“Because they killed your partner?” MaeBe was looking at him, concern clear on her face.
“No.” Kyle’s tone had gone flat, his expression hollow. “They didn’t kill Julia. I did. And I would do it again in a heartbeat. I would kill them all. I’m going to get ready to head out to The Reef when Deke gets back from dropping off Madeline.”
MaeBe stood and started to go after him.
“Not now,” Kyle said. “Give me a minute. You should get ready, too.”
Kyle strode up the stairs.
“Well, there’s the broody bastard I know.” Boomer shook his head. “Who wants toast?”
Nothing shook Boomer, but Deke required some clarifications. He turned to Drake. “Kyle was your operative?”
“They both worked under me. At the time they were my most trusted agents,” Drake replied evenly. “I knew Julia quite well. At least I thought I did. I didn’t realize what was happening with Julia until it was far too late to save her. Kyle was forced to kill her during a mission when she turned on him. That’s all I’m willing to say. We will focus on this mission and once we ID the woman, McKay-Taggart along with Kyle will be out of it.”
“But Kyle said he would come back.” MaeBe sniffled and wiped away a tear. “He said he would leave and go back to the CIA if it meant taking these people down.”
“I assure you, he won’t be allowed to,” Drake replied. “His stepfather would filet me. No. This is as close to The Consortium as I want Kyle Hawthorne to be. And I’ll take some toast, Boomer. MaeBe, why don’t you show me what you’ve got. I’d like to familiarize myself with the building Maddie works in.”
He moved closer to the hacker, and Deke was grateful she had something to do.
Deke took Maddie’s hand and led her out of the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
“Well, it feels more serious than it did before,” she admitted. “Is there any way Nolan isn’t in on this? Could this woman be using him? Misrepresenting herself?”
“He’s hiding her identity. I don’t think he would if he didn’t know she’s doing something potentially criminal.” He wanted Maddie prepared, and that meant keeping it real with her. If he could keep her from this, he would, but naivety could put her in danger.
She nodded. “All right. We should probably go. I don’t want to be late.”
He hated how closed off she was again. Like the night before hadn’t happened. He should have hopped in the shower with her. He should have fucked her until she couldn’t do anything but smile at him and feel relaxed.
He tugged on her hand, bringing her into the circle of his arms. “It’s going to be okay. I promise you.”
“You can’t promise me that, Deke.” But she didn’t pull away. “You can’t promise me the company will still be standing at the end of this. You can’t promise me I’ll have a job. My career has been everything for the last decade of my life.”
“No, I can’t promise you Byrne’s empire won’t crumble if he’s involved with something criminal, but I’ll protect you and your work.” He would do anything for her. “I’ve got friends who can help you. All I want you to do is focus on staying safe. We take Byrne and his friend to The Reef on Friday night if everything goes well today. Hopefully we get an invite to his place soon after. We’re going to let Drake work his magic. You won’t even have to get close to the system. We’ll let the others handle it while we provide Byrne with a distraction.”
“I don’t have to get into his office?”
“No. You’ll stay with me,” he vowed.
He felt a shudder go through her. “Good. I have to admit, everything I’ve found out about what Nolan might be into scares the crap out of me. I’m not a spy. I’m in over my head.”
He hugged her close. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She held him for a moment more and then stepped back. “All right. I’m glad you’re coming in with me. Are you ready?”
“Of course.” He was supposed to meet Byrne this morning and perhaps have coffee with the man. It would be hard to leave her in the building when it came time to go. “If you need anything, text me or flash a sign to the security cameras. Someone will be watching. I promise.”
It was a promise he meant to keep.
* * * *
Maddie was still thinking about the night before as they walked out of the elevator onto her floor, her hand in Deke’s. It did not get past her notice that every head turned as she started down the hall.
She supposed her coworkers were surprised to see her with a guy since she’d never brought one to the office. Or a party. Or any kind of event. As far as any of them knew she was in a relationship with her computer.