant. Everyone knows that.”

  “Gabriel—”

  He slammed his fist down on the desk. “I told you not to fucking call me that. I am not your angel. Never again.”

  He steeled himself against the tears filling her eyes. She took a shuddering breath. “Gabe. I’m not explaining myself well. Just let me—”

  “You know what? I’m tired of talking. I’m tired of listening to people who will look me in the face day after day, knowing how much I care about them, and lie without hesitation.” He took another step forward, knowing he shouldn’t touch her when he was teetering on such a thin blade of fury. He might not be able to stop himself from hurting her.

  Even worse, he wasn’t sure that he wanted to stop himself from hurting her.

  She had the self-preservation to keep moving backward as he came forward.

  “The people of Oak Creek were right to mistrust you, weren’t they? They weren’t stupid enough to get led around by their cocks. Were you even a virgin, Jordan?” Each question was punctuated by his step forward and her step back, until her back was against the living room wall. He caged her in with his hands on either side of her head. “Was it planned from the beginning? I just got word that it was Allan Godlewski who accessed the account—or attempted to access the account. I’m sure he was surprised when it ended up holding nothing.”

  She didn’t say anything.

  His body crowded in on hers. “That day I saw you struggling with Allan, was that part of your con? Was it acting? Do you like it rough, Jordan? Have I been too gentle?”

  She pushed at his chest. “Fuck you.”

  He grabbed her wrists and slammed them back against the wall beside her head. “Come on now, I’ve been so soft and gentle, thinking you were new at this. Maybe I haven’t been giving you what you need.”

  Before she could say anything else, he covered her lips with bruising force. It was less a kiss and more an act of war. Gabe felt himself getting hard. Who was he kidding? Not hard. Harder. He may not trust Jordan for a single moment, but he still damn well wanted her with a brutal force that ate at him.

  Maybe he could fuck her out of his system. Maybe that would ease some of the agony clawing inside him at what she’d thrown away. She’d broken this beautiful thing that could’ve been between them.

  But when she made a little whimper against his mouth, he pulled back, staring into those gray eyes. Eyes full of questions and confusion and hurt.

  How fucking dare she pretend to feel hurt?

  He muttered a curse and spun her around and thrust her face forward against the wall, shoving up against her back. He ran both hands down her shoulders, over her back, her waist, her hips, until he was cupping her ass. Groping. Squeezing.

  “Is this how you like it when you’re not pretending?”

  “Gabriel, please . . .”

  Goddammit, he could not listen to his name come from her lips like that—soft, sweet, gentle. He grabbed her wrists and slammed them up against the wall again.

  “I didn’t know what to do,” she continued. “I’m sorry.”

  She sounded so broken. So defeated. She wasn’t fighting him, wasn’t struggling, wasn’t saying no.

  But she very definitely wasn’t saying yes.

  He looked at where he held her wrists so tightly in his hand. In a few hours she’d have bruises there shaped like his fingers.

  What the hell was he doing?

  He released her wrists and stepped back so that no part of his body was touching hers, flinching when she just stayed in the same place against the wall.

  “I apologize.” He turned away, running a hand through his hair, the rage seeping out of him. This hadn’t been what he wanted. “No matter what, I shouldn’t have touched you like that in anger.”

  Her hands slid down until they rested at her sides, but she kept herself plastered against the wall, like she wanted to crawl inside it.

  The rest of his anger melted away, leaving just a gaping wound in his chest. He shouldn’t have come here. What closure had he expected to gain?

  Seeing her defeated like this didn’t make him feel any better.

  Nothing would.

  He wasn’t sure what he was going to do. Leaving her here alone was stupid. She would run. Even though she wouldn’t get far without the money she’d tried to steal, she would still run.

  And then she’d be back in prison, away from this place she loved so much.

  Why?

  He couldn’t stand to think about it. He had to get out of here.

  He crossed to the door, not even bothering to get the computer he’d brought for her to use. Maybe she could sell it and buy herself another couple of days of freedom.

  Hand on the doorknob, he turned back to her. She was still standing over against that wall. Goddammit.

  “If you had just used this computer, I might have never known it was you. I at least wouldn’t have known until after the money was gone.”

  He could’ve sworn she whispered, “I know,” but that couldn’t be right. And he didn’t trust himself to stay and find out.

  He walked outside, shaking his head as lightning split the air overhead and small hail began to fall. Fitting. Thundersnow. A freak winter storm that produced lightning. They got them in Idaho sometimes too.

  That lightning crackled through the sky, building and building, just waiting for a place to strike.

  Gabe knew the feeling.

  Chapter 27

  Gabe knew he should start the drive back to Idaho Falls. I
t was late and besides, where the hell else was he going to go?

  But he’d have to come back to Oak Creek tomorrow to tell Violet that the woman she’d trusted with her beloved bakery and her friendship had betrayed them both. Violet had been excited when he’d discussed letting Jordan use one of the CT computers with the network operating system. She’d wanted to see her friend succeed.

  He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. He’d wanted to see Jordan succeed too.

  So he’d have to come back first thing tomorrow morning. He wasn’t going to give Violet this sort of news by phone or text.

  When his own phone buzzed with a message from Aiden, Gabe pulled over to read it. Driving in this hail was bad enough; he definitely wasn’t going to do it while looking at a phone.

  Linear guys and women are talking strategy at Finn’s house until we get a handle on this. V wanted to let you know she was safe, in case you were worried.

  Gabe was still trying to decipher the first message when a second came through.

  She agreed to close the bakery for two days. If we haven’t got it under control by then, I’ll be staying there with her while it’s open.

  Gabe didn’t waste time trying to type. He called Aiden.

  “Hey Gabe—”

  Gabe cut right to the chase. “Does Violet know about Jordan? Is that why she’s shutting down the bakery?”

  “She doesn’t want to, of course. But after what happened to Charlie today, none of us are taking a chance. We’d rather stay together and combine forces than be split and weakened.”

  “What happened to Charlie? Are she and the baby all right?”

  “Jordan didn’t tell you? Charlie was almost in a car accident today. Her brakes failed. Not failed, actually—they’d been cut. She’s fine, baby too. Just shaken up.”

  Gabe’s curse filled the car.

  “Yeah, my feelings exactly.” Aiden’s background noise got quieter. “Listen, Violet didn’t want to tell you this, but you’ve got a right to know. Dorian found evidence that someone was up in the apartment over the bakery after it closed, when everyone had left except Violet.”