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I fought the urge to shift away from her. “Locking them out,” I said, keeping it simple. “Kicking their asses to the curb.”
She laughed, a soft, throaty sound that hit me like a shot of whiskey. “You make it sound easy.”
“It’s not,” I said, but a corner of my mouth twitched. Damn it. I was showing off, and I knew it. For her. The realization burned, and I shoved it down, focusing on the task.
With a final flourish, I slammed the system shut, erecting a temporary firewall that’d hold until I could rebuild the whole damn network. The intruders were gone—for now.
I leaned back, cracking my knuckles. “System’s locked down,” I said, glancing at Teresa. “But your security’s a joke. I’ll need to rebuild it from scratch. Firewalls, encryption, the works. Stuff even the NSA would sweat to crack.”
Teresa exhaled, her shoulders sagging. “You can do that?”
“Already planning it,” I said, my tone brisk. “I’ll stick around, get it done. You’ll be Fort Knox by the time I’m through.”
It sounded like bragging, and I hated it. Hated how Vivi’s presence made me want to puff out my chest, prove something.
I wasn’t that guy.
I didn’t perform for an audience.
I worked alone, always had.
The job was the rush—cracking systems, outsmarting the other guy. Not this. Not her.
But she was watching me, her lips parted, her eyes bright with something I couldn’t read. Curiosity? Respect? Whatever it was, it sank into me like a hook, pulling at that buried thing I’d tried so hard to kill. The possessive demon inside me stirred,clawing at its cage. It wanted her. Wanted to know her, claim her, keep her safe from whatever was out there. I told myself it was the job, the challenge, the thrill of the hunt. But I wasn’t that good a liar.
“Thank you, Elias,” Teresa said, her voice soft. “I didn’t know it was this bad.”
“It’s worse,” I said bluntly, standing to stretch my legs. The office felt too small with Vivi so close, her scent still lingering in the air. “But it’s handled for now. I’ll come back tomorrow, finish the upgrades.”
I didn’t need to come back. I could’ve done the rest remotely, patched the system from my place. But the words were out before I could stop them, driven by that same reckless pull.
I needed an excuse to see her again. To figure out why she got under my skin like this.
Vivi tilted her head, her curls catching the light. “Tomorrow, huh? You sure you’re not just sticking around for the rosin fumes?”
I smirked, despite myself. “Tempting, Red, but I’ll pass. Got enough to keep me busy.”
Her laugh hit me again, low and warm, and I turned away, busying myself with shutting down the computer. I didn’t trust myself to keep looking at her. Not when every glance made that demon growl louder.
Teresa’s phone buzzed, and she stepped away to answer it, leaving me alone with Vivi for a moment. The silence stretched, heavy, charged. I could feel her watching me, and when I finally glanced up, her eyes were on mine, unflinching.
“You’re good at this,” she said, her voice quieter now, almost serious. “The whole … computer genius thing. It’s kinda hot.”
My pulse kicked up, and I hated how much I liked hearing that.
“Don’t get used to it,” I said, aiming for dry but landing somewhere closer to gruff. “I won’t stick around long.”
“Too bad,” she said, her lips curving. “I could use a thrill like you.”
The air crackled, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. She was flirting, and I was falling for it, my control fraying like cheap rope. I opened my mouth to fire back, but Teresa returned, her face pale.
“Elias, that was the bank,” she said. “They flagged some transfers. Small ones, but … they think it’s tied to this.”
I nodded, already mentally mapping the next steps. “I’ll trace it. Whoever these assholes are, I’ll find them.”
I didn’t tell her the rest—that my spiders were already burrowing into the hackers’ system, that I’d probably have their location by the time I got home. Or that I’d deal with them personally.
I’d taken down worse than this—corporate spies, black-hat collectives, even a cartel’s tech guy once.