Page 149 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

“Your ambition.”

His eyes narrow to slits as he studies me.

“Why, Max?” I ask since I have him on the ropes.

“Why what?” His voice is as cold as ice.

“Is the code the reason why our families don’t like each other?”

He continues peering at me as if trying to read my thoughts.

“Because I’ve been thinking,” I continue. “The feud between our families can’t pertain to business. Other companies have done worse to us than the Valentines have. Stealing code is nothing compared to sending worms through our system to destroy parts of our infrastructure. Remember that attack from—”

“Okay,” Max says, cutting me off. “You want out. You’re out.”

My mouth falls open as I try to control my overloaded senses. What is Max keeping from me? And I think he also validated that our feud with the Valentines wasn’t about business.Then what was it about?

Max downs the rest of his coffee then shoots to his feet. “I heard you gave the Valentines a gift, though.”

I frown, confused. “A gift?”

“Their compression technology. You withheld it from me.”

Oh that.“How can I withhold something that doesn’t belong to you?”

His smirk is slight, and if I didn’t know Max, then I would have missed it and the meaning behind it.

Trepidation grips my heart. “What did you do, Max?”

He winked at me. “You want out. You’re out. But that doesn’t stop what has to happen.”

I stand up, ready to warn him against stealing VTI’s technology, then Orion Valentine’s face comes to mind, although I can’t pinpoint what led me to think of him.

Max stops beside me and kisses me on the forehead, which catches me even more off guard.

“As your brother, I’m always here for you, but remember who our enemies are and what side you’re on.”

My heart and stomach tie themselves into knots as I watch Max stroll out of the sunroom. I want to call him back to explain his thinly veiled threat. Instead, I whisper, “Orion,” to the empty room.

I picture the only man my cousin ever truly loved glaring at me during that one meeting he attended. I remember how he hung on my every word. Then I remember portions of a conversation I had with Treasure the night of Lake’s art gallery show. She said Orion had figured out my real identity. I ignored her because I didn’t care that he knew who I truly was. Deep down, I wanted Orion to expose me. I’d been long ready to come clean to Hercules, Lake, and my entire team. Then I think for the third time…Orion!

I gasp and run as fast as I can back to my bedroom. All this time, Orion Valentine has been several steps ahead of me.

As day fades into night,I rub my tired eyes. I’ve hacked all the computer devices that Orion owns, and I haven’t been able to find a thing.

But something feels terribly wrong. The problem is not the fact that I can’t find the code. The problem is that Orion’s personal and work computers and his cell phones are too clean. Suddenly, I’m struck by illumination. He knew I would soon put one and one together and go searching through his electronic devices to find that code. Orion’s the one who wants to manufacture flying cars. His ambitions are grand. I’m certain that if that code populated in VTI’s brain, then he’s responsible for it. Also, because the code was uploaded to a computer system, then I will eventually find it. Orion must be aware of my reputation, which is why he asked me all of those questions during that meeting.Dang it.He was feeling me out. That day, I not only gave him solid recommendations regarding his flying car idea, but also confirmed I am indeed the Grove daughter. And more than likely, shortly thereafter, he scrubbed Grandfather’s code from the brain. But he’s smart enough to keep it off any of his computer devices.

Ding… Score one for you, Orion Valentine.

But VTI installed Killer Firewall throughout their infrastructure, including the brain. My grandfather used to say, “Don’t give up everything. Keep some for yourself.” If the software were to fail—which I doubt it ever will—I have a memory plug-in that can rebuild any data that has ever been safeguarded by Killer Firewall.

Orion probably panicked once he realized who I was. He probably saved it on several devices before saving a more secure paper copy.

I fire up the software that I call The Ghost and rebuild every version of the brain, starting two days after the meeting Orion attended.

Then I inhale sharply as the symbols and formula fill my screen.Bingo. It’s just as I thought. Only hours after that meeting, the code disappeared from the brain. But Max was right. It was stored in VTI’s system, buried in a secured sector, all along.

My cell phone rings, and I jump. My big discovery has made me jumpy. Releasing the tension from my body, I sigh and answer the phone, thinking it can only be my one of my parents. Or maybe it’s Max calling to smooth things over with me. The thought makes me feel more generous toward him. If it’s him and he apologizes for being a jerk, I’ll let him know what I found, but not how I found it.