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I ignored him and turned to Champ. “Still, this is serious. Unless Vince became a hacker since you two dated, this confirms he’s working with someone. That raises the threat.”
Champ looked up at the ceiling. “That fucking asshole,” he muttered before focusing back on me. “Who could Vince be working with who has those kinds of skills?”
Kev opened his mouth to speak again, then inhaled sharply and stopped himself.
“Oh, by all means, answer,” I said, sweeping a hand from him toward the rest of the team. “Since I didn’t get a chance to actually see the fucking breach in my own damn system, I’m sure you know best.”
Kev cleared his throat. His finger and thumb tap-tap-tap-tap-tapped frantically, like a hummingbird’s wings, but I hardened my heart and refused to feel sympathetic.
“The vulnerability they tried to take advantage of…” Kev glanced briefly at me. “Hux is oversimplifying. It’s not as straightforward as a hole in a fence. The security he built is actually quite complicated and technical. So for Vince’s associate to not only find it but to know how to slip in under the radar means we’re not dealing with a casual keyboard warrior or some teenager who works part-time at the geek shop at the mall. He’s well trained.”
“Government, then?” Champ asked. “DEA?”
Kev shrugged and glanced my way, looking for permission to speak.
I folded my arms over my chest and gave him the barest of nods. Kev could praise my security all he liked, but I was still livid, and I had no plans to change that.
Kev sat up straighter. “Could be. If so, they’re likely in a very technical position there,” Kev said. “We’re talking a security analyst, cybersecurity forensic analyst, or a pen tester. I can’t imagine someone would have these skills and not be using them to earn a better living.”
Champ huffed out a humorless laugh. “Presumably, the better living is coming from the cartel, kiddo.”
Kev grimaced but nodded.
I exhaled. “Kev’s right,” I said, though no one seemed to be doubting him. “Cybersecurity’s always changing. It wouldn’t make sense that someone doing another job—let’s say special agent, scientist, or administrative role—would have the time to keep current on the latest hacking intel in a way that allows them to actually use it. It’s one thing to understand the concept; it’s another to be able to pull it off without leaving a trace.”
Riggs’s face was crinkled with confusion. “But he did leave a trace, right? That’s how Kev realized he was here in the Thicket.”
“Kev had already found the vulnerability, so he had an idea of what he was looking for. Besides, even if the hacker is good, Kev’s better,” I answered without thinking.
The silence in the room clued me in to the compliment I’d inadvertently given my archnemesis.
I focused on my hands as if the jagged edge of one of my fingernails held the key to eternal life. Heat filled my skin everywhere and left me slightly damp. I swallowed and prayed for someone to say something.
Finally, someone had mercy on me.
Unfortunately, it was Kev.
“Anyway!” he blurted. “The good news is I fixed the breach.” He pinned his bottom lip with his top teeth before flicking his eyes away and lowering his voice. “I mean. It wasn’t a bad breach. Only… um… a little janky thing. I patched it. You guys should be good now. Maybe. Hopefully.”
I didn’t want to ask—I really, absolutely didn’t want to give Kev the satisfaction of asking—but my mouth opened anyway, and words tumbled out.
“What janky thing?” I growled.
“Oh, ah… The public-facing SSH access on the Cisco router.” He waved a hand.
I felt my face go even hotter, and my fingers tingled slightly. Good fucking God. That wasn’t a “little janky thing.” It was a big fucking mistake that Kev had caught and fixed.
Less of a hole in the fence and more like a wide-open gate inviting people inside.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“Sounds like we owe you one.” Champ stood and clapped Kev on the shoulder. “Thank you.” He turned eyeballs in my direction, like he expected me to say the same.
Kev’s eyes flicked to me, obviously nervous about my reaction.
I wanted to rage at him some more.
I wanted to ask everyone in the room how grateful or trusting they’d feel if some guy noticed their front gate wide open and, instead of alerting them, had come inside and made himself at home.
I wanted to thank Kev for keeping our system safe when I hadn’t.
And another part of me—the biggest part—wanted to punch myself in the face for fucking up in the first place.
So instead of saying any of that, I simply stood up, muttered, “Looks like I have work to do,” and walked my ungrateful ass out of the room.
5
KEV
I tried not to feel dejected after Hux left the room. Really, what had I been expecting from him? Effusive praise? Why was I surprised by his surly attitude when the man was 100 percent made up of surly attitude? Yes, he’d complimented me briefly—and I could admit to a moment of happy smugness at his words—but he’d also treated me like the unemployed freeloader he still thought I was.
