CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Joey yelledas Cole staggered backward and slumped against one of the server cabinets. Her ears were ringing, and her own voice sounded distant and detached. “Cole! Cole!”
She moved toward him, but an arm around her waist stopped her and held her firmly in place, despite her struggle as she tried to reach Cole. The hard pressure of the gun pushing into her ribcage made her stop fighting.
“Please, let me help him,” she begged.
“Joey, hang on. We’re on our way!”
“I’m disappointed in you,Joey,” he sneered. “You know, I wondered what happened to you. When I heard the feds grabbed you, I was so disappointed. I really thought you had the chops to make it happen.”
Joey faltered, wincing against the pressure of the gun to her side. “You let me take the fall for the entire Alliance. If it weren’t for Flint, I’d have been left to rot in a cell. At least now I’m with people I can trust.”
Patrick tsked. “You think you can trust them any more than you could trust me? After the Alliance fell apart, I landed at Parsenix. Keeping my head down like a good little hacker. Until your precious little billionaire over there bought us out. Look at him.” He jerked his head toward Cole. “You trust a billionaire? He’s the worst of the lot. He buys companies and tears them apart and for what? A few employees with a skillset he needs with no regard for the rest.”
“Michelle,” she breathed in sudden understanding. This was all about Michelle.
She cried out as he pulled her tighter and shoved the gun farther into her side.
“No! It’s just like with you. You’re nothing but a tool he needs to protect his precious drug money.”
Joey shook her head. “No, you’re wrong.”
“When you showed up, I didn’t know it was you at first. But then I saw that little gift you left in the files. You can’t hide from me because I know who you really are. At least I never held you back. At least I pushed you to do whatever it took to make a difference in the world.”
He scowled. “Flint Raven? Seriously?” Patrick spat the words. “You think he’s some sort of savior, rescuing you from the clutches of the FBI? All you did was trade one jail sentence for another. You’re a mindless drone, Joey, doing whatever someone else tells you to do. You can’t trust anyone, Alantara.”
Tears were streaming down her face at his accusations. His words were tiny daggers, aimed with precision to reveal deep doubts and insecurities she had buried.
“Joey, tell me what’s going on!” Raven’s voice crackled in her ear.
Cole groaned from his position huddled on the floor. “Don’t listen, Joey,” he rasped.
“Shut up, Kensington, or she gets a matching hole in her spleen.”
Was he right? What made her think Flint was any different? Or Cole? Flint might have saved her from the FBI, but it was only so she could work at Raven Tech. And now at Black Tower.
And Cole would have never given her a second look if she hadn’t been who he needed to protect his company. He couldn’t possibly love her. The real her. Not Alantara. Not Phoenix.
Just Joey.
But his words and actions over the last few weeks played out in her mind. His honesty. His thoughtfulness. His declaration of love.
Did she trust him?
“Tango 1 is down, confirmed. Joey, we’re on our way. Hold tight.”
Patrick shoved her toward the server access monitor. “Finish this. With just a few keystrokes, everything Zia Pharmaceuticals has worked for will be gone.” He kept his gun trained on her. Joey looked back at Cole. Patrick swung his gun and pointed it at Cole instead. “I said, finish it, or Kensington gets another bullet! This one in his skull.”
Joey flinched and put her hands on the keyboard. The program was almost finished processing. Ninety-five percent. Patrick walked toward Cole and pressed a foot to Cole’s side. He cried out in agony, and her gut twisted in horror at his pain.
“It’s still loading,” she yelled through her tears. “Please stop!” Her eyes landed on Cole’s and saw only anguish there.
He shook his head. “Don’t,” he whispered.
Ninety-six. The program marched another step toward its completion.
Joey pressed her eyes shut. If she didn’t finish the processing for Patrick, then he was going to kill Cole. And if she did, Cole would lose everything he worked for. It would destroy him.