Page 32 of Deserving Ryleigh
“Set a trap?” Brick suggested.
“Like what?” Tiny asked. “If it involves Ryleigh putting herself in danger, the answer is no.”
“No, I’d never suggest anything like that,” Brick retorted. “But what if she tells him via electronic channels that she’s done hiding? Done running. That she wants to give him the money back and be done with him once and for all.”
“But there’s only around eight million left,” Ry pointed out.
“Does he know that?” Brick asked.
She shook her head. “No. I’ve hidden the money. Like, buried it. There’s no way he can access it or find it.”
“Okay, then tell him you want to give it back and call it even. We come up with some way to set a trap…maybe set it up so he has to go into a bank and sign for it in person before the transfer will go through. Get the FBI to move in when he shows up.”
Ry held her breath. She wasn’t sure that would work. Actually, she was almost positive it wouldn’t—her father was even more paranoid thanher—but at this point, she was willing to try almost anything. Even talk to the man she’d never wanted to speak to again.
“What will keep him from screwing with us anyway?” Owl asked.
“Nothing,” Brick said with a shrug. “But perhaps just opening up an avenue of communication will turn his attention away from destroying what we’ve built at least for a little while. Ry, can you lock down The Refuge’s connection? Make it secure? Like you said, it won’t keep your father from doing what he did this morning again…granting reservations when there aren’t any available cabins, messing with our orders…but I’m going to contact Tex, have him see about getting us in touch with one of his FBI contacts. I’ll use a burner phone, try to make it harder for your dad to trace and figure out who I’m calling.”
“I can do that. It might take me a couple of days. And it might mean a few extra steps when connecting to the Internet…both for all of you and the guests,” Ry warned.
“Not a problem. We’ll just tell the guests it’s for their own protection. If anyone complains, their other option is to go off grid while they’re here,” Brick said without any concern in his tone whatsoever. “Ry, I need to make something clear to you,” he went on. “This isnotyour fault. This is the fault of your father. A man who stole millions of dollars that didn’t belong to him. And now he’s having a temper tantrum because he can’t spend it. Understand?”
Ry nodded, even though Brick was completely wrong.She’dmade the decision to come here. She never should’ve stayed as long as she had. But the lure of the friendship they’d offered so willingly was too tempting to deny. Especially when she’d never experienced it before.
Her father wasn’t going to take the offer of returning the money in exchange with being done with her. He’d take the money, yes—but his anger toward her was toodeep-seated for him to just disappear into the sunset. He’d do whatever it took to end her—because they both knew she was the better hacker. That she could turn around and steal everything back from him a second time.
No, the only way to make sure she couldn’t screw him over again was to get rid of her once and for all.
She wouldn’t mention that to these men, because she was pretty sure it would send them off the deep end. They’d lock down The Refuge faster than she could blink. Cancel all the reservations. Make the place a fortress. And that wasn’t acceptable. That would go against everything this place stood for. The serenity of the forest, the getaway from the evils of the world for those who desperately needed it. The safety of the place would be forever marred, The Refuge’s reputation tarnished, and she wouldn’t be the cause of that.
Ry didn’t want to die, not when she’d finally found a place where she felt as if she belonged. Not when she’d found friends who seemed to like her exactly for who she was, a nerdy computer hacker. Not when things between her and Tiny were finally starting to fall into place. She had no idea what might happen with them in the future, but she wanted to find out.
“All right. Ry will lock down our shit, but everyone needs to keep handwritten notes for the near future. Call the vendors and people you usually work with, tell them we’re the victims of hackers and they should verify deliveries by phone in the short term, just to be safe. Stay on your toes. As Ry said, things might get even crazier before they settle down. Understand?”
Brick was a very good leader. Ry could understand why he’d gotten so many accolades while he was a Navy SEAL.
“I’ll get in touch with Tex and see what he can do to help from the East Coast. In the meantime, as long as it won’t put you in danger, Ry, see if you can reach out to your father. Start up an avenue of communication. Keep him occupied until we can dangle the money carrot in front of him. We want to lure him into a trap, and we can’t do that if he refuses to talk to you.”
“Okay,” Ry agreed. The last thing she wanted to do was reach out to that man, but she’d do it if it meant keeping The Refuge and everyone on the property safe.
She stood as everyone else did, and Tiny took a step back, giving his friends room to approach her. To her surprise, everyone hugged her. Tightly. Told her they were on her side. Ordered her not to worry, promised they’d figure this out together.
She was overwhelmed.
It wasn’t as if she’d expected them to scream at her and kick her off the property, but she didn’t really think they’d be one hundred percent on her side either.
Brick was the last to approach. Tiny remained behind her, hovering protectively. Brick put his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes for a long moment. Then he shocked her by apologizing.
“I’m sorry for being a dick that day. I was worried about my friends and didn’t have any idea about what to do to find them. When I realized you might be able to track them, I got impatient. I should’ve realized that someone with your skills would want to use your own computer.”
But Ry shook her head. “No, I get it. I would’ve done the same thing.”
“No, you wouldn’t have,” Brick said with a small smile. “You would’ve made sure your shit was locked down, then done your thing. It would’ve taken five minutes, tops, for you to get your laptop. And in the end, nothing we found out made a difference. Lara was already kicking ass and taking names by flying that chopper off that island all by herself. I just want you to know, youare notexpendable. Not now, not ever. Your dad is an asshole, but that doesn’t make you one by association.”
Ry wanted to cry. He was being so nice. And she might not be an asshole by association, but she definitely wasn’t innocent either. The path to how they’d gotten to where they all were today was long and twisted, but for years, she’d blindly done what she was told, instead of what she knew was right.
He hugged her, holding on for long seconds, then said, “Alaska’s gonna want you to look at the reservation system. I know she’s aware the reservation was fake, but she’s gonna think she did something wrong with Mr. Henderson anyway. If you could reassure her, I’d appreciate it.”
