Beautiful Surrender: Pride and Honor, #4

By Ember-Raine Winters

Kenzie's life had become a giant shit show since she met the guys at GTT months ago. They were arrogant and didn't listen when she told them to stop digging. Now they were all paying the price. But, with her pregnant sister and her husband missing she is forced to work closely with them, especially Trey. Trey was quickly becoming her biggest complication. How do you explain to someone you care about that they should leave before they get hurt. 

Everyone she loved seemed to die. She would stop at nothing to keep that from happening to him too. The only problem? Trey feels the exact same way.

The case is coming to end. It has to be because Trey can't handle another missing family member or friend. With Mac injured and angry it leaves the rest of this up to him Griffin and Kenzie to solve it and retrieve their family. Kenzie. She's everything he ever wanted but she's guarded and secretive. How can he prove to her he's the one for her?

Blame gets thrown around and friends need rescuing. Can Trey and Kenzie do it while keeping their hearts and lives in tact, or was this mission doomed from the start?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ember-Raine Winters
• Release date: Sep 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386671237

Book preview

prologue

kenzie

Sitting outside the prominent Washington D.C. hotel, I was getting super nervous. The half-sister that I had never met was in there right now and she had some scary mother fuckers watching her.

I counted three of daddy dearest’s guys waiting for her to leave and that was just the ones out in the open. There was a nondescript van across the street and two more guys on the opposite corner who looked suspicious. This was the least favorite part of my job. Watching people, sitting still? It was harder for me than you would think.

At least when I was in the middle of a hack I was doing something. The adrenaline coursed through me as I sat in front of my keyboard and built a backdoor into some poor schmuck's network. Don't get me wrong, every one of those assholes deserved it. They all had more money than sense and they were into some crazy shit.

I never hacked a corporation for regular people's information. It was mainly corrupt politicians and Wall Street bankers who got greedy and started ripping people off.

My sister? Tasha was like me from what I had read in her file. Brock—my sort of stepfather—had recently tipped me off to the fact that she was working to take down dear old dad. She had no idea how deep she was getting herself, and I was waiting to see what she would do.

If she heeded my warning then we could all go back to our own lives and never have to deal with that sociopath, better known as Barnes, again. Somewhere deep down in a place I don't let other people see, I was hoping she wouldn't take my threat seriously. That she had the balls to go toe-to-toe with him. I was hoping against hope that I didn't have to be alone anymore.

I sighed and watched her and her man walk out of the hotel and wait by the valet stand before hopping in the car and driving away—in the direction of Ellie's house. Ellie was Tasha’s grandmother and basically the woman who raised me. I smiled, glad that my sister definitely wasn't a wimp.

My laptop beeped and I looked down at the notification from the hacking site I frequented on Tor. My smile widened when I saw a message from Eagle Eye.

Eagle Eye November 20th 5:35pm: Persephone? You around?

Persephone November 20th 5:37pm: What's goin’ on Eagle Eye?

Eagle Eye November 20th 5:40pm: Trying to decode some old floppy discs on a laptop from the Stone Age. I don't even know this language the programming is so outdated. Do you know of any open source stuff that can help me?

Persephone November 20th 5:42pm: What kind of disks are we talking here? What's on them?

I was starting to get nervous. I knew who Eagle Eye really was. He was never great at covering his tracks, and I had figured out what he was up to pretty quickly. Plus, we chatted a lot. He told me once about the security company he helped his brother run, and I heard through the grapevine and the underground that the government had hired Eagle Eye’s company, GTT, to track down my other alter ego, Orpheus. Like everyone else, I kept him at arm's length. Getting involved with other people got you killed or thrown in jail, and I would much rather avoid both those options while I attempted to take down Barnes, aka, dear old dad, and his entire operation.

Eagle Eye November 20th 5:43pm: I don't know. We found them in a friend's house and we think they have information on some murders that happened a long time ago.

Persephone November 20th 5:45pm: Send me the data and I will see what I can do.

Eagle Eye November 20th 5:47pm: Great. Thanks, so much Persephone. I owe you one. ;)

Persephone November 20th 5:49pm: Nah, you're good.

A few minutes later a message from Eagle Eye came through on my encrypted email. I clicked on it and waited for the files to download, and I knew it would be awhile before Tasha came back, so I figured I could put my idle hands to work cracking into some old school technology.

