Fate’s Unseen Shadow (Cager #1)

Chapter 22

22

R yker opened his door. “Ella?” He looked past her. “Where’s Damon?”

“He’s on his way. I need your help. I had a thought for you to research after we left.” She fisted her hands, needing to move. Her idea had given her a major adrenaline rush. Could he do it? Would he do it without Damon giving him permission? She was falling in love with Damon, but she couldn’t worry about him getting mad at her for taking action.

“How did you get here?” He stepped back, motioning her inside before checking outside again. “Did Damon drive you?” When he turned back, his face had lost its usual friendliness. “Please tell me Damon drove you and he’s coming inside behind you. You said he’s on his way. What does that mean?”

“It means I called a taxi.”

“And Damon knows about this.”

She held up her phone. “Since he tracks this thing like a teenager on social media, I suspect he knows.”

He shook his head, still seeming annoyed. “You should’ve called him.”

Ella took a deep breath, holding onto his shoulders and her control. “Ryker, I?—”

Her phone rang.

Damon.

She flipped it to speaker. “Hi.”

“Why are you at Ryker’s?” Damon demanded, his engine revving loud in the background. “Why did you leave the apartment?”

His tone didn’t bother her. She’d expected it. “I had a big epiphany about motivation and needed him to check on something. How long until you’re here?”

“Five minutes. Ryker?—”

“She’s safe.”

Damon ended the call.

Ella arched an eyebrow. “Satisfied?”

“I know it’s frustrating, but no one wants to see you hurt or worse. And he’s doing his best. Giving up control is hard for him.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, messing it up even more, but somehow, it still looked like a planned hairstyle. “I’m sure it’s not easy for you either.”

“No, it’s not. And if this were a different environment, I wouldn’t accept it. We’re both used to being in charge and getting our way.” She leaned to the side, looking down his hallway. “But until my sweet-natured bodyguard arrives, can we get started?”

“Yes. Let me grab a shirt.” He walked ahead of her, his back covered in a black-and-gray tattoo.

“I had no idea you had this.” Ella walked closely behind him, analyzing the detail. “It’s incredible. Who is it?” She spotted a gunshot scar but refrained from asking. Maybe Damon would tell her later.

“Archimedes. Known as the Father of Mathematics.” He grinned and twisted to the side, raising his arm. Along his ribcage was a cartoon-looking owl. “This is Archimedes, too.”

“From the Disney movie?”

“Yup.” He motioned to his office. “Wait one second.” He disappeared into his room at the end of the hall and come back with a black T-shirt in his hand. “Now. What were you thinking about?”

“Matteo. I was thinking about Matteo.”

“Now I know why you wanted to skip Damon. He won’t be happy to know you’ve been thinking of that man.” He sat down and spun to face her. “Not after our meeting with him and Julia. It was bad.”

“Damon didn’t tell me what happened. He wouldn’t.”

“He wouldn’t want to repeat the words.”

She waited a moment before waving to him to continue. “This is where you tell me what happened.”

He winced. “I’d rather not.” But after another short standoff, he threw a hand in the air, giving up. “Fine. Matteo bragged about the last time he saw you.”

“We had lunch.” Boring salad with grilled chicken.

“And went back to his place afterward.”

With a side of boring sex.

Ella gagged at the memory. “That’s what he bragged about?”

“Yup. Damon looked like he wanted to go after him right then, but Xavier got him out of there. So what nonsexual thoughts didn’t you have about Matteo?”

She smiled at the phrasing. “After being with Damon, I’m not sure how I ever had a sexual thought about Matteo. But I have this odd memory of the time I caught Matteo on the phone with Julia. I didn’t think anything about it at the time. But after that lunch he mentioned, after, well, boring, no-orgasm sex”—she paused while Ryker laughed—“I heard him on the phone with Julia.”

“Did you hear what they were saying?”

“No. But there’s no reason for them to talk. None. I met Matteo at a fundraiser in San Fransisco. My dad met Julia in jazz club in New York—two entirely different worlds between them. I’m the only common link, and I can’t remember when they were together enough to swap numbers and become besties. Is there a way to pull up their call logs? I wonder if it was a one-time thing or they talked a lot.”

“Yes, but it’s going to require getting through their login to their carrier’s website. Do you have any clue who he uses and what email or password? I can run it in my software, but it’ll be quicker if you know it.”

Ella grinned. “Oh, I know it.” She rattled off the carrier and email. “The password is IAMASEXGOD#8.”

Ryker slowly swiveled his chair around and took off his glasses. “You’re kidding?”

Ella shook her head. “No. He thinks he’s fantastic in bed.”

“Most guys overestimate their abilities. I meant the eight-inch reference,” he added underneath his breath. “Never mind.”

“That’s also an overestimation.”

With a chuckle, Ryker typed the password into the browser. “We’re in.” He reviewed the monthly records and pulled the last year before logging out.

“Next, I need you to get into my Cassin Systems. Can you do it and not be seen?”

Interest lit Ryker’s eyes. “That’s all dependent on your security. Is it in-house, or do you pay a company to maintain your IT security software?”

“We pay.”

“Harder for me on this end. Who is it?”

“Secure Tech.”

Ryker groaned. “That’s a good company, Ella. I can try, but I’m sure it will alert them to what I’m doing. Who was your contact rep? If I know them well enough, I can give them a heads-up so they know it’s me.”

Her hope started to rise. “Let me think about it for a second. We hired them about three years ago.” She stared at the ceiling, wishing the name would come to her. “Do you know anyone there? Start telling me names. Maybe it will click.”

“Quincy? Roberto? Kaylee was there, but she left. Mitchell.”

