Page 20 of Being Bold (Tactical Operations & Protection (TOP) Security #1)

Bo

Yumi threw the door to Bo’s cabin open, gasping at the blanket-covered lump in his arms. “What happened?”

So, the agent had gotten away without running into any more suits. And she’d actually come back to the cabin. But the real question was, did she have the chip?

Bo shook his head. He’d worry about that after he took care of Selene. “She fell into the pond.”

And then rode half an hour on the sled with only a blanket for protection against the wind.

But he didn’t say that part out loud. Yumi could come to her own conclusions. He’d driven the whole way with Selene in his lap after tying the blanket around both of their bodies, but it had still been damned cold.

“Blankets,” he barked at the gaping woman. “Loft,” he added when she glanced around with a bewildered expression.

As she scrambled up the ladder, Bo laid Selene on the couch. Her eyes were clenched shut above her chattering teeth. Wishing he could do more, he rubbed her shoulders over the blanket. “I’m going to crank up the fire for you.”

Yumi returned, tossing a shirt at his head before dragging his bedding across the room to smother Selene in its downy comfort.

“Thanks,” he added as an afterthought.

“Figured you might want it,” she said with a smirk. “Your nipples could poke an eye out.”

Ignoring her attempt at humor, he checked the cut on his rib cage. The bandage was dry, but he should douse it in isopropyl alcohol again in case any pond water made it into the wound.

Sighing at that inevitable ass-pain, he tugged on the black henley.

Then he knelt in front of the fireplace.

It had burned down to a few glowing embers, so he tossed more logs on as he told Yumi, “One of those fuckers got away. Assuming they work for Dao, he’s going to know Selene’s still alive and that she has help. ”

“Good.”

His frustration level had already pegged the meter. Her response didn’t help. “Good? Why the fuck is that good?” he practically snarled at her.

“Because, G.I. Joe—”

“I was a SEAL,” Bo snapped, cutting her off.

“Well, excuse me.” Yumi rolled her eyes and tucked the blankets around Selene. “What I was trying to explain is it gives us an in.”

Not following, he raised a brow, waiting for her to elaborate.

“Dao has a security issue, which means he’ll need to hire a security team.”

“TOP,” he interjected when her meaning became clear.

Yumi grinned. “Exactly.”

Mulling that over, he realized Selene must’ve told Yumi who he worked for. But with the technology on that microchip recovered, his sole focus was protecting her. He didn’t see a need to get cozy with the man trying to wipe her from existence.

Frowning, Bo shook his head. “We don’t need an in . We need an out.” An exit strategy because Selene couldn’t remain on the run under TOP’s protection forever. When the rest of his team got here, they needed to come up with a plan to take that bastard Dao out of the equation.

“Yeah, eventually, but you’re jumping the gun, Captain America.”

“Also Army,” Bo told her, but without any anger this time. “How do you figure?”

“Weaponized AI, remember?” She shook her head. “Maybe you don’t care about that, but it’s kind of my job, so . . .”

The fire popped as a log shifted, making him jump. Sweat broke out on his neck. With a curse, he shoved to his feet. “I thought you had the chip?”

Yumi arched a brow at him but didn’t comment on his jumpiness.

Because his brain liked to torture him, the scars on his leg burned, and he made a conscious effort not to scratch at them.

“I do. But it’s only proof that the AI model exists.

The amount of data that thing uses?” She sighed like she knew she’d have to give this explanation again.

“It operates in the cloud. We want to get rid of it, we need to find the actual physical data sets.”

“Fuck,” Bo muttered and rubbed at the headache that sprang to life between his brows.

“Yeah. We have to find the servers they store it on.”

“There’s a server room in the Saber Tech building.” They both stared at Selene. He’d thought she’d been asleep, but apparently, she’d been listening.

Before hope could sprout in his chest, Yumi said, “I checked it months ago. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have what we’re looking for.”

Damn. Why is nothing ever easy?

Bo scratched at his beard as he thought about their probability of locating the servers.

Selene sat up, tugging the blankets around her upper body. “Um, can I have some dry clothes?”

Yumi smiled. “There’s a duffel for you in the bathroom. I grabbed some essentials from your apartment.”

“Thank you!” Selene leaned forward, pulling the smaller woman into a half-hug through the blanket she used as a shield.

