Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea's Redemption (Book 6) (Legacy Collection) (25 page)

Abby read the message out loud. Her voice started strong, then tapered to a horrified whisper. “Next time, I’ll take more than a photo.”

She hugged Judy closer to her despite
the baby’s cries. “Oh, my God.”

Dominic pulled both wife and child
into his arms. “We’re going to get this guy, Abby. It’s an empty threat.”

Marc crossed the room and
looked at the text. “This was sent a few minutes after the photo. Still using Stephan’s phone.”

Lil put her daughter down and took out her phone. She whipped it open and removed the battery. “Alethea taught me that. She warned me to upload encryption software, but I didn’t.”

Stephan took out his phone to do the same, but Jake waved a hand at him and then motioned for him to hand it over. He took out his own phone, then held out his hand to collect everyone else’s. Even Marc’s. He walked out of the room and then returned without them.

Jake said, “Leave your phone on, Stephan. Jeremy and my parents can wipe ours clean and
double-check our safeguards. They can also try to trace whatever virus was put into your phone. But Lil is right. Until we have this guy, we have to assume our phones can be used as listening devices.”

Nicole put a shaky hand up to her mouth. “Is this about what happened last year?”

Marie put an arm around a sobbing Rosella. In a firm voice, she said, “Forget last year. We need to focus on what is happening right now. Not old wounds. We all just had a good scare. Take this as a reminder to never relax our guard. No one becomes successful without encountering people who want to take that success away. Life was easier when you all felt you had nothing to lose, but with happiness comes the responsibility of protecting it. So, I don’t want to hear about last year, or five years ago. I want to know who this asshole is and how we are going to fucking get him.” In the shocked silence that followed her tirade, she said, “I swore. Get over it. Someone threatened my babies today. I’ve never been this angry. I want this bastard found.”

Dominic rubbed his forehead roughly. “Marc, how close are we to finding this guy?”

“Jeremy has his real name and is searching every legal databases, and some that are illegal, too. We’ll have a breakthrough soon. Then it’s just a matter of cornering the rat. This time we won’t simply shut Sliver down—we’ll drive him out of his hiding place.”

Dominic walked to the corner of the room, picked up the
landline, and dialed a number. He turned his back to the others in the room and said, “I’m calling in your debt.” After listening to the reply, Dominic said, “Yes, and I need someone with political immunity to do it.”

As
he continued his conversation in a lower tone, Marie pried a crying Judy from Abby’s arms. “Rosella and I will take the babies to the other room.” When Abby moved to follow, Marie said, “Judy doesn’t know what’s going on. She’ll be happy with a bottle and a nap. Stay with your husband. He needs you right now.”

Abby nodded and went to Dominic’s side, linking her hand with his. Her unspoken support for whatever he was planning was clear.

And the move touched Marc. They were a team.
Strong. Solid.

That was love.

Alethea was the only woman he could picture having that with. More than just chemistry—she had the potential to be a real partner. He respected her intelligence, admired her spirit. Sexy as hell and passionate about the same things he was—she was his future. He’d never been as sure of anything as he was of that.

When Dominic hung up the phone and rejoined the group, Nicole looked around frantically and said, “Stephan’s gone.”

Jake rushed out of the room and then quickly returned. “He left his phone, but his car is gone.”

Nicole went to the window. “He’s going after Sliver himself.”

Jake shook his head. “That’s not wise. We don’t know what Sliver is capable of. We don’t even know where he is.”

Marc added his thoughts from across the room. “Stephan has leads of his own. He might be following one of those. I’ll see if Jeremy has found anything. I’m in radio contact with my men. If you want to
send me a message, contact me that way. The line’s encryption algorithm is changed daily so it should be secure.”

Dominic said, “I’m coming with you.”

“No,” Marc answered firmly. “This is what you pay me to do.”

“If you think I am going to sit here while
. . .” His voice cracked with emotion. Abby tucked herself under Dominic’s arm and hugged him.

Marc nodded toward Abby. “You need to be here in
case Sliver tries anything else. I’ll find Stephan and get this guy. You keep your family safe.”

Jake pulled Lil closer. Marc completely understood. Risking their necks in foreign countries while completing dubious government deals had always been
a thrill. Waiting for the next move of a sociopath who threatened the ones they loved—there was nothing exciting about that. That kind of threat was a game changer.

Nothing else mattered.

Not the financial empire they’d built.

Not their power or influence.

This was war.

Marc was headed toward the door when Lil called out his name. He stopped and turned. She said, “If I know Al, and I do, she’s going after him, too. She may be angry with me, but she would never walk away while any of us were in trouble.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I tried to text her right after she left, but she’s not answering me. If your paths cross in this, tell her that I love her. And tell her to be careful.”

With a nod, Marc turned and walked out. Behind the steering wheel of his Lexus, he confronted his greatest fear.
I might not be in time.
He had to get a step ahead of her before she faced Sliver alone.
This time I’m bringing everyone out alive.

How would Alethea find Sliver?

Jeremy.

Back at Andrade Global, Stephan met with the team he’d assembled when he’d first learned that his server had been hacked. Only the most loyal to him
had been informed of the threat, and even then they were not told the whole story. They were told a hacker was trying to sabotage Dominic’s company and he was using his prior access to Andrade Global to do it.

“Do we have any new leads?” Stephan demanded loudly.

