Page 74 of Protector Unmatched

“You want me to lie to my friends?”

“It’s not lying. Not really. Because I will be using my hacking skills to find the dagger. And I already know where to start.” She sighed. “Please let me do this for you.” Deep down, she knew Pearce didn’t really need her. He would eventually come to the same conclusion she had and have the same idea of where the dagger could be. But she wanted to be part of this. She wanted to prove to herself that her skills were still sharp, and that she could do something good.

For a few long seconds, she thought that Pearce would shoot her down, but then he nodded. “Fine. But that’s all you’re gonna do. You’ll help me find the location of the dagger. And then my colleagues and I will go and get it, and you’ll remain in the safety of these walls. Agreed?”

“I understand.”

Pearce chuckled unexpectedly. “I didn’t ask whether you understood. I asked whether you agreed.”

“You can be very pedantic sometimes,” she said, and walked to the door. “Let’s go. We’re burning daylight.”

Pearce followed her. “One day, I will paddle your ass.”

She gripped the doorknob and looked over her shoulder. “But not today.”

When they entered the command center of the compound, a large, windowless room with several desks and a large computer console, Pearce’s colleagues were already assembled. They looked at her in surprise, then glared at Pearce without saying a word. But their displeasure was palpable.

Enya was the only person Daphne had met before. Grayson and Ryder weren’t present, and the other four men hadn’t been introduced to her.

“Maybe Daphne would be more comfortable spending some time with the women in the kitchen,” one of them said.

Before Daphne could reply, Enya shook her head. “Manus, you sound like a chauvinist pig right now.”

“Well, Enya,” Manus replied tightly, “don’t tell me you suddenly approve of strangers in the command center.”

“I didn’t say that. I only called you—”

“Enough of the name calling,” Pearce interrupted. “The reason I brought Daphne is because she has an idea of how to find the dagger, and I’ll need her IT help. So, unless one of you has a background in hacking, then Daphne will help me do what we need to do.”

Pearce’s forceful words shut everybody up. And he’d even made it sound like it had all been his idea to get her help.

A few grumbles went through the room.

“I guess introductions are in order,” Pearce said, and pointed to the men. “These are Hamish, Manus, Aiden, and Logan. Enya you’ve already met. Now let’s get to work.” He turned to her. “Let’s start with your idea.”

“It’s actually simple. The owner wasn’t a collector of old artifacts. When I was inside the mansion, I noticed that it wasn’t his style. His art is more contemporary, more modern. He didn’t get the dagger or the other items in the safe for himself. He got them to trade or sell them. That’s why the safe was empty. He sold the dagger sometime during the last week.”

“And you get that from his décor?” Hamish asked skeptically.

Daphne shrugged. “It’s a lead. You’ve got anything better?” When Hamish didn’t answer, she continued, “I also know how to back up my theory.” She pointed to the computer console and turned to Pearce. “May I?”

He walked ahead of her and took a seat at the console. “I’ll log you in.” Moments later, one of the screens woke, and Pearce moved to the computer next to it. “Take a seat.” He cast her a conspiratorial look. “Not bad,” he whispered. Louder, he asked, “Where do you wanna start?”

“Auction sites.”

“EBay?” Logan asked with just as much skepticism as Hamish had displayed before.

“Yes, among others, though I don’t expect the owner to have listed it on eBay. There are more suitable auction sites for artifacts,” she said without looking over her shoulder, already typing a search on the computer. “Pearce, you have the photo of the dagger, right?”

Pearce nodded and pulled up an electronic file. “Drop your sites over here,” he said, pointing to the window on his screen. “The screens are connected.”

“Cool,” Daphne said, and proceeded. She was pleased to see how much she and Pearce thought alike, how much they had in common. “These sites are the most likely. While you do the image search, I’ll start on the text search.”

Daphne’s search produced several hits immediately. She waded through them, comparing the pictures of the auction items with the one Pearce’s monitor displayed, while Pearce did the same with an image search.

“You think the demons are doing the same we are?” Daphne asked.

“Not sure,” Pearce said.