His eyes got even bigger. “I didn’t do shit. I swear it.”

I lifted my shoulder, and his gaze shifted to the bag. “That’s what we’re going to find out when we fingerprint the keyboard.”

“But my hands have been all over it. That’s not going to tell you anything.”

Ari finally cut in. “Actually, that’s where you’re wrong. The series of commands necessary to disable the system or delete footage requires keys you have no reason to use under other circumstances.”

Carver sat back on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s so damn comforting.”

“It should be, because we might be able to exonerate you without any issue. All you gotta do is sit here and not move while I check. Ari will keep you company.” I looked at Ari, who hadn’t lifted her gun, but I felt confident she would if it were necessary. “Shoot him if he moves.”

She nodded solemnly, and I glanced back to Carver. “She might not aim to kill, but she’ll wound. Her dad and brother taught her how to handle a gun, and she’s a damn good shot.”

“Then do your thing. I’ll wait for your apology when you’re done.”

“We’re just taking the only precautions that make sense, Carver. It’s not personal,” Ari said, her voice cool, calm, and collected. Yeah, my girl was a badass.

I pressed my lips to her temple. “You good?”

She nodded. “Yep. Do your thing. Remember what I told you.”

I turned my back and headed to the security terminal with my kit. Ari had pulled a printout of Carver’s file she’d been given when she hired him, and now we were hopefully going to use it to rule him out.

Ten minutes later, I had my answer.

“So?” Carver asked as I walked back toward them.

“You’re right—your fingerprints are all over that keyboard.” Ari shot me a look, so I spared them the dramatic pauses. “But F1 and F10, along with a whole hell of a lot of other keys, were smudged like someone used the keyboard with gloves on. Now, I’m not saying you didn’t do that, but I’ll give you ten seconds to explain why you weren’t watching the cameras when she was out in the open.”

Carver tilted his head back, his eyes going to the ceiling for a beat before looking back at me and Ari. “Because I felt like a perv, okay? My job is to keep her safe, not stare at her while she sunbathes. The pool is fenced, and so are the outer edges of the property. I figured it was safe to give her an hour of privacy instead of feeling like a creep.”

“Where were you?”

“Walking the front perimeter.” He paused and added, “On the phone with my mom. I don’t expect you to take her word for it or mine, but you can ask her.”

Ari lowered the gun. “I believe him.”

I did too, but I was still calling his mom and checking his phone records. It took five minutes to prove that he was telling the truth. When I hung up with his mom, we told him what was going on.

His first reaction? Anger. “FuckJesus fuckJesusFuck,” he shouted. “How can I protect her if she doesn’t tell me what the hell is going on? I’ve never let a threat get near a subject. Ever.”

“First, don’t talk about me like I’m not here. Second . . .” Ari paused and flipped up her middle finger as number two. “I made a calculated decision to determine whether you were involved before informing you. Given the nature of the threat, it was the intelligent choice, regardless of what you have to say about it. I’m the boss. You work for me.”

I couldn’t argue with her. It was the truth.

Carver finally nodded. “Fine, but I need to make a report to the agency.”

“No, this goes nowhere. Not yet. Call them and get files on more guys so we can bring in more help. Only people you know and trust. We’ll have them vetted ourselves as well, but you say nothing else.”

Carver looked like he wanted to argue, but I didn’t care.

“You got a problem with that?”

“No. No problem. I’ll tell them the threat level has increased and additional security is needed. No one will question it.”

“Good.” Then I looked at Ari. “Now we have to tell your brother.”

44

Ariel

“He doesn’t need to know,” I argued. “This will get him all riled up for nothing.”

My hands twisted the hem of my T-shirt because I really didn’t want to tell Heath any of this. My brother had always seen me as his head-in-the-clouds little sister who was better at being a geek than navigating real life. For the record, I was good at both, thank you very much.

Rhett shot me a look. “Have you forgotten that your brother is a cop? He kept tabs on you in California. He knows about the employee who kidnapped you. He told me so himself.”

Self-righteous anger swept through me like a firestorm. “Are you kidding? He told you that?”

“Yeah. He did.”

“Shouldn’t he have known who Carlos really was then if he was keeping such close tabs?”

“How many layers of shit did you have to hack through to find out the truth?”

Rhett’s question reminded me of just how carefully Carlos’s identity had been hidden. “A lot,” I mumbled.

“And who else has the skills to uncover that information?”

“No one he knows.”

“So, all those times your brother warned you off Carlos, it was his gut talking, a gut that you should have listened to because he knows his shit. He’s got good instincts.”

I didn’t have to come up with a response because Heath pulled up to the gate and Carver hit the button to let him in. We waited in the driveway in silence.

Heath was out of his car and coming toward us in seconds. “What the hell is going on? I finally got Dad settled after they finished all the tests, and I thought you’d be able to come out and take a turn and sit with him.”

Rhett held up a hand before Heath could rip into me like he clearly wanted to. “She locked herself in the safe room. There was a breach.”

All color drained from Heath’s face, along with any remaining righteous indignation. “Tell me everything.”

Rhett filled him in, and when he got to the part about Carlos’s real identity, Heath finally looked at me again.