Page 3 of Shadowed Hearts: Frost (Nightfall Syndicate #2)

three

Asher

A fternoon light cuts through the reinforced windows of our conference room. I track each team member as they enter; each movement, each micro-expression revealing their mood before they speak a word.

Every member of the team takes their usual positions. I automatically map where everyone settles.

Kade controlling the room's focal point, Cole at his right for strategic counsel, Damian maintaining his preferred shadow position where he can observe without being fully observed.

The others spread out naturally. Xander sprawling across two chairs, Jax unable to sit still, Remy appearing relaxed while staying alert.

And I'm three seats down. The silence stretches until Kade plants his hands on the table, leaning forward.

"We've got a problem with Echo."

The room temperature seems to drop by ten degrees. My cortisol spikes, but I keep my face blank. Years of lying motionless for hours with a rifle have given me complete control over my physical reactions.

Kade hits a button, and the room darkens around us. The electronic blinds glide down over the massive windows, shutting out the world beyond. The space transforms in seconds, becoming more private.

A faint electronic hum fills the air as sound masking activates, creating a secure audio bubble around us. The digital displays glow brighter in the darkened space, casting blue light across everyone's faces.

Cole rises to his feet, his body language radiating control as he steps forward to take command of the presentation. His expression shifts from its usual stoic calm to something I've rarely seen—genuine concern mixed with grudging admiration.

"Remember I mentioned an elegant intruder who upgraded our security while poking around?" Cole swipes through cascading code structures on the primary display. "Turns out they've been a busy little bee."

"How busy?" Jax stops his drumming, suddenly alert.

"The kind of busy that makes me question my career choices." Cole's voice carries that dry humor I've learned to recognize as his way of processing serious threats.

"Echo didn't just hack our systems. They've been conducting physical surveillance."

My muscles tense fractionally. Physical surveillance changes everything.

"Define 'physical.'" Damian emerges slightly from his shadowed corner, voice carrying that dangerous edge that makes smart people nervous.

"Traffic cameras, building security systems, even parking garage feeds." Cole pulls up a map of the city with red dots scattered across it. "Our mysterious friend has been watching us. All of us."

He zooms in on specific locations, each one making my jaw tighten further.

"Jax's gym. Remy's medical supply runs. Xander's demolition training facility." Cole's tone remains conversational, but there's steel underneath. "Even accessed the security system at Asher's pad in Telegraph Hill today."

"Someone's been casing us?" Xander shifts in his chair, his usual easy demeanor sharpening. "Should I be flattered or concerned?"

Every eye in the room turns to me. I keep my expression neutral despite the heat rising in my chest.

"When?"

"Timeline suggests this started weeks ago, but the pattern escalated recently." Cole brings up a series of timestamps. "Whoever Echo is, they're thorough. Almost obsessively so."

"More than casing." Cole highlights network intrusion logs. "This is systematic behavioral analysis. They're learning our routines, mapping our vulnerabilities."

He pauses, a hint of admiration creeping into his voice. "It's actually quite sophisticated."

"How sophisticated?" Kade's voice carries that deadly calm that means someone's about to have a very bad day.

Cole brings up another screen showing network data. "They breached seventeen different security systems across the city. Municipal traffic control, private building networks, even some federal databases."

His tone shifts to teaching mode. "Whoever trained them believed in thorough field testing."

"Capabilities assessment?" Remy asks, his green eyes sharp with professional interest.

"Advanced cyber warfare training, patience of a monk, and the kind of operational security that makes government agencies weep." Cole continues his briefing. "They're using rotating proxy servers, quantum encryption, and clean insertion techniques that leave almost no digital footprint."

"So we're dealing with a phantom who's been stalking us for weeks." Jax's leg bounces rapidly under the table. "My gym routine's boring enough without an audience."

"A very talented specter," Cole corrects. "But everyone makes mistakes, eventually."

Damian leans forward, his presence somehow making the room feel smaller. "What kind of mistakes?"

"The obsessive kind." Cole highlights a cluster of data points. "Notice the pattern distribution. While they've surveilled all of us, there's a concentration of activity around..."

He pauses, eyes flicking to me. "Sacramento area. Specifically, around certain coffee establishments."

