She didn’t deny it. “Yes. I’m sure you have more than one ID you can use if you need it, right? It’s sort of the same principle.”
He tossed his bag on the floor by the couch. “No. Actually, Mark Outlawson is my only alias. I’m not a spy. I don’t plan to need to disappear suddenly.”
She narrowed her eyes. “We might need to rectify that. I could do it for you pretty easily if you just wanted a basic package. I’ve created personas and backgrounds for Ray and Dorian and their kids. If they needed to disappear, they could do so in an instant.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Ray and Dorian had more than one alias.”
“Absolutely. Probably two or three more handled by other computer experts. Gives them options if needed.”
Mark sat down on the couch. “Is doing stuff like that how you afford all your houses?”
Jenna was a genius on multiple different levels—she had advanced degrees in both bioengineering and computer science. No doubt, that genius was why she’d been kidnapped by Adil Garrison.
With Zodiac, at least Mark knew she was working on the side of the angels. But what she did on her own time might not be so innocent.
She tilted her head to the side and studied him. “Don’t tell me someone with a code name ofOutlawhas a problem with my creating alternate IDs for a family who has done a lot to help a lot of people.”
“I don’t have a problem with you creating them for the Lindstroms. I’m just wondering if you do the same for others who might not be quite as savory.”
“Don’t worry, Boy Scout. IDs are not my specialty, so I don’t do that sort of work often.”
“But you do some sort of work to afford six different safe houses.”
Mark grimaced. Maybe he shouldn’t press. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.
She leaned against the doorframe, relaxed and comfortable here in her own home. “I do. But don’t worry, nothing illegal. I’m on a monthly retainer for over a dozen Fortune 500 companies. They hire me to make regular attempts to get through their firewalls and tell them how they can improve cybersecurity. It pays very well—seven-figure well.”
“Then why do you work for Zodiac?”
“Because I want to stop people like Joaquin. Because I want to help people and make up for the damage I’ve done.”
He wanted to tell her that she couldn’t hold herself responsible for what she’d been forced to create when her life was in jeopardy. But he knew those words were much easier for him to say than for her to accept.
He nodded. “We’ll work together to stop Joaquin. Between us and Callum being undercover, we’ll make sure this all stops and Joaquin goes down.”
“I hope so.” She looked smaller. More fragile.
He wanted to walk over and pull her into his arms. Wanted to do a hell of a lot more than just that, but right now, he would be more than content with merely holding her.
But she was already closing herself off from him. She pushed off from the doorway. “You’re in for the night, right? Won’t be going back outside?”
“Not planning on it.”
“If you do need to go outside for any reason, wake me up first. Once I put the nighttime security measures in place, this house is pretty…locked down. You’ll hurt yourself trying to get out with it on secure mode.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What sort ofhurt myself are we talking about?”
“Inside, you’re fine. But if you open a door or window to the outside, you’re going to find the kind ofhurt yourselfthat would give Indiana Jones a run for his money.”
He had to smile at that. “Giant boulders and poisonous darts?”
“Yep. Also, lasers that will burn straight through your skin and motion-activated firearms.”
Shit. She wasn’t kidding. “Great. I’ll just pray you don’t have an aneurysm in your sleep. If so, I’ll stuff your body in the freezer and live out the rest of my days here in your house.”
She cracked a smile at that one. “If there’s an emergency, the temporary shutdown code is 542727426. That will buy you a one-minute shutdown of the weapons system.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll remember that, no problem.”