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“Yes, I was hoping it would be,” I hedged with an awkward laugh, trying to think up an excuse on the fly. “But given the cyber-attacks on high profile organizations of late, my team—the High Tech Unit—is investigating possible weaknesses in banking data across the sector. As you rightly pointed out, even archived data contains personal information that can be misused.” I blinked, surprised at myself. That explanation wasn’t half bad given the jumble of thoughts running through my mind. The detritus in my head looked like my mind had been hit by a cyclone.
“Oh,” she responded, surprised. All traces of disapproval were gone. “In that case, perhaps you should be speaking with our head of IT security rather than me. Frank will be able to run you through the protocols we have in place.”
“If you could provide me with his email address, that would be helpful. Thank you.”
I wrapped up the call and rubbed my eyes, groaning at the pounding behind them before I tried, and failed, to put a dent in my workload.
*****
The phone rang and I was torn between being grateful for the interruption and frustrated by it. Heaving out a sigh, I lifted the handset off the cradle and answered, “Detective Fraser.”
“Detective, this is Patricia from the Reserve Bank Library. We’ve had an incident.”
Twenty-three
Zali
W
e landed smoothly, but I was still only half dressed. I adjusted my pants, slipped into my shoes, and did up a button on my shirt. I was ready for a swim as soon as we could get the yacht out of its mooring. I needed to clear my head before I dived into this data. It would be slow going, and I had days of work ahead of me.
The last few days had taken their toll. I’d pushed myself hard, and I didn’t like the person I became when I did that.
Ry taxied the plane to our normal hanger, but something was off. He stopped outside, not taking it inside like he normally did. “Ah, Zali, you’d better get up here,” he announced through the speaker.
I looked at Flynn. His brows were drawn together, his lips in a frown. Unbuckling my seatbelt without another word, I strode to the cockpit and leaned over Ry’s shoulder where he was seated in the pilot’s chair. Before me was a sight I never expected to see. Four federal police cars were spread out in the hangar, their lights flashing, and officers and detectives either in the driver’s seats or outside the car with hands on their guns.
The only one I recognized, standing front and centre, was Detective Fraser.
Another two blocked the shortcut to the runways.
“I can spin around, take off again, but that’s fuckin’ dangerous, Zali—”
“Or, you can park my plane in the hangar, and I’ll get out and speak to the good detective.”
“Zee, no—” Flynn started.
I turned to him and cupped his face, kissing him softly. “Let me handle this, Flynn.” Reaching for Ryder, I squeezed his shoulder. “I need you both to trust me. Please.”
“Remember what you promised.”
“I will, and I promise you, I won’t do anything stupid.” My gaze bounced between them, trying to reassure them that I was serious. “But you need to promise me something too,” I added.
“Anything.”
“Give them your names and your addresses. That’s it. Nothing else. Answer “No comment” to every other question they ask you. I’ll get us a lawyer.”
I got an immediate nod from Ryder, who moved the plane into the hanger and powered down the engines.
Flynn’s acknowledgement took a lot longer. His shoulders slumped, and he blew out a breath. “Okay,” he said quietly before walking away. He didn’t look at me again, didn’t acknowledge me as I went to stand beside him.
I reached out for him, trying to take his hand in mine.
He pulled away, slipping his hands into his pockets and looking away from me, out the window.
My heart cracked in my chest, and I blinked back tears. I tried to hide how much that move hurt, my expression stony.
I slipped the USB into my pocket, grasped the handle of my laptop bag harder, and blew out a calming breath. Mind racing, my heart thudding in my chest and knocking against my ribcage, my adrenaline was spiking again after crashing hard.
