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“Me? I mean,maybe. It was my house he was watching, but the numbers feel related to you, not me.” The elevator dings and the doors open.
We step into the lobby and start walking toward the door. “You don’t have any idea at all what it means, Eric? Are you sure?”
“It’s a name that isn’t a name,” I say, and when most people would just stare at me after a statement like that, she goes with the flow.
“Like a VIN or part number?” she asks.
“It’s neither of those things. I’m hoping once you look at it it’ll mean something to you.” We exit the front of the hotel and I snake my phone from my pocket and key in a message. “I just sent you a text with the sequence,” I say, following her to the car door that the doorman is holding open for her. “See what it means to you, if anything.”
“I left my phone at home.”
I hand her mine with the message pulled up, and palm the doorman a large bill. Once Harper’s in the vehicle, and safely shut inside, I round the hood and enter on the driver’s side. Once I’m settled in, I find Harper staring at my cell screen. “Any idea what it means?”
“I wish I did,” she says, sighing and glancing my direction, “But I don’t.” She shifts my direction. “You’re sure it’s not a parts number?”
“Not one in any recognized database.”
“But there’s so many parts and manufacturers and—”
“It’s not a parts number,” I repeat, exiting the driveway and heading toward her house.
“What about a VIN number for a competitor?”
“No.”
“How do you know?” she presses. “I mean, I get that you’re a numbers guy, but VIN numbers could be data added and deleted from databases that you might not have access to.”
“It wouldn’t be sequenced in that manner,” I insist, pulling us into her driveway. “But we’re not without resources. Blake Walker is considered one of the best hackers in the world. He’ll look for a connection that isn’t obvious.”
“The part where he’s a hacker. Is that a good or bad thing?”
“He’s one of the good guys. The kind our own military contacts for help. He’s going to run the sequence and see what technology reveals.” I park and kill the engine.
“Okay, then another question: is this a warning or a clue?”
“If it were a warning, it would be something more obvious.”
“Right,” I say. “I mean, people have died. It makes sense someone would want to help us. Someone perhaps closer to this than I am in some way. It also makes sense that someone like that would knowyour family, and maybe even know you’d be the one that would stand up against the Kingstons.” Her gaze shifts to the front door of her house. “I bought this place a year after meeting you, my escape from Kingston hell.” She glances over at me. “I didn’t know you’d lived in this area and yet I gravitated here. That’s odd, right?”
“Kismet, sweetheart,” I say softly.
“Yes,” she says, the air thickening between us. “Kismet.”
I stroke her cheek. “Let’s go inside.” I reach for the door.
She grabs my arm and her attention is riveted on the house. “Are you really sure this is a good idea? Is it safe?”
“You have me, sweetheart,” I say, giving her a wink. “You’re safe.”
“From everyonebutyou?”
“If you had protection from me, how would I ravish you night and day?”
She laughs and strokes her fingers over my jaw. “And I do want to be ravished by you.”
“That’s what I want to hear.” I kiss her and straighten. “I’ll grab my bag and then come around and get you. Wait on me.”
I exit the car, waste no time grabbing my bag, and right as I reach the passenger door, Harper pops it open. I offer her my hand and help her to her feet, walking her up close and personal. Her arms wrap my waist, and I know the moment her hand manages to hit the gun she’s miraculously missed until now. Her eyes rocket to mine. “Walker armed me,” I explain before she can even ask.
