“To answer Boomer’s question, Nolan Byrne is a god of the tech world.” The man who spoke was leaner than the rest and had what looked like a Red Vine in his mouth. He talked around the candy like he’d done it a million times. “He started out in the gaming world, made his first billion by inventing the chip that powers most virtual reality headsets now. He then moved on to smart cars.”
“I want a Byrne so bad,” Pink Hair said with a sigh. “I can’t afford one, but I want it. It fully integrates with everything. Like I could plug it into my smart home and tell it to charge up and I don’t have to do anything. It’s that cool. It’s also got a hands-free drive function. I can’t believe you…” Pink Hair stopped and frowned suddenly. “He’s evil, isn’t he? Damn it. I should have known.”
“I didn’t say that,” Maddie stammered.
“Of course he’s evil,” a feminine voice said. She was a pretty woman wearing a cardigan over her dress. She had a heavy cane leaning on the table at her side. “He’s managed to make billions of dollars in three different tech fields. He’s barely forty. I assure you he’s stepped on people. He’s into satellites now, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” Maddie was on the team that was set to launch the first new model in six weeks. She had six weeks to figure out what was wrong with that satellite.
“Baby, just because a tech guru tried to kill you doesn’t mean Deke’s high school girlfriend is here because her tech guru is a bad guy,” Red Vine said, winking Cardigan’s way.
“Girlfriend?” Military Cut seemed interested again.
“Hey, can we focus?” Deke stepped in behind Pink Hair. “You got anything?”
“No one except her for the last hour. The building’s quiet. She waited on the steps for a long time, though. She’s nervous about seeing you,” Pink Hair said.
“I was…I was trying to remember if this was the right building.” Who the hell were these people and why was she slightly afraid of them?
“They all look similar in this part of the city.” Deke was obviously trying to smooth things over for her because that was a complete lie. The buildings were all arty and different. “Maddie, let me introduce you to my friends. This is MaeBe Vaughn. She and Hutch are part of McKay-Taggart’s cyber team. McKay-Taggart is…”
She knew exactly who they were. “The company you work for.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m on an investigative team. I often work with Brian Ward, but we all call him Boomer.”
The blond hottie waved. “Hi, Deke’s old girlfriend.”
Deke ignored that entirely. He quickly pointed to the rest of his friends. Hutch was the guy with the Red Vine. His wife was Noelle, and she was in biotech. Kyle Hawthorne was Military Cut, and he was a bodyguard.
MaeBe closed her laptop and slid it inside what looked to be a well-worn bag, slinging it over her shoulder. “If someone’s following her, they aren’t sticking close. All is quiet outside.” She turned Maddie’s way. “Do you have a cell?”
Maddie pulled out the piece of crap she was carrying. “My cell is in a secure location. I have it forwarded to this burner. I’ve got someone I trust moving it around.”
Her cousin thought she was running some tests and that was why she needed to take the cell phone to the spa and a couple of other places Maddie was paying for before bringing it back to her hotel room every night. She’d thought it was a weird request but had been thrilled at the thought of a paid vacation with her boyfriend.
“She’s good,” Deke said. “She knows what she’s doing when it comes to tech.”
“Well, some of it, anyway.” She didn’t want him to think she was some super expert who didn’t need any help. After all, she desperately needed his. “I’ve worked in high end and experimental tech for years. I’m excellent with robotics, but I had to figure out how to deal with the cell.”
A smirk hit Deke’s gorgeous face. “You were always good on your feet.”
He’d been good on his feet. She remembered a time when he’d simply picked her up and slid her onto his dick and fucked her without her feet ever hitting the floor.
The boy had been good, and now she was wondering if the man wasn’t even better.
Of course he would be. Practice made perfect, and he’d had years to master the art of pleasure.
And this was exactly why she should have hired an actor.
She felt her whole body flush and was almost certain the man knew exactly what she was thinking, but she needed to get to the heart of the matter. “I’m sorry to disrupt your...” It wasn’t a game night. They wouldn’t be dressed the way they were. This group had been at some sort of event. “Were you at a wedding? Or was it a graduation? It’s Thursday. Odd day for either.”
“See, I told you she was smart.” Deke’s lips quirked up. “It was a wedding. It was scheduled for Thursday because the groom is a sentimental man. This is the same day his parents got married. His dad died. He wants to make the day happy and special again.”
“And the bride is super cheap, and getting married on a Thursday night is hella cheaper than Friday or Saturday,” Kyle explained before holding up his hands as though to ward off attack. “Hey, Tessa’s words, not mine.”
Deke rolled his eyes and sighed. “And it’s not a problem. We were about to break up. Unlike the bride, we still have to be at work tomorrow.”
“Which means whoever has the most points right now wins,” Kyle said.
Noelle’s eyes narrowed. “It means the game didn’t conclude.”
Hutch stood. “Come along, my overly competitive love.”
“Uh, pizza. We called in pizza.” Boomer suddenly looked crestfallen.
“Hey, there’s a twenty-four-hour diner on the way home.” MaeBe stepped up beside Boomer. “We can get some late-night breakfast.”
“I could eat,” Kyle said, stretching. “What do you say we move this party?”
As the rest of the group started packing up, Hutch moved in close to Deke. “You need backup?”
Deke looked her way. “Do you think you need more of a bodyguard than me?”
She shook her head. She wasn’t sure she needed a bodyguard at all. “I just need to talk to you.”
“Call us if you need us.” Hutch patted his arm in a friendly gesture that made her think they were long-time friends.
She didn’t know who his friends were. She didn’t know what his life was like, with the exception of stories she heard from her mom when she went home. And that one little thing Angie had let slip when they’d had lunch about six months ago.
It’s the craziest thing, but I’m almost one hundred percent certain my brother joined a BDSM club. Like years ago. He wore this T-shirt with a logo for a club in Dallas called Sanctum, and when I looked it up all I could find was some stuff about this underground sex club. I asked him and he told me to mind my own business. It’s weird, right?
She’d done her own research. That was probably why she’d been dumb enough to step into the trap she had. She’d been able to find out that Sanctum was in fact a BDSM club. The membership was supersecret, but she’d determined that the building itself was owned by Ian Taggart—Deke’s employer.