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I closed my eyes for a second, frustrated with myself. “Yeah, of course. Anything new?”
Easton ping-ponged his focus between myself and where Diana now sat next to Dallas. She was busy waving away the steam while bringing the mug to her mouth.
“The driver of the truck had a thumb drive on him,” Easton reported. “Aside from a few phones, that’s all we pulled.”
“We’ll get the two men you have tied up to talk at our next location.” I folded my arms. “Anything on the phones or thumb drive?”
Easton grimaced, apparently not happy with the shit news he was about to give me. “No one on the team has the necessary skills needed to decrypt the USB, so we can’t see what’s on it. We used the dead men’s thumbprints to check their phones, but so far, nothing of value there.”
I nodded and turned to Griffin. “Get the laptop. Make two copies of the thumb drive. Email one to POTUS and the other to our people. Sydney and Mya should be able to figure out what’s on the USB.”
“You sure you don’t want to pull Gwen into this? Her hacking skills are unmatched,” Griffin said, and I took a few seconds to consider that option.
“She’s not working with us, remember?” Both Gwen and I had made that decision only a week ago. Even though she swore she no longer harbored any feelings toward me, she’d decided it was too awkward to be on the team after she’d confessed them. I didn’t blame her for wanting to part ways. Hard to have a professional relationship with someone who’d seen another woman gagging on my cock. And it really sucked at times like this, when her tech skills would be a huge benefit to the team.
“I know, but she’s the best, which is what we need,” Griffin insisted.
But he had no clue what went down this summer with Gwen. If he did, he’d understand my hesitation to reach out. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the place to reveal that particular set of circumstances. So, I had to hope he’d just leave it be and trust Mya and Sydney to take the reins on this one.
“Who’s Gwen?” Diana asked softly, and I rolled back my shoulders, uncomfortable all over again.
Thanks, Griff. Where would I even begin? She’s a twenty-four-year-old I convinced myself was you one night while Dallas’s dog sitter sucked me off, and from that moment on, my dick has only ever gotten hard with thoughts of you.
“She’s a cyber genius,” Griffin offered, since my mouth remained shut. “Boss man here co-runs our security company with her uncle. Her father’s a SEAL, like yours. Probably a bit overprotective. He’d have planted a damn tracker on her ass and found her by now, but?—”
“Griffin,” I cut him off with a warning glare. What the fuck was he thinking?
“Right, sorry.” Griffin shook his head in apology. “I’m a few months behind on sleep. Newborn.”
“Sleep deprivation didn’t seem to prevent you from helping save me, though. Thank you.” The sincerity in her voice was something I’d never grow tired of hearing. “Congrats on the baby, too.”
“Thank you.” Griffin smiled, and I could tell he was two seconds away from powering on his personal phone to show off pictures of his infant son. That’d have nothing to do with his lack of sleep either.
I pointed to the broth, reminding Diana to drink up. I was grateful to see more color returning to her complexion.
“You know,” Griffin went on, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you and Gwen run in the same circles, seeing as her grandfather is Secretary of Defense and your mom’s the new acting Secretary of State.”
Yeah, it seemed everything was a family affair with our people. The lines were gray, murky, and always crossing. “He’s not her grandfather by blood but by marriage,” I reminded him, then moved on to the business at hand, eager to abort the conversation altogether. “Just go ahead and upload the contents of the thumb drive for Mya and Sydney to deal with for now.” My tone had more bite than before, and Griffin glared at me, unamused. “They’ll decrypt it and see if there’s anything helpful there.”
Griffin hesitantly lifted his palms, patting the air. “Fine.”
“After the call with POTUS,” I began, “I’ll find us a new location once we’re mobile. I’d like to put some distance between us and the port before we head to the President’s exfil spot.”
“Which direction are we heading?” Easton asked. “And plane, train, or automobile?” His smile stretched. These guys loved to push my fucking buttons.
Like old times, I supposed. “We’ll cross the border into Lithuania and get a place there.” I gave Griffin my attention and added, “Let Falcon know our destination, too.”
Griffin nodded, an uneasy look remaining in his eyes. He started for the door but stopped when Diana asked, “So, the people who were with me in that room are definitely safe?”
“Yeah, the authorities have them now,” Easton answered. “But I assume you were split up from the other scientists somewhere earlier in the week?”
She lowered the mug to her lap and nodded. “Compartmentalization,” she whispered, and were more pieces of the puzzle clicking together for her?
I understood where her head was at with that thought, but I’d forgotten Griffin and Easton hadn’t been part of our conversation about the EMP weapon. “We’ll fill you in soon.” I tipped my head toward the door. “Clothes first so we can make the call. See if the priest has coffee, too. I could use some.”
Easton winked, damn him. “Roger that.”
Once they were both gone, I went over and checked the mug, making sure she was making progress on drinking it. “Keep at it.”
