Page 55 of Critical Alliance (Rocky Mountain Courage 3)

“We don’t know it’s him. I hope it’s not.” Mackenzie feared the cybercriminal could mess with her records. Get her arrested somehow. She didn’t know what to expect with this guy. “Because if it’s him, he wants his money while destroying my family.”

Alex scraped a hand through his hair. “That’s what worries me the most, given the nature of the warning ... that game...”

“I know where you’re going with this. You’re worried about what he might want from Hanstech that could earn him that kind of money. But we don’t know anything yet. That’s why I’m here. To find out.”

“It could be too dangerous.” Alex stood and started pacing.

She stepped in front of him, effectively stopping him in his tracks before he could wear a path on the old wood floor. “This is my family’s company. Who better to get in than me?”

“There are other avenues we can take.”

“Or we can take this more expedient one. I’ll search the Hanstech systems for his signature. I should be able to recognize some of his code if he’s already been in the system. More than that, I’ll keep working on Nora. She knows something.”

“Thirty-six hours.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you ... us ... thirty-six hours, and then I need to make contact with my agency.”

His statement felt more like a threat, and she lifted her chin. “I thought I could trust you. Why don’t you just step away now?”

He showed her his palms as if in surrender. “And you can trust me. I have your best interest at heart. And I’m not stepping away. I care about you, and I want you safe. But you do realize this is bigger than either of us, don’t you?”

And more important than her career.

She slumped. She was too tired to argue with him, and he was right, of course. “Just show me to the bedroom. I’m exhausted.”

“Good idea. We both need to sleep on it.”

Alex showed her to the room and then shut the door behind him. She pulled the quilt back and crawled under it.

Beneath the covers, Mackenzie rolled around the somewhat lumpy mattress—what had she expected?—to get comfortable. Sleep should overtake her.

Any minute now.

Soon.

She felt totally and completely safe here with Alex. She could picture him standing guard at the bedroom door, or even outside the cabin. Even though she didn’t appreciate his threat to go to the authorities, asking for his help had been the right thing to do.

When this all started, she hadn’t wanted to go to the authorities because she would have been forced to reveal Julian’s identity. That could have destroyed him after they had both spent years climbing out of the hole they had dug for themselves. But Julian was dead, and his worries were over. A pang ignited in her heart.

Oh ... God...

He was dead. Gone. With a clock ticking down, she didn’t have time to process his death. But she wouldn’t let it be in vain. He’d taken the risk for a reason. Had his message to her been not only a warning but also an invitation to communicate with him in their game like they had years ago? Had he been trying to ask her to get on Knight Alliance? If so, he was dead, and it was too late.

Her lids grew heavy, and she closed her eyes.

Freda Stone raced toward the castle walls on her black steed, hanging on for dear life. Behind her, a thousand hooves thudded against the ground, sounding like thunder as an army of marauders gave chase.

One armored knight guarded the castle.

Even if he made it inside the walls, one knight could not hold off an entire horde of raiders. Suddenly someone gripped her tighter. A woman rode the horse with her and grabbed for the reins around her to slow the horse. Freda fought for control and urged the horse faster—through the dark woods, over the drawbridge, and past the castle walls to the keep. She hopped from the destrier. The other woman dropped to the ground too, and her hooded robe fell away. Long hair fell to her shoulders. Nora with blond hair instead of black.

A heavy rattling noise drew her attention to the portcullis—the metal grill had dropped to protect the main entrance, but the drawbridge had not been raised.

Freda rushed forward.

The knight rattled the gate, demanding entrance. Behind him, pillagers on horses closed in. He removed his helmet as if he wanted her to know his identity and to look her in the eyes.