It didn't take me long to figure out what was on those disks. Most of it was just a bunch of records and statements that I would have to go through later when I had more time.

However, all that changed when I found a grainy surveillance video of a dingy alley hidden inside the code. I recognized Barnes right off. He was about thirty years younger but had the same demonic eyes and sinister smile that I had grown to hate. Unfortunately, the video was devoid of sound so I couldn't hear what Barnes was saying.

Two men were holding a woman in a vice-like grip by her arms and her giant pregnant belly protruded out in front of her as Barnes punched and kicked her repeatedly until she was nothing but a broken mess laying on the ground. The scene was becoming impossible to watch through the tears, I hadn’t even realized I had, pouring down my cheeks.

When I saw Tasha’s mother, Kim, rush over to the woman and get her into a car, a moment of clarity dawned. I knew who that injured woman was and the lies everyone had told me about my birth my entire life were played out on the screen.

I'm not just going to take him down... I'm going to destroy him.

chapter one

trey

Three months later

Did you sleep at all last night, Trey? Griffin asked as he walked into the living room of the opulent two-bedroom suite he had reserved for us in New Orleans.

Hell no, I replied to my brother gruffly. It doesn't look like you've gotten much sleep either, bro. He looked at me like I’d lost my mind, which was probably more true than I cared to admit.

My family-

I interrupted him, Our family.

"Yeah, sorry. Our family, but with the kids gone, and my seven-month-pregnant fiancé… He was so frustrated, he was pulling at his hair with both hands, unable to take a seat. I have Tara breathing down my neck every minute of the day asking for updates on her sister. Of course, I'm not sleeping."

Calm down, Griff, we will find Kay, the kids, Tash and Twitch. There has to be something that will tell me who took them. I'm looking for a back door into the US patent office. After speaking with the director, they said that no one can get into my file without top secret DOD classification because of the implications of my program. That means that either Barnes has friends in extremely high places or the system was hacked.

I rubbed a hand over my jaw. The extra couple days growth was more than I was used to, but shaving was the last thing on my mind when my family was missing. If they hacked in, I continued telling Griff, there's a chance they were sloppy and didn't clean up after themselves, and if that's the case, then I can find their signature in the code and identify who stole my shit.

Griffin stopped his pacing and looked out of the window down to the street below. You need sleep, Trey, he said without turning around.

I’ll sleep when they’re back. We can get out of this lovely humidity and back to the scorching Los Angeles oven heat. I chuckled dryly.

Speaking of heat- Just as I was about to ask Griff if he wanted to run downstairs to get something to eat, my phone rang, interrupting me. How's my favorite Pixie? I answered.

Whatever, Trey.

Clearly Marcy was not in any mood for joking around. Can’t say as I blamed her with her son Johnny missing along with Kay and my niece and nephew. Our flight just got in and we are waiting to go through security. We will be there soon.

I hesitated to ask, but needed to know. How’s the big man doing?

Mac’s grumbling like a toddler, but I think he will be all right. I heard a rustling and then Marcy giggled like a school girl with a crush, which was a sound I was glad to hear. She nearly lost the plot when we found out that the plane our family was on had just vanished into thin air. Is there any news?

Sorry, Pix. There's nothing right now. I'm exhausting every avenue I can think of, but I'm not a police detective.

I know. You're a computer geek, now fucking act like it, she scolded, then recanted just as quickly, softening up her tone. Sorry, Trey. I have faith in you. If anyone can find them it's you and Kenzie.

"Yeah well that would be awesome if she hadn't bailed again."

She what? Marcy turned on a dime and yelled angrily. I couldn’t really blame her back and forth behavior. The stress of our family missing was doing a number on us all. That girl can't sit still, can she?

She's also not great with sharing information. Something about a lead but refused to let me go with her. Crazy bullshit about my injured arm and slowing her down.

Well… Marcy trailed off.

What Pix? Out with it! I growled into the phone.

After the way you've been acting, Trey, I wouldn't want you to go with me either, she rushed out.

Marcy had a point that I was not in the mindset to admit. I know, but you just don't understand, okay? Just leave it alone. I will make it right in my own way.

Whatever you say, buddy.

