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I leaned closer, breathing in the scent of her peach shampoo and hoping she didn’t notice. “On TV? I can crack it in a three-minute commercial break.”
Hazel crinkled her nose in a way that made me want to reach out and kiss it, something I’d never experienced with another human being in my life. I never found a woman cute. Sexual and hot, sure, but not cute.
I’d spend hours looking at Hazel and never get bored. She was unlike anyone else. I didn’t mind her in my space, looking over my shoulder. More than that. I didn’t even hate the idea of lounging around with her on a Sunday.
“And in real life?” she asked, sensing my sarcasm as I plugged the thumb drive into the receptacle on the laptop.
I sighed. “In real life, probably a few hours. A lot depends on the speed of the internet and how good a password your boss created.”
Her crinkled nose twitched as she considered my words. “The company had software that auto suggested passwords. They always had weird symbols in them, like the percent key or dollar sign. Sean never made up his own passwords.”
Hmm. So the man was dumb enough to get himself killed but smart enough to use the provided password software.
“Knowing that, a few hours. Maybe a bit more, possibly through the night but probably not. Do you feel like more Brad Pitt?” I asked, nodding toward the stack of DVDs.
Hazel smiled and grabbed a few off the top of the stack before joining me back on the couch. “Fight cluborBenjamin Button?”
I frowned, worried about any woman who thought there was a choice between those two movies. The answer was obvious. “Fight Club.”
“Agreed,” she said, tossingBenjamin Buttonto the side and letting it land on the carpeted floor with a padded thud.
My encryption program created a gray box in the middle of the screen reading one percent with the barest sliver of green showing on the display.
Hazel stared at the same area as we waited, but it never clicked over to two percent. Not a good sign.
“I wonder what’s in the files?” she asked, tapping her fingernail against the DVD case.
I closed the lid of the laptop so we didn’t sit there and watch it slowly work its way across the screen. “Nothing good.”
“It’s so weird because Jack always seemed like such a good guy. He’s in his late fifties and has worked hard to build the bank’s assets. I can’t imagine him being involved in anything nefarious. He has a grandkid on the way.”
I leaned back on the couch, trying to decide how much I wanted to tell Hazel. I didn’t want her scared because she didn’t need to worry. I’d keep her safe, but she also needed to know the severity of the situation.
“I want to tell you these things don’t matter, but your CEO is involved in serious shit, babe. Sean had to have found what they were hiding.” A lot of my thoughts were based on suspicion, but when you’re that high in a company with that much money, suspicion usually came true.
I’d heard reports of gunrunning and even purchasing women for his own pleasures. He had a home in Miami on the company books but never used it as an employee retreat. I could only guess what happened behind its closed doors.
“And if he’s hired the Grandmaster to take care of this problem, he’s in deep. Worse if they’re working together.” I grabbed Hazel’s hand and squeezed. She enjoyed it when I did that.
No law-abiding bank CEO should know the name of Chicago’s head mobster, let alone how to get a hold of him or hire him to do their dirty work.
Regardless of what happened with the files, no way would I let Hazel get anywhere near All American Bank ever again. I’d seen pictures on the dark web of women who claimed her CEO Jack abused them. They had different face structures and body types, but one thing was always the same. He had a thing for redheads like Hazel.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked, squeezing my hand back. “You went all stiff there for a minute.”
Her big green eyes called to me as if they were asking me to please make everything better in her world. It was the only thing I wanted to do. She was mine, and no one would take her away from me. Not Jack Beamer and not the Grandmaster.
I took the DVD case from her and laid it beside my laptop, letting my palm find the curve of her chin that I was growing fond of. Her tongue stuck out and licked her top lip as if she knew what was coming. I didn’t give her time to change her mind or say anything before I finished the kiss we started earlier in the day.
A spring in the old couch poked me in the knee as I adjusted myself closer to Hazel. Her lips felt like coming home. Hazel reminded me of summers by the ocean. Those carefree days before any of us grew up and took on added responsibilities.
On one hand, I longed for those summers. Before I saw the true evil in the world. Before Hazel had to run for her life because her boss liked to drug women and sleep with them.
Yet, without the tragedies happening around us, I’d never have met the feisty female I desperately wanted to have underneath me.
The timing was all wrong. I didn’t want Hazel to pick me because I was the only option and she was running. I didn’t want her to have a savior complex, but waiting might kill me. We were close to the end. The encryption was crumbling thanks to my software, and now the only thing on my mind was getting her under my hands.
Hazel moaned into my mouth as I held her tightly. Her chest and pebbled nipples reached out from underneath her shirt as they rubbed against my chest. No matter how I positioned our bodies, she was still too far away. This couch wasn’t good enough.
