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“First,” Caleb said, his voice hard as steel, “we triple-check our cyber security. I’ll issue everyone new phones, and no one uses anything but those outside these walls.” He braced his elbows against the cool surface of the table, staring hard at the others one by one. “And if I catch you using your tablet or laptop on public Wi-Fi, I’ll fucking kick your ass.”
Wander snorted. “Duly noted, with bonus points for the fierce delivery, kid. I’m impressed.”
“What do we do about my laptop?” Roman asked. “Do I stop using it?”
Caleb steepled his fingers. “I fear that if we close the system now and keep them out, they’ll know their game is up…and may escalate things even further. As long as they know where your investigation stands, they’ll feel relatively safe because they’re not expecting surprises.”
“You’re saying you don’t want to give them a heads-up that we’re on to them,” Roman said slowly.
“Exactly. For now, continue to use your laptop, but don’t add anything sensitive to what’s already there. No need to delete anything since they already have it anyway. Too late for that now. And you may wanna consider some strategic false updates to the Whitman case to keep them happy, maybe even drop some hints you can’t get the case built the way you want.”
Roman’s gaze searched Caleb’s face for the certainty he needed to cling to in this chaos. “And then?”
“Then”—Caleb pushed back from the table, the chair scraping loudly over the floor, and stood—“we go ghost hunting.”
9
Betrayal.
The word kept buzzing around in Roman’s head. He’d been betrayed. And by someone he’d trusted, someone who’d had full access to everything Roman knew and did. How could he have been that blind and naïve? It hadn’t even occurred to him that he had a mole in his office.
Well, that wasn’t true. The thought had crossed his mind, but he’d looked at legal staff and assistants. The cybersecurity guy hadn’t been on his radar, which, in hindsight, was unbelievably stupid. After what had happened, he should’ve been at the top of the list. But that was easy to say now that he had all the facts.
It only confirmed his decision to stay with Wander longer. He’d already informed his boss—the Massachusetts attorney general—that he’d be working remotely for a while, citing health reasons, and had let his coworkers and staff know as well. The lack of surprise in their responses proved they were losing confidence in him anyway.
“Why don’t you go out for a walk, yeah?”
Roman spun around to his brother. “Outside?”
“I do believe it is customary for a walk to take place outside, yes.”
Wiseass. “It’s snowing.”
“It stopped over an hour ago, and we didn’t get that much to begin with.”
“I don’t have snow boots.”
“Borrow mine. We’re the same shoe size.”
Roman crossed his arms. “Why do you want me to take a walk so badly?”
“Because you’ve been pacing and hovering the entire morning, and you’re driving my team and Jesse’s staff crazy. Nobody is getting any work done with you looking over their shoulders, so I need you to go outside for a bit.” Wander put a gentle hand on his arm. “It’ll do you good, Ro. Clear your head, get some exercise in.”
Heat crept up Roman’s cheeks. Had he really been that bad? The way Wander’s team members were studiously looking at their desks right now, avoiding his gaze, spoke volumes. “Sorry.”
“I understand. Trust me, I do. But this isn’t helping anyone.”
Roman took a deep breath. “You’re right. Let me get changed, and I’ll head outside.”
“Good. Caleb will go with you.”
“Caleb? Why?” His brother didn’t think Roman was horny or foolish enough to have sex in the snow, did he?
“Because you’re not going anywhere without someone shadowing you, and he’s your bodyguard for the day. That’s not up for debate.” Wander held up his hand when Roman wanted to protest.
Roman blew out a breath, surrendering to the inevitable. “Okay.”
“He’ll be waiting for you at the front door.”