Bo frowned at the covering. Her modesty was pointless. It’s not like he hadn’t already seen her in and out of her underwear. Fuck. That’s the last thing he needed to think about at the moment. All that smooth olive skin. How soft it felt pressed against his own.

He avoided looking at her when she stood and headed for the bathroom. When the door shut, he let out a breath, corralling his thoughts before they got him in trouble.

Focusing on Yumi, he asked, “Where’s the tech?”

He felt he was being picked apart under a microscope when her gaze fell on him. Fighting the urge to fidget, he demanded, “Do you have it?”

A slow smile started at the corner of her lips and spread across her face, lighting up her dark eyes. “Yes.” Unzipping a pocket of her snow pants, she pulled out a tiny plastic bag. Through the clear material, the microchip caught the light.

He had an urge to snatch it from her hand, but that probably wouldn’t go over well. With a grunt, he asked, “What do you plan to do with it?”

He’d wanted to destroy it when he thought it contained the AI weapon, but now . . . he wasn’t sure that would make much of a difference. Not if the model was on a server somewhere, waiting to be used.

“Destroy it.” Yumi frowned and glanced toward the bathroom. “I’m not heartless. This thing has done enough damage already.”

She’d surprised him. The CIA had to want the information on that chip, but she was willing to get rid of it for her friend’s sake. Maybe she could be trusted.

Testing her, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Won’t your people want what’s on that?” He nodded his head toward the bag in her hand.

She shrugged. “They know what I found out, but this . . .” She glanced down, clutched her hand around the chip, and made a fist. “Hand me that poker.”

Curious what she planned to do with it, he picked up the wrought iron fireplace tool and brought it over. She’d laid the chip on his coffee table.

When he approached, she reached for the poker. “Thanks.”

Gripping the handle in her fist, she brought it down hard, smashing the microchip until it was unrecognizable.

He didn’t see any wood splinters, but there was bound to be a dent in the table after that. Somehow, he didn’t care. The table was nothing compared to Selene, and with that thing destroyed, she was one step safer.

The constriction that had settled around his chest since he’d heard the words ‘weaponized AI’ loosened a fraction. Knowing no one else would get their hands on the information about the weapon the chip had contained, he breathed a little easier.

Staring at the broken pieces, Yumi spoke softly, “It got damaged after retrieval. That’s what I’ll report.”

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Bo returned the poker to its spot beside the fireplace. One problem down, but how many more to go? “So, how do we find the servers?”

Yumi tucked the ruined chip back into her pocket and sat on the edge of the couch. “I keep looking. I’ve been running covert searches at Saber Tech for nearly six months. My cover’s intact. I’ll return to work tomorrow as if nothing has changed.”

Except so much had. Bo glanced toward the bathroom as he heard the shower cut off. In the span of two days, he’d gone from wishing for death to living with a purpose. All because of Selene.

The pit in his chest was still there, but maybe this mission—protecting her—was a bridge spreading across it. The dark hole lingered, but he wasn’t drowning in it anymore. Something like hope swelled around his heart.

Wary of the feeling, he stomped toward the door. “I’m going to get more firewood.”

◆◆◆

Selene

Selene looked like crap. Staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, she sighed.

Her complexion was off, her skin washed out, highlighting the dark circles around her eyes.

If she had more energy, she would’ve used some of the cosmetics Yumi had grabbed for her.

But every bone in her body ached. Despite the scalding shower she’d given herself, she still suppressed shivers.

It felt like the cold had seeped into her very marrow, making her tired and sore.

Will I ever be warm again?

When she’d fallen into the pond . . .

Selene closed her eyes on the memory, shaking her head against the reminder. She could’ve died—again. Twice in as many days was just too much. This whole situation was getting old. She wanted the freedom to go back to her life. To stop looking over her shoulder.

God, when will I be able to do that?

Her eyes flooded with tears at the possibility she’d never be able to forget all this like a bad dream. She blinked furiously to keep them from falling. As she stared at her reflection, something harsh burned in her gut, the fumes poisoning her with a sickening mix of frustration and anger.

This is stupid.

Feeling sorry for herself wouldn’t help.

Irritated without an outlet, she pushed away from the sink and stalked into the living room to confront Bo and Yumi. “So, what do we do now?”

Bo had been stacking firewood but jumped to his feet at her abrupt entrance. He looked ready to spring into action as if she had run from a threat. But the only threat on her heels now was the thought of forever being on the run.

She crossed her arms with a scowl and waited for one of them to answer her. “Well?”