5
By that evening, the situation had evolved. Ace rested his hip against the boardroom table as he and Liam took their shift guarding the nerds while they worked. The brainiacs were too engrossed in ones and zeros to have any idea if someone was sneaking up on their bodies while their minds were elsewhere.
Lucas joined them. They’d taken that trip to the range together earlier while Tavish and Legend had been on watch. The guy was pretty cool, and completely badass. If Lucas hadn’t called attention to his missing limb, Ace might never have noticed. He wanted that for his arm. And after working with Lucas for a bit, he thought he had a better idea of how to move forward. Without constantly trying to recreate the way he’d been before, but by learning to leverage his advantages and avoid putting himself in a position where he had to rely on his vulnerabilities.
Ruby and JRad had been occupied non-stop for the past sixteen hours. Hardly blinking as their fingers flew over their keyboards, tossing out ideas so the other could encourage them or shoot them down. They were a dream duo in their field. Ace was sure that if he understood even a fraction of what they were up to, he’d have been hella impressed. Together, they’d secured and stress tested the Shields network. Plus JRad confirmed what Ruby had suspected.
It was good news and bad.
The actions she’d taken to boot the hackers had held. Even once they restored everything, the system withstood the attacks they could see being launched from the outside. Unfortunately, that didn’t solve the bigger problem.
Someone had figured out how to alter that block stuff and was going to use that knowledge to fuck over tons of hobby investors who would have no way to fight back, worldwide. Ace intended to leave the details to the experts, but even he could see how the repercussions would ripple outward, undermining the larger ecosystem and introducing the kind of instability assholes preyed on. Technology like that would be worth a hell of a lot to the wrong sorts of buyers.
This was the kind of shit that got people killed in a hurry. If the world was lucky, the Shields would be the ones who’d pull the plug on the hackers instead of the other way around.
For the moment, Jordan had deemed the immediate physical threat to have passed. He’d brought their families home, including his own husband and wife, Kason and Wren. Not like they’d have stayed away too much longer anyway. The bonds between the people here were tight. As happy as Ace was for them, it twisted the knife in his gut to be surrounded by so many lovesick fools in healthy, blissful, committed relationships when the man he’d been obsessed with for years kept their connection a dirty secret, maybe even from himself.
Liam only admitted they were more than best friends or field partners when his dick needed sucking or a hot hole to fuck. Yet Ace didn’t seem capable of saying no, not when that was what he wanted too—plus a whole lot more.
He must have shot Liam a dirty look without intending it.
“What?” the guy asked.
“Nothing.” Ace shrugged. He wasn’t about to get into their dysfunction there and then. It would probably lead to one of the inconsequential brawls that occasionally broke out around the place. They were men, and women, of action. Sometimes frustrations spilled over to sparring matches in the gym or tussles in the lounge, though that was a sure way to piss James off when they messed the place up.
“He’s probably hangry.” Lucas checked his watch. “It’s been a long time since lunch and it takes a lot of energy to heal bones and rebuild muscle.”
Jordan roused Ace from his dark thoughts and the denial he was about to make that he needed anything more or different than Liam when their boss joined them, his infamous Bluetooth earpiece still in place. He’d been hunkered down in his office making calls to the contacts in his intel network non-stop in an effort to pick up on any rumors floating around in the dark, sludgy underbelly of the world.
James wasn’t far behind. He made their lives easier however he could. He kept things running, organized their chaos, and honed them into the sharpest spearhead they could be for Jordan. He swept his gaze around the room and asked, “Anyone need anything?”
“We need to talk. Come on, you two. You need a break anyway.” Jordan might as well have been talking to the wall. Ruby and JRad kept tip-tapping away, their headsets insulating them to anything outside their bubble.
James slipped on matching gear and pressed the button on the ear. “Earth to sexy geeks. Earth to sexy geeks.”
Ruby instantly spun her chair around, her eyes wide as they surveilled the room with panicky sweeps. She even untangled her legs and put her feet flat on the floor as if ready to make a run for it. Until her gaze landed on Ace’s. He smiled slowly at her, hoping it reassured her that no one was about to eat her—unless it was him, and he’d make sure she enjoyed it if he was ever so lucky. She’d been jumpy as fuck since the night before and he didn’t blame her one bit. Maybe he should go get one of her stuffies and set it on the desk beside her next time someone else was on official duty.
JRad rubbed his temples but shot James a wan smile. “Yeah?”
“You skipped lunch and it’s already getting late. Jordan also needs to speak with the team.” James pointed in the direction of the dining area across the hall, where the din of clinking silverware and conversation meant the majority of their friends and family were already gathered for a meal. “So we’re going to take twenty and move this party to the kitchen unless you tell me there’s something that will fall apart before we can stuff our faces. Devra catered an entire fucking buffet for us and Morgan added five dozen pastries from her shop. Let’s eat.”
Ace’s stomach growled at the thought alone. The women were killing it in Middletown, with lines often out the door daily, and he was one of their best customers. Between the Shields, the Powertools crews, and the Hot Rods and Hot Rides mechanic gangs, they already had an army to feed.
“You know that tunnel was intended to be a top-secret escape route, not an express lane for food delivery service. Right?” Jordan shook his head at James. Still, when the seven of them crossed the lobby and wandered into the bright and homey cafeteria, he was the first one in line to grab a plate from the stack on the expansive white marble island.
“No reason it can’t be multifunctional.” James shrugged. “Besides, the construction on the alternate route, beneath Blakely’s future tattoo shop, is almost finished.”
“Good. I like having a backup plan for our backup plans.” Jordan piled some roasted vegetables and that awesome chicken in smoky, spicy sauce from their featured dish onto his plate. Despite the weight on his shoulders, he smiled when he caught Wren’s gaze from across the room. Kason sat beside her, refilling her glass from a water pitcher in the center of the long community table. Then he refocused on Ruby and JRad, frowning. “Sometimes you need them. For example…”
“Oh no.” Ruby’s plate clattered to the counter. She snatched it up again, but Ace could see her fingers trembling. He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed even as Liam edged closer to her other side. “What now?”
“How bad would it be, if say…” Jordan collected silverware wrapped in a napkin, then settled onto the long bench across from Wren and Kason. He forked some of his dinner into his mouth and the rest of them joined him as they finished doling out their dinners. When he continued, he had the attention of everyone in the room, their sidebar conversations hushed. “…there had been an uptick in ransomware attacks on financial institutions in the past twenty-four hours. With threats claiming to be able to wipe out and re-write transaction ledgers at will.”
“Realbad.” Ruby scrunched her eyes closed and Ace grabbed her now full plate before it could slip from her hand again, this time spilling her food everywhere.
“Take a seat.” Liam cupped her elbow and escorted her to the table where Ace placed her plate in front of her and asked, “Can I get you something to drink?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think I can eat. I feel sick.”