Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
My brows lifted slightly. “That’s not small-time.”
“Not even close,” Jax confirmed. “They’re mining credentials. Access points. Anything that provides them with a secure access point into grant databases and academic firewalls. They hit one system clean, they can piggyback into a dozen more. If they pull it off, they can reroute millions without anyone noticing.”
Kane leaned back. “And Alanna?”
“She’s not really the target,” Jax explained. “She’s the entry point. Ethan used her class project as a bridge into the system. Once she logged in from her end, he could trace the connection and slide into the network through her credentials.”
Alanna’s breath hitched. “He-he was using me?”
She looked horrified, and guilt swam in her stormy-gray depths when she glanced up at me.
Jax’s expression softened a fraction. “Hey, hey. You’re not to blame, Alanna.”
I caressed the back of her neck to give her comfort, keeping the gesture out of sight since now wasn't the time to be getting into shit with Jax. “You didn’t know. You weren’t supposed to.”
Kane’s gaze cut between Jax and Alanna. “The point is, if this ring’s as deep as it looks, that kid isn’t working alone. And if he thinks Alanna’s a loose end, someone’s gonna come back to tie it off. If not him, then another thug.”
Silence practically crackled in the air. I felt it crawl over my skin, prickling the nerves.
Kane scrubbed a hand over his face, then stared up at the ceiling for a minute. When he brought his face level again, a decision was written in his eyes. “Drift, take her to the safe house on Wild Oak Island. The beach house is remote. Secure. No one gets in or out without us knowing.”
Jax straightened. “Hold up. Drift?”
Kane’s voice stayed calm. “You got a better option?”
“Yeah,” Jax said. “Nitro.”
“Nella is teething,” Kane responded.
“Axle?” Jax offered.
“Mylo has colic.”
Jax huffed. “Edge, then.”
“Morning sickness. You gonna ask my crazy brother to leave his old lady while she’s on the bathroom floor throwing up?”
Jax grabbed at his hair in frustration, knocking his hat askew. Then he looked up at Kane with hopeful eyes.
“Forget it,” Kane snapped. Then he looked at Alanna and gave her an apologetic smile. “No offense. But we’ve got more men than we need who are trustworthy and capable of protecting you, and I have a business and a club to run.”
Alanna shrugged. “No offense taken…I think.”
“Fine!” Jax snapped. “I’ll do it!”
Kane’s tone never rose. “You’re in another fucking country and on your honeymoon. Drift’s here. He’s one of the best. You know he won’t let anything touch her.”
“It’s not anything I’m worried about,” Jax muttered, his eyes glancing at me before going back to Kane.
The tension between them could’ve cut steel.
Alanna finally spoke up. “You’re just deciding this for me? Don’t I get a say?”
Kane looked at her evenly. “That’s not how this works when someone’s gunning for you, sweetheart. You don’t get a vote until we know it’s safe.”
Her eyes flared, but she turned toward me, chin tilted high. “Don’t do this just because you feel sorry for me. I’m sure they can find someone else to babysit me.”
I met her gaze, steady and unblinking. “I don’t feel sorry for you. I feel responsible for you.”
The words landed harder than I meant them to. She blinked, jaw tightening, anger mixing with something else I couldn’t name.
Jax’s glare was hot enough to burn through the screen. Kane ignored it completely.
“It’s settled,” he announced, the decision made. “Drift takes her to the beach house. You two stay off the radar until Jax finishes tracing the network. If that kid shows up again, we’ll handle it.”
Jax didn’t answer, but the set of his jaw said plenty.
I nodded once. “We’ll head out within the hour.”
Kane gave a short nod back. “Good. And Drift?”
“Yeah.”
“Try not to kill him unless he gives you a reason.”
My mouth twitched, a ghost of a smile. “No promises.”
Kane’s eyes flicked between the three of us—Alanna, me, and the screen—and the room went quiet again.
When Jax finally spoke, his expression was serious. “Take care of my sister, Drift.”
I didn’t look away from the laptop, but my hand brushed against Alanna’s as she stood. “Always will.”
13
DRIFT
It took longer than I would have liked to get everything together.
Kane was in his office making calls while Axle handled the untraceable truck we’d need to drive to the safehouse. Savannah and Jana were in the kitchen with Alanna, packing up food for us to take. Edge, Nitro, and I assembled a cache of weapons, explosives, and anything else I might need to protect us. The brothers moved with quiet precision, every man knowing his job without needing a word from anyone. We didn’t waste breath on orders when it came to protecting one of our own.
Once everything was ready for us to hit the road, Alanna waited near the bar while I packed. I took only the essentials. Jeans, shirts, a leather jacket, sidearm, ammo—the rest of the fire power was already in the truck—and a small black duffel that went with me whenever I was away from the compound for more than a night. I packed light because I always did. But I grabbed a few extras this time—some clothes for Alanna to wear until her things were delivered. Plus, two fresh burner phones and a spare charger.