Just get your tiny little ass over here so we can attempt to make a plan. I laughed and hung up on her.

That's bullshit. I looked up startled by Griffin’s outburst, as he turned to face me. All you have to do is send Kenzie a message and you know she will be here. Her sister is missing too.

You think that I can't do this on my own? I challenged him.

That's not what I meant, dick. He stalked over to the couch and took a seat on the opposite chair. I just mean two hackers brains are better than one. You could at least message her and be nice.

I'm always nice, I huffed out and Griffin shook his head, most likely in exasperation.

What is your deal, Trey? Just get over your hang up with Kenzie. So, what if she was Orpheus the whole time? I bet if you had a life like hers you would protect yourself from outsiders too. Especially, outsiders that were actively investigating you for fucking cyber terrorism.

Kenzie, aka Persephone, was also Orpheus. That girl had so many aliases that she even got the better of me in her web of spying. It was a hard pill to swallow, knowing that she’d deceived—and what I had come to think of as played me—all those months. But, Griffin had a point.

You're right, I sighed, putting my feet up on the coffee table, and grabbing my laptop again. I just wish she had trusted me. Even before I knew who she was, I didn't want to turn her over to the Feds.

I know that, but she has learned not to take those kinds of chances, anymore. If you don't want to lose the best thing that's ever happened to you, Griff insisted, then I suggest you try forgiving her and being patient with her instead of being this raging dick you've become lately. Now, swallow your damn pride and message her and tell her you need her help. My whole world has dis-a-fucking-ppeared and I want them back like yesterday!

Yes, sir big brother, sir. I saluted him in the small hope that I could bring his rage down.

He shook his head and grumbled, tossing his head back against the chair. Fucking smart ass.

Mission accomplished.

Now for the real sucky part of my day...

Eagle Eye January 8th 3:20pm: Persephone? Look I'm sorry.

It felt like an eternity before she finally responded, twenty minutes later.

Persephone January 8th 3:42pm: What do you want? I'm kind of busy here.

Patience, Trey. You’ve been a dick. Her reaction here isn’t exactly shocking.

Eagle Eye January 8th 3:45pm: I need your help. I can't do this without you, and I'm sorry I was a dick, okay? You win. I don't wanna fight anymore. Let's just find our family, please? Can we work together? As a team?

Persephone January 8th 3:55pm: Okay, I'm on my way. Be there soon.

Eagle Eye January 8th 3:57pm: Thank you

Fucking smiley faces? I was sending her smiley faces? What happened to my life, or better yet, my manhood?

Persephone January 8th 4:00pm: Don’t thank me yet, Eagle Eye. You don't know what we have to do ;)

I sat back in my seat and blew out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding. Despite the dread in my gut and yeah, the embarrassment of caving a bit, I felt like I was on top of the world, a weight lifted off my chest.

Ever since this whole mess started and thrust the two of us together, I hadn't been able to relax. I needed to see her. It was different when I thought she was just quietly hacking from the safety of her own home. Now that I knew what was really going on, my inner alpha wanted to lock her up where I knew she would be safe, which was completely ridiculous. I honestly think that I was more pissed at my own feelings than I had ever been at her.

I have no idea how long I sat there hacking through the patent office's infrastructure. It was complicated but not impossible to hack into, but I wasn't finding any sloppy patch jobs or back doors.

There was a knock on the door and I heard Griffin move to answer it. Traffic here is almost as bad as LA, Marcy complained in her high tinkling voice.

Unable to restrain myself from taunting Mac, I jumped to my feet and yelled excitedly, Tinkerbelle! Swinging her tiny body around in my arms, I smacked a kiss on her cheek to which I was granted the growl from Mac. How's it going, babe? Is he still whining about being stuck in the wheelchair?

You know, I think it's worse than the man-cold. She giggled.

The man cold, huh?

Yeah, it's just a regular cold but to a man it's the worst sickness on the planet, and they are incapable of doing anything but bitching about it.

Hey now. Mac jokingly scolded and rolled over in his wheelchair to pull Marcy down in his lap.

Mac, what the hell are you doing? She jumped quickly off his lap.

Wrong leg, babe, no worries.

