David: Gray Wolf Security Volume One, #2

By Glenna Sinclair

This is the second book of Gray Wolf Security Volume One, with over 50,000 words of romantic suspense...

 

My life ended the night my father won a place in the US Congress. Not because he won the election but because he died when I lost control of the car he, my mother, and I were riding in.

My parents both died, and I was left paralyzed from the upper thighs down. There's an operation that could fix my legs, but maybe I don't deserve a second chance. After all, my parents didn't get one.

But then a woman walks into my life...it's always a woman, right?

She was once a notorious hacker, now a ruthless CEO of one of the hottest social media corporations in the world. We're both broken, but maybe together, we can find a way to fix what no longer works...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Glenna Sinclair
• Release date: Apr 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9798223894384

Glenna Sinclair

Experience the heart-racing novels of Glenna Sinclair, the master of romantic suspense. Sinclair's books feature strong male protagonists, many with a military background, who face real-world challenges that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Books2read.com/GlennaSinclair Facebook.com/AuthorGlennaSinclair GlennaSinclairAuthor at Gmail dot com

Book preview

Prologue

The computer had always been my friend. When I didn’t have anyone to talk to, anyone to turn to in times of trouble, the computer was there for me. I missed it sometimes. I used to spend all my waking hours staring at a computer screen, my fingers working magic over the keyboard. But those days disappeared the moment I went legit; the moment I decided to make money instead of building a stellar reputation among the hackers I counted as my friends.

I’d never felt as though I belonged. As a small child, the other kids would make fun of me because we were poor; I never had the fancy shoes or the expensive jeans the other kids had. As a teen, I wore long sleeves to hide my scars, even in the heat of summer, and that started rumors and made me something of a laughing stock.

Computers never judged.

Computers got me through the darkest hours of my life. I could always count on them. It was people who always let me down. Long ago, I decided that I would never put myself in a position of dependence on another person again. When Belle needed me . . . well, I did what I felt I should do. The rest was her problem.

And now someone thought he or she could use my only friend—use a computer—to hurt me. That was ironic, wasn’t it? Someone had broken through the firewalls that I personally placed in my servers to farm information and hide it, hoping I would think my clients’ information was compromised. They thought I’d forgotten how to get around inside the codes that ran our servers, our websites, and our very corporation. I hadn’t.

But playing along with their game was probably the best way to go for the moment. And I knew exactly how to do it.

Gray Wolf Security.

I’d done my research. I knew all about the man who owned and operated the company. I knew more than he would have appreciated. After all, I had a personal interest in the company, but he didn’t need to know that right now, did he?

Chapter 1

David

––––––––

I watched them come in, one at a time, from behind my bank of computer monitors. They didn’t always realize how much attention I paid to what was going on around me. I was an afterthought, the guy they only noticed when something went wrong. But I noticed them.

Rose was always the first to arrive in the mornings. She was the office manager and receptionist, but she also fancied herself as something of a mother to this ragtag bunch of operatives. She arrived right after seven to start the coffee and raise the blinds on the floor-to-ceiling windows that adorned the front and far side of the house. Occasionally she put sweet rolls in the oven or a fruit salad in the fridge. Sometimes she diced vegetables for her famous omelets. She always had something for breakfast for those operatives who weren’t off on a case.

Then Ash came from his rooms upstairs.

He always came down at the same exact time. Seven fifteen. I could set my watch by him and never be late for an appointment. He came down in the same dark slacks and Oxford shirt he always wore. Only the color of the shirt ever changed. Today it was black, like the slacks.

Like my soul.

Ash was my brother, the owner of this house, the property it sat on, and the business that was run out of it. The operatives affectionately called the place the compound. I thought of it more as my prison.

I was an analyst for the FBI. I spent my days determining if there was a terrorist threat in the computer files I was given each morning. I had done a good thing, an honorable thing. Maybe not as honorable as fighting terrorists in Afghanistan like my brother, but it was still an worthwhile cause. I was talented at my job. Terrorists were identified because of what I did.

But then there was the accident.

