Sexy Liar (Dirty Hacker 1)

“To be honest,” she answered, releasing her hands to relax and kept her voice calm, “I hadn’t known the server I was attempting to get into belonged to the FBI until I landed in the database.” Which was actually the truth.

Lewis’s gaze hardened. “You have not answered my question.”

“I was paid by a wife to look into her husband who apparently has joined the dating app SiR,” she lied breezily.

One eyebrow arched. “And that led to hacking into the FBI’s databases?”

“Well, not exactly,” she replied, with an easy shrug. “I discovered the husband belonged to the dating app SiR. After that, I fell down a rabbit hole there and eventually came across a server that wanted to keep me out. Of course, that intrigued me.”

“And why is that?”

Again, she shrugged and was as honest as she could be. A lesson she learned from Ryder. Lying was easier when the truth was in there too. “It’s like candy to a kid. Whenever I can’t get in, I want to get in, but as I am sure you already know, the second I saw the server belonged to the FBI, I got out.” She leaned forward a little, not letting this man shake her. She’d always been on the right side of the law, even if she had to go into the gray sometimes to catch the bad guys. “So, why exactly am I here, Mr. Lewis? You know who I am. You know what I do. You know I didn’t do a damn thing when I hit that server.” Which made her wonder what else he knew?

“You’re here because what you did was illegal,” he said. “I know you’re working with Rowan Hawke to find his sister. Here is your official warning to back off. This is not his case, and any further interference will get you tossed in jail.”

She sat back against her chair, folded her arms, and watched him a moment. She didn’t have the knack to read people like Rowan could, but something about his warning rubbed her wrong. Going on that hunch, she offered, “What if I told you that I’m closing in on a suspect, and if I continue, I will find him?”

Lewis’s jaw clenched. “I would tell you that you do not work for the FBI. Go home to San Francisco.”

That answer made alarms go off her head. “Are you going to arrest me if I refuse to stop, then?” The thought was insane. And Rowan’s frustration about being shut out now was totally understood, because the same damn thing was happening to her.

Why?

Again, his jaw clenched. He mirrored her posture by leaning back in his chair, folded his arms, and regarded her intently. “I brought you in today, Ms. McCoy, to remind you that while you have an obligation to your government, you do not have free rein. Again, this is your warning to back off and go home. There is no next time. Stop working this case immediately.” He firmed his voice, squared his shoulders arrogantly. “Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

Oh, yeah, she got a whole lot, and right now, Wes was no longer looking guilty. “Perfectly.”

He began to rise. “Go home, Ms. McCoy.”

She followed his every move, and continuing on her hunch, she said, “Just so we’re clear.” He met her gaze again. “Your security is weak. The fact that I hit a server without knowing it means you have someone on the inside that is secretly using a server for their personal use. They’ve weakened your system, and they’ve created a doorway into the FBI databases that I managed to break through. It’s sloppy work, and had I had longer, I would have easily caught them. Let me know if you want that name, and”—she squared her shoulders arrogantly—“you should really get that fixed.”

“We will take that under consideration.” His eyes flared, and yet, there was something dead in his gaze that suddenly turned her blood to ice.

Something that felt oddly personal. Anger. Rage. Hatred. Directed at her.

The door opened, and Wes strode into the room, looking about as miserable as any man could look. She could only imagine that Rowan ripped him to shreds for allowing this to happen.

Lewis cupped Wes’s shoulder on his way out the door. “Get her on a plane to San Francisco, and get back to work on the case. Balls to the wall to get this one put to bed.”

“Yes, sir,” Wes said.

And Alex, well, she just smiled, knowing she’d found their killer.

CHAPTER 15

AN HOUR HAD passed since Alex was taken into custody. Rowan had placed the call to Ryder, only to find out from his office that Ryder was on a business trip to New York City. It didn’t take long to realize that he’d come to help Alex, even though she adamantly refused him to join them. After that, Rowan had called and woken up a friend, who happened to be a lawyer, and was in the process of driving down to police headquarters, which was where Rowan waited now.

He paced in the alleyway across the street from headquarters, his fists clenching, while he did everything not to storm into that building and demand her release. The streetlights cut through the dark night, but the alleyway, stinking of garbage and God knows what else, kept Rowan hidden in the shadows.

“You broke your promise.”

Rowan whirled around, catching sight of Ryder standing behind him before he also met his fist, sending Rowan’s teeth chattering and his body flying back to hit the ground. Hard.

“You told me you would protect her,” Ryder snarled, standing over him.

Rowan snorted, rubbed his jaw, easing the pain coursing through his face, then got onto his feet. “I don’t have time for you.” He went to turn away, focusing back on the headquarters’ front doors, waiting for Alex to walk through them. But as he turned, he heard the click of a trigger. Slowly, he glanced back over his shoulder at Ryder. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”

Ryder’s eyes narrowed to slits. His weapon remained trained on Rowan. “You’ve placed Alex into the hands of the FBI. Give me one very good reason why I shouldn’t make you hurt a little for that?”