Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
“Use a bigger bag.”
“I don’t want to overpack.”
“Better to have too much than not enough.” He reached past me to roll my biggest suitcase out of my closet. “I want you with me, baby.”
There was no way to argue when he said sweet stuff like that, so I tossed enough stuff for more than a week into the bag. But I didn’t use any of it except my toiletries until Monday morning. Colter kept me too busy to worry about clothes, as he proved he could keep me in bed for hours on end.
9
ACE
The August heat still hadn’t eased as I navigated the morning traffic toward Poppy’s office. Sunlight glared off the cars around me, a stark contrast to the warmth radiating from the woman sitting in the passenger seat beside me. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel as I glanced over at her, possessiveness surging in my chest.
Poppy had become my new favorite distraction. It had been hard as fuck to let reality back in after the amazing weekend we’d spent together. I loved having her in my space…which was quickly becoming ours. Her adorable rambling was as cute as it was sexy, and I could easily sit and listen to her talk for hours. She was sunshine and vivid color, bursting into my life and bringing joy I didn’t know existed. Just being with her was almost as appealing as being inside her.
“You’re staring,” Poppy murmured, casting a sideways glance at me. Her lips quirked into a shy smile as a faint blush spread across her cheeks. “I can practically feel your gaze burning holes into the side of my head.”
“Can’t help it.” My voice was deliberately teasing as I offered her a lazy grin. “It’s not my fault you look that fucking good.”
Her blush deepened, and she leaned back into the seat with a soft laugh, shaking her head. “You know, I never thought I’d get used to your brand of flirting. It’s intense, but I kind of like it. A lot, actually.”
The earnest admission hit me square in the chest, causing a pleasant ache to form. I reached over, squeezing her thigh gently. “Good. Because I have no intention of stopping.”
The rest of the drive was filled with an easy silence until we pulled up to the building where she worked. I leaned over and brushed a slow, possessive kiss against her lips, savoring the sweet little sound she made in response. Her fingers curled into my cut, tugging me closer as her mouth opened eagerly beneath mine. It took all my strength to pull away, my forehead resting against hers as I exhaled slowly, reigning in my control.
“Have a good day, baby,” I murmured, my voice rough.
“You too,” she whispered, her green eyes wide and a little dazed. “See you tonight.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement. I couldn’t resist the grin that spread across my face as I watched her climb out and walk toward the building, waiting until she disappeared through the doors before finally pulling away.
Twenty minutes later, I was at the compound, making my way straight to my office. I dropped onto my chair and fired up my computer to dive headfirst into work, determined to continue unraveling the shitstorm I’d uncovered.
I’d been meticulously mapping time stamps, noting each instance of the repeating clearance patterns. It hadn’t taken long to confirm that someone was using compliance responses to test reaction times, probing for weaknesses, and searching for holes they could exploit.
Over the next few days, the probe clusters steadily grew. My gut tightened each time I analyzed the data, watching as the seemingly innocuous transactions increased. There was no immediate theft, no obvious signs of intrusion—just methodical testing. Then the pattern widened. It wasn’t only our shell companies being poked at. My irritation grew into anger, simmering steadily beneath the surface, a quiet determination taking root in my bones. I hadn't yet managed to merge enough details to figure out exactly what was happening, but a picture began to take shape. And I didn’t like it.
By Thursday, I’d traced the clusters back to a single department—Poppy’s.
I exhaled sharply, sitting back in my chair and rubbing my jaw. It made sense in a twisted sort of way. Poppy’s compliance department handled clearances, transaction validations, and financial auditing. But something about the realization filled me with a protective anger. I didn’t know how involved she was, but I did know, without a doubt, that if my girl had been dragged into this somehow, she was completely unaware.
She was everything the world wasn’t. Bright and innocent. And someone was using her department as their testing ground, jeopardizing her safety without her knowledge.
That wasn’t fucking acceptable. A fierce need to protect her from this shit burned through my veins.
I turned back to the data, digging deeper and pushing harder, determined to pinpoint exactly who was behind the probes and why. This was no longer just business; it had become personal. If this shit turned out to be dangerous, there was no fucking way I’d let Poppy be a casualty in someone else’s twisted power play.