Ash and I grew up in Austin, Texas, where our father was a member of the state senate. A little less than three years ago, Dad decided to run for Congress. He thought it was finally time to take his political ambitions to a higher level. Voters loved him. He won the election easily. I flew into Austin from Los Angeles to watch the numbers come in, and celebrate with him and my mom. Ash was supposed to be there, too, but he was so wrapped up in himself after his fiancée disappeared during a mission in Afghanistan. He rarely had time for any of us.

The accident changed that. Suddenly, I couldn’t get him to leave. He followed me back to Los Angeles, practically moved in with me, insisting that I let him help me with everything. And by everything, I mean everything. He wouldn’t even let me get a glass of water by myself. It was a relief when he decided to start Gray Wolf Security, when he bought this property and flew all over the country recruiting former military members to work as operatives in the business. But he couldn’t leave it at that. He had to talk me into coming to work for him, too. I honestly believe I said yes because I was simply tired of him asking.

I would never admit to him that the work was enjoyable. I liked creating the security program we used to protect our clients. I liked upgrading it, constantly making it stronger. I even liked watching the video that streamed live from the homes and offices of our clients; I liked the feeling that I was capable of protecting someone in some small way, despite the wheelchair that became my albatross after the accident.

Not that I would ever admit that to Ash. He didn’t need to know.

After Ash came strolling downstairs, popping into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, Donovan usually arrived if he wasn’t on assignment. But, lately, he’s been coming in later, sometimes as late as eight or eight thirty. He has a girl now, a former client who coincidentally happened to be his high school crush. They’ve been together five months now, if you start from when she was a client. She seemed to keep him quite occupied when he wasn’t on a case.

After Donovan, Joss usually wandered in. Joss was the only lady who worked as an operative for us. She was a petite, wisp of a woman, blonde and tan; the kind of woman you might imagine on the cover of a fashion magazine than in Army greens. However, she served her time in the military, like the rest of the primary team. She and Ash met in boot camp and reconnected a couple of years ago after her husband and child were killed in a car accident. She was a surfer. She liked to catch the early morning waves, so she usually came into the office in a skintight wetsuit. It was a sight to behold. Not that it had ever crossed my mind to say that to her. I rather liked all my parts right where God had put them.

The last to arrive was always Kirkland. He was a fine operative. His clients always came through their ordeals in one piece. But he was also . . . well, let’s just say Kirkland was a charmer. That charm of his caused numerous beautiful woman to chase him up to the main house from his little cottage, or to call dozens of times a day, trying to get him to fulfill his promise to see them again. He was a classic Romeo, the kind of guy who you could never quite figure out how he got so many women, until you actually saw him in action. And then you might find yourself tempted to fall into bed with him too.

They were all here today, mostly on time. We hadn’t had a serious client in a few weeks, just a few quick jobs. A visit to a stalker to frighten him off. A few parties that required a special sort of security. An escort to a highly sensitive business meeting. Small things. But it was the big ones—the death threats and the potential kidnappings—that paid the bills.

Alright, everyone, Ash called from the head of the conference table, if you’ll join me, we have a few assignments to go over.

Donovan was in the kitchen, wolfing down a couple of the cinnamon rolls Rose had brought in. Kirkland was with him, sipping at a cup of hot coffee and describing, in detail, the woman he’d been with the night before, trying to remind Donovan of all the fun he was missing out on now that he was in a committed relationship. Joss was at her desk, checking email before she headed back to the beach to catch a few more waves. One by one, Donovan—an irritated expression on his face—they all heeded Ash’s call.

You, too, David, Ash called.

I peeked around the edge of my monitors. Working on something.

It’ll only take a minute.

I could feel all their eyes on me as I wheeled myself around my workstation and made my way to where they were waiting. Resentment burned in my chest. Ever since my security program was hacked back in January, I’d been working nonstop trying to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. I didn’t have time for this bullshit.

I rolled myself just outside the perimeter of the dining room—or what was once a dining room and was now something of an open conference room—and crossed my arms over my chest. Ash studied me a second, his eyes narrowing, but then he turned his attention to the business at hand.

