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“Are we good?” Ivy asked Dax.
“If the Higgins aren’t demanding we arrest and charge y’all for kidnapping, then we’ll let them fade back into the background. As for the president’s murder, it sounds like we need to focus on the club’s enforcer.”
“And Skylar.”
“Yes, Byte, and Skylar. Let me see what I can find, and I’ll get back with you in the next day or two. Leave this to the Rangers, and kindly butt out.”
“Absolutely. Our only goal was to get Hunter and Kyle back… and of course, Byte too. As far as we’re concerned, we’ve done everything we can to stop the MC, and that might happen organically with the shake-up, especially with what had already happened to their club. According to ECP, they lost some key players, either to incarceration or death,” Ivy said.
None of them mentioned the missing dollars that would also help with the club’s inactivity. There was no need to draw law enforcement’s attention to that crime.
After Dax said his goodbyes, Ivy turned her focus back on Byte.
“I feel like we’re missing something… something big.”
“Nothing on my end,” Byte lied.
“We’ll see about that,” Ivy said in frustration.
* * *
Skylar sat in her car,listening to ALIAS’ conversation. She’d placed a listening device on Hunter’s shirt, hoping to find out what the men knew about her operation.
She hadn’t expected to hear her name come up as many times as it had. Byte had it bad. She not only distrusted her, but also the agency. Why?
If only she could’ve listened in more when the Ranger arrived. Sadly, Hunter and Kyle had left, cutting off her access to ALIAS.
What she did learn, was Byte’s animosity toward her, was nearly as bad as Hunter had for Byte. There wasn’t any love loss, despite the hero worship his brother had.
Despite Hunter’s intention to walk away from ALIAS, Skylar expected that wasn’t going to happen. Somehow, she believed Hunter would have another run-in with the hacker.
But she couldn’t worry about Hunter or Kyle any longer. She had her own mess to clean up, starting with Oscar. They were supposed to meet up in an hour. She hoped the story they’d come up with about Roberto’s death would hold up. Neither of them wanted to involve Byte or the Higgins. If the club discovered their involvement, she wasn’t sure she and Oscar could stop their need for retribution.
* * *
Byte was once againin her safe place, hidden from the eyes of those wanting answers. She didn’t have answers, at least not the ones she needed.
She logged on to her network and finalized her last trap for the Wilkins. Their files would be sent over to Cruz. The foster parents who failed to nurture their wards would soon become wards of the state themselves. Feeling slightly better, Byte shot an email to Aaron with an update.
“A-
Files are sent. Send me a list of new perps. Also, I’m sending you some resumes that I pulled for you to consider. I particularly like Alyse. She’s been involved with child advocacy for the past three years. Former foster child herself, she has been quite active in pursuing justice. See attached police reports. If you like her, make the offer, regardless of her salary requirements.
B.”
She never posted advertisements; instead, she looked for candidates already on job posting boards. Their project was growing and Aaron needed a second-in-command. The bulk of the team were hackers, but they needed investigators. Karma needed feet on the ground. She believed Alyse was the right person. The fact that she was single and her dating profile would attract Aaron hadn’t played into her recommendation. She wasn’t a matchmaker, she reminded herself. She was simply providing Aaron with options. Byte loved her friend and wanted him happy. She knew he had feelings for her, but she truly believed they were coupled with gratitude and perhaps even pity from her upbringing. None of those made for a long-term relationship. Not that Byte wanted a relationship… with anyone.
Then why did you immediately think of Hunter?
Because she was attracted to the opinionated man. The way he shielded his brother stabbed her right where she refused to admit. She never had that level of love and protection when she was thirteen. She hadn’t had it until she met Ghost and Ivy, but even then, it wasn’t the same. She knew they loved her and thought of her as a little sister, but they weren’t. She had a little sister, not one that she’d ever know, but she’d always protect her from afar. Darla would lack for nothing, not with the anonymous trust fund in her name. Her sister would have everything Byte had ever dreamed of… along with a loving mother.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
“How did it go?” Skylar asked her lover after he arrived at their safe house.
“I think they bought it. Time will tell,” Oscar said as he swept Skylar up into his arms.
Despite Skylar’s best intentions, she’d fallen madly in love with a criminal. She’d fought it, but after nearly a year undercover, she couldn’t ignore them, so she gave in to her feelings.
