Page 183 of Ironwood Ranch Cowboys

My pulse pounds harder.

“Open the payment routing,” Cody says.

I do.

And my blood turns cold.

“It’s the same formatting,” I whisper.

“What?” Silas asks.

“The tax variants. Look.” I point at the screen. “They’re using the same sequencing tricks. Same numerical substitutions. Same backend routing structure.”

Cody’s face hardens with every word. Because he sees it too. This isn’t coincidence, this is the same person, the same operation, just wearing a different mask.

Silence settles over the office. Heavy enough to choke on.

Then Duke says, “So what does that mean?”

Nobody answers immediately, because I think we’re all afraid of it, afraid of where the line finally points.

My fingers hover over the keyboard. Jake’s credentials stare back at me from the approval log.

Jake approved the vendor entry.

Jake’s system processed the authorization.

Jake’s access rerouted the payment structure.

Again.

Again.

Again.

A horrible feeling unfolds slowly inside my chest.

I lean back in the chair, heart hammering hard enough to hurt. And finally, I say the thing I’ve been avoiding for weeks.

“Jake truly might be involved.”

Duke exhales harshly. Silas’s expression shutters, becoming closed off. Cody just stares at the screen.

I swallow hard. “There’s still a chance someone’s using his credentials,” I say quickly, because I want that to be true. “Or manipulating approvals through his access point or⁠—”

“No,” Cody interjects. “He’s either involved, or he’s catastrophically incompetent.”

Silas drags a hand down his face.

“And Jake doesn’t do incompetent,” Duke mutters.

The office suddenly feels too small, too warm, too tight around my lungs. If Jake’s involved, if he’s part of this, then the danger isn’t circling Ironwood anymore.

It’s already inside it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Cody