Chapter Seven
Erik
Warren checks his watch for the tenth time in ten minutes. I know he’s putting off leaving to the last minute and the reason for that is in the next room. Naked with our best friend.
Fucking Daemon. Lucky bastard.
“Will you stop drilling holes through the door with your eyes already and focus? We have to meet with our clients in an hour and you haven’t even looked at their counter proposal.”
I shoot Warren a scowl. “Not my fault. I planned on using the hours of boring flight time I was to have on my hands. Your fault I didn’t have a spare minute to myself. Besides, what could they possibly have said in the proposal that would be any different from all the other fuckers scared someone will hack into their databases? They want the full package, us to train their cyber department and do it all on the cheap. Same game, different people.”
“You’re starting to sound like Daemon. And no one considers ninety-eight million dollars on the cheap.”
“I know, damn it.” I rub a hand over my head, feeling jetlag pull at me.
“I’m just as irritated. I get it.”
“Yeah,” I grunt. “But are we forgetting something? We don’t exactly have the upper hand. Just our solid reputation and these people don’t give a shit about that. They asked us to solve a problem and we couldn’t figure the incomplete virus out.”
“We’ll deal with it when the time comes. It’s our job to show them why we’re at the top of our league—complete code or not. Stop thinking with the wrong head and focus.”
“Pot meet kettle.”
“Fuck you. Drink your coffee already and shut up.” If there’s one thing the oldest of the three of us is good at it’s barking commands. Close runner up is his coffee making skills.
He pushes a mug in my hands and I take it.
We landed two hours ago and just settled Jemma in the penthouse suite overlooking the vast majority of Paris. The Eiffel Tower a beauty in the distance.
I can’t seem to draw the energy I need for the day given I’m working with about two hours of sleep, not nearly enough caffeine, and in need of a shower. The idea of joining Jemma in hers and forget about today’s planned meetings is tempting. But Warren would have a damn heart attack since it took us close to six months to set these meets up in the first place. A few acronymed agencies want to hire us for the cyber security sectors. It means a shit ton of money and not a soul on this plant says no to green. Not when we take it and build schools, teach more people and invest in scholarships for the coming generations behind us. A philosophy the three of us pride ourselves on and why we like teaching.
It was Daemon’s idea to begin with. Use our smarts to give back.
I gave them six months at first. That’s all I was willing to do. Stepping into another classroom was the last damn thing I wanted to do but a week after our initial lectures we all discovered the hidden gem hiding out in the back of our classrooms. We asked around about the girl who never missed a class and always had the answers when we called on her. No one knew much. Even her file is desert dry. Born and raised in the same Connecticut town as Westmoore. Parents not listed. Next of kin a brother out in Boise.
And that’s it. Odd, if you ask me, but lots of people don’t have the family the three of us do. Warren is the oldest of six. I'm the youngest of three at thirty-six years old. Daemon is a natural loner as a single child, but somehow our motley crew makes a good team.
We all agreed from the start we wouldn’t make any advances on her. And when we did, it would be together. This isn’t the first time we’ve taken a lover together. Only the last one we thought would be The One. Turns out all our instincts were off about her. Way off. Zira liked to play house but when it came down to it, the idea of living with three men freaked her out. The second things between the four of us turned serious, she bolted. And into another man’s arms. Daemon took it the hardest since the poor bastard told her he loved her first.
Warren pops another pot of coffee on and I savor the last drops in my cup impatiently. Jetlag and fabulous sex has my system needing a boost. “Things never turn out like we plan, do they?”
Warren huffs. “Any regrets?”
I roll the stiffness from my shoulders. Stupid question. “Nope, but we did kidnap a student and then hauled her off to Europe. So now what? What’s our plan?”
“Keep her happy. Show her some sights, don’t let her pick up a book. That girl works too damn hard for being so damn young.”
I nod.
Warren has been leaning on the counter, sleeves rolled up and his usual scowl in place. He pushes up with a snort. “That said, you think she can help with the code?”
Showing her the black-market virus wasn’t part of the plan, but it seemed like the natural thing to do at the time. Thankfully the guys didn’t hold it against me and played along. They must have seen how freaked out she was getting.
“I saw an opportunity to get her to come along rather than really kidnapping her.”
“Smooth. You sure we should trust the bear in there who grunts rather than speaks to be alone with someone as sweet as Jemma? He might scare her.”
“She’ll be fine. Daemon might be less than polished, but he’s not a brute. Just terribly frank.”