Page 93 of Her Unflinching Warrior (Omega Sky)
Hated this.
He’d never had a mission be so personal.
As he opened his mouth to speak, Jada slid her hand into his and tangled their fingers together so that they were palm to palm. Gideon felt himself calm down.
“That was outstanding work, Rylie, figuring out what Kendall had been up to in prison.” Gideon praised. “I hope to God we can figure out the rest. I’m going to start from the beginning to get everybody up to speed who hasn’t heard the situation. This will also make sure nothing was missed as the story was repeated to others.”
Every person on the screen nodded.
“Jada was kidnapped twenty days ago after being hired six months and one week before that by a company called Risk Guard. Risk Guard’s business model is to determine if potential clients are vulnerable to cyber threats. If they are, they come up with ways to stop those threats in their tracks and come up with ways to ensure that their security is bulletproof going forward.”
“Let me guess, it’s like a gym membership; they get you on the hook and you have to pay monthly dues forever,” Ryker griped.
“You got it in one,” Gideon nodded. “These clients can be cash cows on into perpetuity. Now, there are more than two-hundred-and-fifty employees at Risk Guard, but the CTO hired Jada for an obscene amount of money to work as a 1099 contractor and start trying to penetrate the security and firewalls of all new potential clients.”
Rylie put her fist up in the air. “Righteous! I’m liking the obscene amount of money part. You rock!” Gideon looked over and he could see Jada blushing. He was liking Rylie more and more each minute.
“I agree with you Rylie, Jada is worth every penny, but Risk Guard had an ulterior motive. They have a guy on their Board of Directors, his name is Miles Albright. He’s actually employed by Reynolds Inc., but he’s very involved with Risk Guard. He became a board member three years ago.”
“He’s our bad guy? Not Kendall Douglas?” Rylie looked perplexed.
“Patience, Honey,” Dare said to his wife.
Gideon continued. “Three years ago Risk Guard landed some huge clients. They really turned things around for their business. I’m not going to explain how, but it was Miles who arranged it by doing shady shit.”
“Betchya I know how,” Dex mumbled. All the other people on the Zoom call nodded.
“Anyway, now Risk Guard is the hot ticket for companies to come to, to check out their firewalls and security. That’s where Jada comes in. The CTO sources her and hires her. Now Jada has a reputation for checking into the companies she works for, and it isn’t long before she discovers the shady shit and is kidnapped. But she reaches out to me right before she’s taken.”
“Lucky for her.” Kane frowned.
“This isn’t a coincidence, is what you’re telling us, right?” Clint asked.
“Nope, I’m the one they want on the hook. Turns out Kendall Douglas has killed the real Miles Albright. Twenty-five years ago I was the one who provided the evidence that sent him to prison. He has a vendetta against me. This last abduction was his big reveal. He explained everything to me, including the plastic surgery he’d had to look like Miles before he killed him.”
“Holy shit,” Jada breathed. “That is crazy.”
Gideon gave her a tender hug, bringing her even closer, but ever mindful that he didn’t hurt her. “I’m so sorry, Jada. I can’t believe I brought this down on you,” he whispered.
He was met by silence for a long moment, then he watched a fierce look overtake his woman’s face. “I will whoop your ass if you take on guilt for this. We’re dealing with a psychotic bastard who sees himself as some kind of super-villain straight out of a comic book.”
She turned to the people on the screen. “Could any of you guess that something like this would be done in real life?”
Rylie tentatively raised her hand.
“Figures,” Clint said, shaking his head. “Rylie’s already lived a double life. She’s not psychotic, but she’s definitely walked a tightrope between reality and Hollywood shit.”
Dare looked like he was in pain.
“That’s great!” Jada exclaimed.
“Rylie, you’re our secret weapon,” Lydia grinned.
“What are you talking about?” Kostya demanded to know.
“I don’t get it,” Ryker complained.
“This could work,” Kane smiled.
