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“She’s not for sale,” Jay growls before I can speak. He sits forward and pins me with a glare. “She will never be a Griffin employee, so let that thought wash straight back out of your brain.”
The worst thing is, beneath the shock that someone would dare touch my shit, I am impressed. Beyond words. She’s a fucking genius, and Griffin Industries will always have room for more of those.
“What about on a consult basis?”
Soph’s lips quirk up into a small smile, but Jay doesn’t find me funny in the least.
“Whoever the guy is,” she pats Jay’s hand and continues, “he’s leaving tracks all up and down from this state and the next. Digital and literal.”
Libby sits forward. Is she a cop right now? Is she our ally? Is she just curious for the sake of being curious? “How do you mean?”
“Well, his searches began in Griffin’s building.” Her glare comes to me. “Who the fuck has access to the computers at the plaza, Griffin? Because whoever this dude is, you know him on some level.”
“I know a lot of people, Soph. My company employs more than a hundred thousand people, many of them have walked through Griffin Plaza at least once.”
“Well this guy walked through a week ago. His digital footprint is moving, because he started there, but now he’s traveling.”
“Soph… I’ve been here with Lib. We’ve literally not gone anywhere further than down the mountain to get groceries once a week. We’re not leaving the house, we’re not communicating with anyone but the bare minimums.”
“Who are your bare minimums,” Jay asks. “Who knows you’re here?”
“The chief,” Lib says in a quiet voice. “And Theo’s top-level staff, so they can continue to run Griffin in his absence. The circle is really small.”
“Well, it just got smaller. We’re gonna sit here and run some names through my system, and then we’re packing up and heading out.”
“Where are you going?”
“Not just us,” Spence says. “You too. All of us. One big happy fuckin’ family.”
“Us? No, absolutely not.” I stand and pull Libby up. “You walk into my fucking home, you expect us to answer your shit, but you give nothing in return.”
“I gave you six hours of dedicated computer time.”
“You went through my files without my permission!”
“If you were as amazing as all the commercials imply, I never would have been able to get in.”
“Solid burn,” Spence chuckles. “She got you there. She wins, you lose, your tech is awesome, but your firewalls suck. Now you bow down like the rest of us and let her fix it. She’s the brains, and we’re the muscle that run ahead of her so she can work. Pack your bags, because you are coming with us.”
“But…” Libby looks from one set of eyes to the next in a kind of panic. “Why? You don’t need us.”
“Ever heard the saying keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?” Jay stands with a low grunt, fixes his beanie, then looks into my eyes with a glare. “I haven’t decided which category you fall into. Blood doesn’t equal loyalty. And even if we have the same jaw structure, according to my oh-so-fucking-astute girlfriend, that doesn’t mean I like you. So we follow our trail, we find our guy, and we keep you close, just in case.”
“Better the devil you know.”
He gives a tiny nod. “That’s it. Pack enough for a week or so.”
I sigh. How has it come about that I’m taking orders…like a regular Bishop soldier?
