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“So, I went back to the Reserve Bank’s site. I looked into what else wasn’t protected, and it was a hot mess.” Shaking my head, I tapped my fingernail on the cup. I continued, “I adapted a patch I’ve used in the past that’s solid. But I couldn’t upload it from where I was. I needed to get it onto their servers.”
“Why not call them? Why not speak with the head of IT and get them to upload it? Why not call me?”
I huffed out a laugh, but it held no humour. “The password to their password registry was ‘password,’ all in caps.” I raised a brow and pursed my lips.
Ezra tossed me a half smile and nodded, understanding my less than subtle jab at the bank’s security protocols.
“I wasn’t prepared to trust anyone in that organization, and it was extremely time sensitive. The wanted ad had already generated quite a bit of chatter, and the people taking up the challenge were professionals. They were good enough to get in. As it was, ninety minutes for me to get to Sydney and into the bank’s server room was a calculated risk, but I decided that alerting anyone was a greater risk. It would have prompted their IT department to try and fix the issues. They could have opened more holes, or worse, left their entire system unprotected if they got the patch wrong.”
He sat back in the chair, gazing at me. The warmth was back in his eyes, but there was still some wariness there, some worry. “You took it on yourself to fly down to Sydney, break into the Reserve Bank, and upload a patch?”
“What’s the saying? Something about power and responsibility?”
“Yeah.” He huffed out a laugh. “Something like that.” His smile slowly slid from his face.
My fingers twitched, wanting to reach out and touch his cheek, to get that smile back.
“Where did Ryder and Flynn fit into your plan?”
I held up my hands, palms in the air. “Ryder is my pilot. You know that. Flynn was with Ryder on my yacht when I found the chatter. I asked Ry to take me to Sydney, and Flynn decided to come with us. Ry was supposed to drop me off, but they followed me inside, thinking they could wait for me at reception until I finished my meeting. I didn’t tell them what I was doing. They had no idea where we even were until I entered the server room. Then that damn security guard started shooting at us—”
“Zali—”
“Listen, you know me, detective. You know that when I find something I can help with, I do it. This was important.” I shook my head, pressing my lips together as I implored him to believe me. “I couldn’t sit back and let millions of people potentially have sensitive information stolen. I couldn’t live with myself if I let that happen.”
I tucked my hair behind my ear, imploring him to believe me. “Yes, I broke in, if you want to call waltzing straight in the front door breaking in. I used one of the passwords in the registry to get into the server room, and I uploaded the patch. I’m absolutely guilty of all that. But the end justified the means. Prosecute me if you need to, but can you imagine the public backlash?”
Ezra lifted one side of his mouth in a ghost of a smile. “And Flynn and Ryder?”
“Completely innocent bystanders. They didn’t do anything. Release them. There’s no point charging them with anything.”
The door opened, and Inspector Puglisi stepped inside. She looked less than pleased, her lips pursed in a grimace and her eyes still holding a glint of suspicion. “It appears you’ve done the people of this country a service, Miss Stephens.”
I dipped my head in acknowledgement of her reluctant compliment. “I was just trying to help.”
“We’ll be investigating this further.”
“Absolutely.” I nodded. “That threat was real. If I can be of any assistance, please call on me.”
“Yes. Unlikely,” she responded. “You’re free to go. But Ms Stephens, don’t leave the country.”
“I’ll be sure to keep that request in mind.” I shot her a saccharine smile and held out my hand for her to shake, not bothering to stand. She looked down at my outstretched arm, and politeness and professionalism won out. She shook my hand before stalking away, letting the door slam in her wake.
Smirking at Ezra, I stood, smoothed down my shirt, and added, “Looks like I’ll see ya ’round, boss.”
“Mmm,” he responded, looking me up and down, the hunger in his eyes setting my insides alight.
My cunt clenched and my nipples pebbled. I shivered, want spiralling through me. I licked my lips, chasing the taste of him there. It was undeniable. I wanted him.
“Walk me out, detective.”
Seven
Ezra
“I
’ll need my laptop, but you can keep the USB.” Zali held out her hand to the tech, who handed back her phone. He slipped her laptop back into its leather sleeve and passed it to her.