Mac, Marcy, and I had been in a serious car accident a few weeks before and Mac had nearly died on the way to the hospital. My arm had been broken and I have a gnarly scar on my forehead. The cast was thankfully almost ready to come off, and I couldn't imagine how Mac must feel being confined to a wheelchair most of the time.

I don't even need this damn chair, he snarled, and began complaining to us. The doctors thought it would be best in the airport and of course Pix had to put her foot down.

You would not have made it all the way across the airport with your leg the way it is, she reprimanded, but as soon as Mac looked up at her with his big puppy dog eyes she melted.

Does Bob have anything new for us on his end? Griffin interrupted the happy couple.

No, Marcy sighed.

Bob was a state senator. We found out the night of the accident that he was Marcy’s biological father, and he had information on Barnes’ entire operation. We were hoping he had the smoking gun that would bring the man down for good.

What about the patent office? Mac asked, pointing at my laptop on the coffee table. You found anything in there that will tell you who stole your plans?

No. I pulled at my hair in frustration, walking back to grab it. That smug bastard is probably laughing at the fact that he used my own technology against me.

I don’t want to alarm you, Mac started and I looked at him skeptically, wondering what he had to tell me now. Are Shelby and Mikey safe?

Mikey, my son, and his mom Shelby were one of my first thoughts when the rest of our family went missing. Her parents lived in a little town in Iowa, well on the outskirts of Cedar Rapids. I put them both on a plane with a couple of our best bodyguards as soon as news broke. They were the safest of all of us at the moment, and I was more than a little relieved by that. Shelby’s quiet acceptance of leaving was a godsend, if not a little surprising. While she and I never loved each other, we had a great parenting relationship and I considered her just as much part of my family as our son.

They are. Justin has been giving me hourly updates on their safety.

That’s good. He has really stepped up for us in the last couple months, Mac replied thoughtfully. Justin had been essential in helping us find Kaylee’s kids a few months back. Since then, we’d been sending him on more important assignments. I was trusting him to keep my son safe.

Kenzie busted through the door a second later, her eyes were wild and she looked pale. It’s bad.

She was breathing heavily and I had never seen her so scared. What’s bad? What did you find out?

You haven’t been watching the news? She looked at me incredulously.

I have been looking for a backdoor to the patent office. I glared back, annoyed.

Spit it out, Barbie, Mac growled at her. He’d better watch his attitude around her, he’d been crossing a line of rude that was starting to piss me off.

Kenzie acted like she didn’t hear him as she stomped over to the big screen TV that was muted and turned to the news. Pointing at the ticker at the bottom of the screen, she turned the volume up, and I watched in horror as Marcy crumpled back down into Mac, and Griffin’s face turned ashen:

Somali pirates are now claiming responsibility for the missing plane that was taking three children and former Army Special forces officer Dylan Spaulding along with fiancé Police Detective Natasha Price and their friend Kaylee Robbins to South America earlier this month. There is no news on how they accomplished this hijacking. The White House has not yet been reached for comment, but with two public servants now being held for ransom, we are expecting a comment shortly.

I walked over and wrapped Kenzie in my arms. She looked shell shocked. Anybody would be. The only true family she had ever known was now in the hands of some of the most ruthless criminals. Griffin walked over to the nearest wall and put his fist threw it. Marcy and Kenzie both jumped, startled at the typically in-control leader of GTT. Sitting in his chair, Mac looked like he was about to be sick, his face pale, and I got even more pissed at the situation.

Barnes was not going to get away with this. He was going to pay. I didn’t know how, but I was going to make sure of it. He wasn’t just going down, I was going to destroy him and everything he cared about.

chapter two

kenzie

Trey thought I was upset. In reality, I was vibrating with unadulterated rage. A red fog tinted my vision as I heard him bark out, Get the fucking DOD on the phone, now. I wanna know how damn Somali pirates got a hold of my fucking plans and pulled this off.

Griffin nodded. His hand was covered in blood, but he used his other one to reach into his pocket and pull his phone out. I didn’t know how he had the Department of Defense on speed dial, but it was only a minute before he was placing it on speaker phone.

"What the fuck? Why am I finding out on the goddamned news that pirates have my family?" He was still not in control of his rage.

I’m sorry, Griffin, the voice said through the phone for us all to hear. "They posted a video on YouTube. We