One of his men stepped forward with a folder. “We found a loft apartment in the Meat Packing District that Jack Mineoff bought under his real name. He still pays utilities there.”

Stephan took the folder and looked over the photos and descriptions
inside.
Sliver is smarter than this. It’s almost as if he wants us to find him.
“I don’t like it,” he said. “It feels too easy.”

His head of security shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t consider that you’d become close enough to Dominic to be able to discover his real name.”

“Maybe,” Stephan said. “I still don’t like it. We need to check out if he still lives in that loft. Two of you will come with me. The rest of you, I want you here digging up anything and everything you can on this guy. If he went to the dentist in the past few years, I want to know about it. Everything.” Walking over to his desk, he said, “Meet me in the outer office in five minutes. I need to make a call before we go. Wear your tactical vests. This guy is dangerous.”

The men nodded and left, closing the door behind them. He punched in an international number on his office landline and waited.

“Pronto!”

“Dad.”

His father instantly switched over to English. “Are you all right? You sound upset. Has something happened?”

“Not yet, but I have something I need to ask you.”

There was a short pause and then Victor said, “Anything. You know that.”

He knew his father meant it
, and if there was time he might have taken him up on his offer, but what he had to do couldn’t wait for the time it would take his family to gather. “If anything ever happens to me, I need to know that you and the family will take care of Nicole.”

He didn’t try to hide the seriousness of the situation. Victor was the strongest man Stephan had ever met
—a good man who deserved better than this from his only son.

“What’s going on, Stephan?”

“I can’t tell you, Dad. Just promise me that you’ll be there for her. I don’t want her to ever feel alone or afraid again.”

“Are you in some sort of trouble?” Victor asked urgently. “Tell me what you need. We have friends who can help. Influential friends. Have you spoken to Dominic?”

“He’s the one who needs the help this time, Dad, and it’s because of what I did last year. I caused this problem and I’m going to eradicate it. I appreciate your offer, but I’ll never be free from the past unless I face it myself. Don’t worry, I have my own resources. I’m not alone.”

“I can be back
in New York by tonight.”

“It’ll be over by then, Dad. I’ll call you this afternoon and hopefully have good news for you.”

“And if you don’t call?”

Stephan knew that if he met up with Sliver one of them wasn’t coming back alive
, and there would be consequences for the one who lived. “Just know that I love you.”

Stephan hung up the receiver. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk, took out a loaded gun, and tucked it into the belt of his
suit pants. He walked to the changing room where he kept extra suits and took out a Christmas gift from Lil’s paranoid friend Alethea. A bullet-resistant suit jacket. After the fiasco at Abby’s baby shower, Alethea had reached out to all of them in one way or another. He remembered laughing when he’d received it and wondering what sort of person would actually wear it.

He wasn’t laughing anymore.

Alethea called Jeremy’s office phone. It rang four times, then went to voice mail. Alethea called back.
Pick up. Pick up, Jeremy.

“Hello?”

“Jeremy, it’s Alethea. Don’t hang up. Dominic asked me to call you for an update.”

“Really? Do you think I don’t know when you’re lying?”

With a loud sigh, Alethea said, “Fine. I’ve just had a blowout fight with all of them. None of them will probably ever talk to me again, but that doesn’t change what I need to do. I’m going to take this guy Sliver down, and you’re going to help me.”

Jeremy was not that easily convinced. “Jake told me to report whatever I found directly to him and only him.”

Come on, Jeremy. I know you. I know you want to do this.
“Jake handled it last time and look what happened. He didn’t finish it. He has a family now and it’s made him overly cautious. Something Sliver took advantage of.”

“I want to say, yes, but I told Jeisa
. . .”

“One more time, Jeremy. Just one more time. I’ll never ask you for anything again. This isn’t about me, it’s about saving people who are also very important to you. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how angry people get, what matters is
that you do what has to be done. We can beat this guy, Jeremy. You know we can.”

After a slight pause, Jeremy said, “I don’t have anything more than Sliver’s real name.”

“Then hack into Stephan’s server. He’s had his men working on this. Maybe they have a lead.”

“He
has sewn his server up—it’s airtight now.”

Really, Jeremy? You forget how well I know you.
“You went in with full access. Don’t tell me you didn’t create a back door just in case he ended up being involved after all. I won’t believe it. No one changes that much.”

With a guttural sound of frustration, Jeremy admitted, “Don’t tell anyone. I wasn’t planning to, but I couldn’t trust him completely. Not with all that is
at stake.”

That’s the man I know.
“Your secret is safe with me. Now, what did they discover?”

Jeremy typed furiously for a moment, then said, “They went
old-school and offline. Looks like one of his guys found something in the city records about a purchase of a loft in the Meat Packing District made under his real name a year ago. I should have thought of that. That’s so simple I can’t believe I missed it.”

“Why would a man who doesn’t want to be found buy property under his own name?”

“Either he’s stupid or . . .”

“Or he wants us to find it.”

“Like a trap?”

“Maybe. When was that file last opened?”

“About half an hour ago.”

“That gives Stephan enough time to hear about it and head over there.”

“Al, Sliver will be ready for him. If that’s his lair, it’s going to be well protected.”

Alethea
cornered her car decisively. “Send me every bit of information you can about the building his apartment is in. I want the layout, recent and old. Everything.”

“On it.”

Marc stormed into Jeremy’s office a short time later. “Have you heard from Alethea?”