My blood turns to ice water.

"Asher's recon location," Kade states, his blue eyes calculating as they lock on mine.

"Exactly." Cole's expression grows more serious. "Twenty-three separate instances of surveillance in a four-block radius. Traffic cameras, security feeds, even WiFi network infiltration." He turns to me. "Either you're incredibly unlucky, or Echo has taken a particular interest in your activities."

The implications hit me like a physical blow. Sacramento. The surveillance location I've been using for days. Too convenient.

"Assessment?" Kade demands.

Cole straightens, his voice shifting to full briefing mode. "We're dealing with someone who's been preparing. This isn't random curiosity—it's targeted intelligence gathering. The question is whether they're planning something specific or just building comprehensive files on us."

"Either way, it's a threat," Damian states flatly.

"Agreed." Kade's jaw tightens. "But the level of sophistication suggests we're not dealing with some random hacker with a grudge."

"So what's the play? Track them down and have a friendly conversation?" Xander cracks his knuckles, the sound sharp in the enclosed space.

"First, we consolidate." Kade's voice brooks no argument. "Full security protocols until we understand what we're dealing with."

Every set of eyes in the room burns into me, waiting for my answer.

The logical part of my brain agrees—this is standard procedure when facing an unknown threat.

But something else nags at me. The timing doesn't feel random.

"How certain are we about the Sacramento connection?"

Cole pulls up a detailed map. "Ninety-three percent probability that Echo operates from or frequently accesses networks in that area."

He studies the data clustering. "The concentration suggests familiarity with the location. Regular access to high-speed networks, knowledge of local security systems."

"Could be anywhere," Jax observes. "Office building, internet café, even residential with good equipment."

"Or someone who works in the area," Remy adds casually.

My face gives nothing away, though irritation crawls up my back. We need more intelligence.

"Too many variables to narrow down without additional intel."

"Agreed." Kade stands, signaling the end of discussion. "But until we have that intel, nobody operates alone. Echo's had weeks to study our patterns—we change them. Now."

He looks directly at me. "Frost, pack up your surveillance. You're not going back."

"The location is still strategically valuable—"

"And potentially compromised." Kade's tone leaves no room for argument. "If Echo's been monitoring that area as intensively as the data suggests, continuing surveillance puts you at risk."

The logic is sound, even if I don't like it. Going into a potentially hostile environment serves no tactical purpose.

"Understood."

Cole shuts down the screens, but pauses at one display.

"There is one interesting detail." His voice carries that note of curiosity that means he's found something particularly clever. "Echo left us another present."

"What kind of present?" Damian asks, wariness evident.

"Another security upgrade. This time to our vehicle tracking systems." Cole's lips quirk in what might be admiration. "They identified three vulnerabilities we didn't even know existed and patched them."

"So they're watching us, learning our routines, but also... helping us?" Xander shakes his head.

"It's like having a guardian stalker with advanced computer science degrees," Cole muses. "Professionally speaking, it's fascinating. Personally, it's deeply unsettling."

"Guardian stalker?" Jax's eyebrows rise. "That's either the best or worst thing anyone could be."

"Focus," Kade commands, bringing us back to operational reality. "Cole, I want comprehensive counter-surveillance measures active within the hour. Remy, medical supplies on standby. Xander, prep the safe house. Jax, vehicle rotations every six hours."

He turns to me last. "Frost, extraction in two hours. Clean extraction—assume hostile observation."

The meeting breaks up, each team member moving to their assigned tasks. But as I gather my gear, one thought keeps circling through my mind.

Sacramento. The surveillance cluster. The timing of everything.

Coincidences happen. Variables align. Sometimes a target chooses you.

The question is: what exactly is Echo planning next?

I tap my fingers against the console, bringing up holographic displays that flicker through data profiles in front of me. I blink a couple of times as the command center's blue-tinted light comes to life and I scan through employee records from the café.

This is standard protocol. The location's proximity to our secondary communications relay makes it strategically significant. Nothing more.

The system purrs as it searches, cross-referencing employment records against known security threats. I create filters to highlight individuals with suspicious patterns—unexplained absences, inconsistent background checks, unusual technical skills.