GABE (Silicon Valley Billionaires 2)

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“In our industry, the hackers and the espionage are part of the package. The kidnapping is a new low, though. Hopefully it’s a one-off.”

She buried her face in my chest. “I don’t know if I have a future in high-tech. I don’t know if I’m cut out for it.”

“Of course you are. And we need to keep the good guys on the playing field. You can’t quit.”

She sighed and stood up, drying her feet carefully. “Speaking of not quitting…I need to get back to work. Poor Bethany can’t be the only one pulling another all-nighter.”

“Have her come here for the next few days, okay? I’m worried about security more than ever.”

“Okay.” She leaned over and kissed me. “Thank you for everything.”

“Thank you for not running away from me, even though I’ve given you plenty of reasons.”

“You’d catch me anyway.”

I smiled at her, trying to lighten the heavy mood. “I might enjoy that. Maybe when things get back to normal and we get everybody out of the house, that’s a fun game we can try.”

“Remind me—and I’ll get you a leopard hide to wear and a club to wield.” She managed a smile. “For the record, I’d put money on you in a fight with Levi.”

“Babe, I appreciate that. A lot.”

“I know. That’s why I said it.” Sadness radiated off her, visible from the slump in her shoulders and the shell-shocked look in her eyes. Still, she was trying to comfort me.

She doesn’t deserve this pain. She deserves so much better…

“I love you,” I called as she headed toward the house.

“Well, I love you too, little brother,” Levi said, sauntering out of the house.

I groaned. “We really need to get Hannah back so you can move the fuck back to Boston.”

I could see the outline of his grin in the semidarkness. “Please, tell me how you really feel.”

I accepted the bourbon he offered me: Levi’s version of an olive branch.

I made sure Lauren was out of earshot before I spoke. “This is how I really feel—we didn’t get Hannah back today, and Lauren almost got shot. And now Li Na knows that we’ve been working against her this whole time with the help of the FBI. We’re worse off than we were this morning, which is pretty bad. And you’re being an asshole,” I reminded him.

I’d been trying to distract Lauren, but I still felt sick about the events of the day and where we stood. What if they killed Hannah? What if Li Na decided that this was all too much trouble, she was cutting it too close, and it was finally time to walk away?

Levi sat down and stuck his feet in the water, which I noticed he did at every opportunity. This was most likely a by-product of living in crappy weather in Boston for most of his life. “I understand. And I’m sorry I got angry with you earlier.”

“Sorry I threw you against the wall. And called you dumb.”

“No, you’re not.”

I shrugged. “Remorse isn’t really my strong suit.”

“Today was terrible,” Levi admitted. “And you’re right, Hannah’s in greater danger now than she already was. It’s on my conscience. You aren’t responsible—it’s on me.”

“But I do feel responsible. Hannah’s like my sister, and I need to make this better for Lauren. This is tearing her apart. Sitting by, not being able to do anything—that’s tearing me apart.”

“I get it.” Levi looked out at the pool. “It’s interesting to finally see you with someone, you know. An equal… I never thought it would happen, honestly.”

“You, the eternal bachelor, are saying this to me?” Levi had been engaged once, but we never brought it up. Not unless we wanted to land in the emergency room.

My brother visibly stiffened. “Let’s get back to what’s important. We have an opportunity now to search locally for Hannah. Li Na’s most likely keeping her nearby, unless she’s decided to bail on the plan.”