As you know, we’ve recently gone through a little dry spell. However, our luck seems to have changed. We had two new cases come in this morning.

Kirkland and Joss smiled, but Donovan sat back and snuck a glimpse at his phone.

Ash held up two file folders. The first is an executive who is getting death threats. He thinks it’s a competitor, and that things will blow over after his company launches a new product next week. He nodded to Joss. This one’s right up your alley.

Joss reached over and took the folder. She silently flipped through it, nodding from time to time.

Got it? Ash asked.

She tacitly agreed.

And the other, Ash said, focusing on Donovan—even though Donovan wasn’t looking at Ash. He was still glancing at his phone. It was probably his girlfriend, Kate. He spent more time on that phone, texting her and sending and receiving pictures, than anything else these days.

. . . the other, Ash continued, is a CEO who believes someone has breached the security system at her company. He opened the file folder and skimmed through it. She has reason to believe her company is purposely being targeted because they own and run several popular social networking and dating sites. She wants to protect sensitive client data.

That caught my attention, despite myself. I didn’t want to care what he was talking about. I had my job, and I was good at it. I needed to concentrate on that. But this . . . my mind was already working the angles, finding holes in a system I’d never seen.

This CEO, Ricki Dennison, wants to—

Ricki Dennison?

Ash shot me a look that made his irritation at my interruption painfully obvious. It was coming off of him in a flood. However, this was the first time in months he’d said anything that truly interested me.

You do realize who she is, right? I asked.

She’s a client.

She’s a fucking genius! She creates the most elegant computer code I’ve ever seen. Some of her programs changed the way hackers look at the simplest . . . I stopped because I could already see everyone’s eyes glazing over the way they did when I talked computers. And Ash was getting even more annoyed. Let’s just say she’s a revolutionary, I finished lamely.

Someone’s fangirling, Kirkland said.

Hardcore, Donovan agreed.

I tilted my head slightly. You have your celebrity crushes, I have mine.

Wonder if she looks anything like Blake Lively, Kirkland said. If she does, then I could understand.

Sometimes there’s more to a woman than appearances, Kirkland, I said.

Really? Since when?

Joss tossed a crumpled-up piece of paper at Kirkland, a hard scowl on her face. He held up his hands in a surrender gesture.

Sorry, Jossie.

Are we done acting like children? Ash asked.

I crossed my arms over my chest again, focusing on Ash with a hard stare. What difference did this make to me? It wasn’t as if I ever did anything but sit behind my monitors and send out the teams that saved all their asses.

As I was saying, Ash continued, Ms. Dennison thinks there’s been a breach in her system. She wants us to find out if there was one, how bad it was, and what, if anything was taken. It should go without saying that we also need to figure out who did this.

Why us? I asked. Hasn’t her IT team already isolated the breach?

Ash focused on me again. She has reason to feel she can’t trust her own team.

Paranoid much? Kirkland asked.

Apparently, Ms. Dennison has upset quite a lot of the staff in recent months when she announced her plans to discontinue the employee compensation package. She thinks this breach could be revenge for that. For that reason, Donovan, she’d like for us to send someone in—undercover—to try to figure out which of her current employees might be out to sabotage the company.

Donovan raised an eyebrow as he stood and took the file folder from Ash. In the IT department?

Yes. I figured you know enough about computers that you can fake your way through.

Donovan was an explosives expert. He knew how to blow shit up. How the hell was he going to fake his way through this sort of technology-based job?

Ash leaned back against the wall and studied me. I want you to meet Ms. Dennison with Donovan, he said. We need you to find the breach and trace it back to the source. Ms. Dennison has agreed to give you access, but only if you do it from her office. She won’t authorize remote access.

Adrenaline suddenly rushed through my body, my heart beginning to pound and my muscles tightening.

Me?

Of course. You’re our tech guy.

Looks like you get to meet your hero, Davey boy, Kirkland said.

I don’t go to client sites, Ash. You know that. And you know why.

There was no sympathy in Ash’s eyes. It’s time for you to stop hiding behind your screens, David.

I shook my head. I couldn’t do this.