Ella snapped her fingers and pointed at Ryker. “That’s it. Mitchell.” The same day she’d met with Mitchell, she met to finalize a deal, and that guy’s name was also Mitchell. “Do you know him?”

“Yup.” Ryker picked up his phone and popped off a text. “What are you hoping to do in your system once I get in? That will probably determine whether he helps me.”

“I need access to my accounting software.”

The look on his face wasn’t as reassuring as it could have been. But he typed into the phone. “Alright.” He huffed when it chimed immediately. “Mitchell said no. Damn, that rejection was quicker than some I get from women at Cager.”

“Shit.” She chewed on the end of her thumb, pacing. “I just…I don’t know. It seems weird—this entire thing.” Ella felt bile rise in her throat. “With me gone, I don’t know what the CFO and direct manager will do. They don’t know Julia like I do. They might trust her enough to let her run the company as my proxy. Maybe I can talk to Mitchell. Because if Julia is screwing with my company, I’ll be able to tell in the accounting records.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Ryker popped his knuckles. “Do you remember all of your login information?”

“Yes. But the only account you can log into externally is my email.”

“That’s perfect,” he murmured, shaking his head as he typed furiously on the keyboard. “This won’t win me any friends, but it should be an effective threat.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll see. What’s your username?” The screen in front of him looked nothing like their login system, but she gave it to him anyway.

“ECassin.”

“Pathetic. Password?”

“ECassin814!”

“How old will you turn on August 14th? Please don’t ever use that kind of password again. If you’ve learned anything from your time with me, at least give us a challenge.”

The screen looked different, but sure enough, her email inbox popped up on the screen.

Ryker kept typing, working on a second screen. “The system will show this login. This means if they’re reporting anything to the FBI, it will throw them for a damn loop. But our location is unavailable, so they can’t track you here.” He clicked on the email at the top of the list, the last one that had come into the system. “In order to get into the accounting side of the software, I am going to need Mitchell’s help.”

“But he said he wouldn’t help you.”

“He’s about to not have a choice.”

“What does that mean?”

Ryker double-clicked on the email attachment. It opened a file, and something started to download.

“I don’t understand.”

The download finished. She expected something to happen, but nothing did. She waited quietly.

Thirty seconds later, Ryker’s phone rang. “Keep quiet, Ella.” He tapped the phone screen. “Now, are you willing to help me out?” Ryker answered on speakerphone.

“What the fuck, man! Don’t pull this shit on me. I thought we were cool. How did you get in? How…oh. Oh no. How did you get Elizabeth Cassin’s login information? Ryker?—”

“Stop asking questions. I need to be in the system for a few minutes. Consider it a small favor that I’ll owe you. Ridiculously small, but I’ll repay it if I can.”

“But Elizabeth is missing. How did you log in with her credentials?”

“You need to go back to English class if you don’t realize that was a question I told you not to ask. I want access to the accounting system. You have my word. I’m not doing anything to the system, but if I release this virus that is now in place, you’ll have a very busy June cleaning up my mess.”

“I can get fired for letting you into the system.”

“I can hack into the system.”

“It’s protected.”

“I can find your weak spot.”

“I have no weak spot.”

“That’s bullshit. But if you open the door, I won’t appear on your reports. Open the door, Mitchell. I can guarantee I will not change anything. I need to look at something.”

“Why?”

Ella opened her mouth to answer but Ryker held up his finger, his eyes hard with a warning. She snapped her lips shut. Fine. She’d stay quiet. Until this situation, she’d never realized how no one ever told her to do anything. Ever. She ran Cassin Systems. She trusted her management team to do their job, but if she disagreed with them, her decisions were final.

“I don’t have all day. Are you going to help me, or do I click this button, and then you’ll be the one who needs help?” Ryker swiveled back and forth. “ Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. ”

“If I get caught, you better take me on in your company,” Mitchell muttered to himself.

“I work alone.”

“Of course, you do.” Mitchell rattled off a bunch of jargon Ella didn’t understand, and after a few minutes, she stared at Cassin Systems’ accounting records on the screen.

“You have fifteen minutes,” Mitchell said. “Then, I’m closing this shit down.”

“I’ll agree to the fifteen minutes because that’s reasonable for what I need.”

“I’m taking this virus off the computer system before you deploy it.”

Ryker shook his head. “Zero faith, man. You let me inside. In fifteen minutes, it’ll take itself off your system. Promise.” He ended the call and pushed back from the desk, standing. “It’s all yours. But you need to realize that he’ll track everywhere you go.”

“Got it.” She sat down and reached for the mouse. “I want to see—” She jumped with a loud banging on the front door.

“Probably your sweetheart.” Ryker pulled his gun and left the room.

Another minute later, and his light laugh preceded him down the hallway. He entered the office. “Prince Charming is here.”

Ella bit her lip as Damon stalked in behind him, scowling. “You could’ve waited.”

“But I didn’t want to.” Ella crossed to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her body tight to his. “I wore sunglasses if that eases your mind about me being recognized.”

“It doesn’t. I want you protected.”

“I appreciate you not yelling at me this time. I know you want to.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I can’t lose you.”

Ella kissed him. It was the only way she’d silence the I love you threatening to leave her lips.

Ryker cleared his voice. “I hate to interrupt your make out session in my apartment. God knows, it’s not seen any action lately from me, but Ella, you have twelve minutes left.”

“For what?” Damon asked, his eyes clear from the earlier anger.

“For her to finish going through the accounting records in Cassin Systems.”

Never mind at Damon being mad .

Irritation filled his expression as he looked over her head to Ryker. “You logged into the system?”

Ella sat down at the computer, leaving Ryker to explain.

“Don’t get pissed. I’ve kept her as safe as I can, but she had a hunch about a connection between Julia and Matteo. My other computer is analyzing the data between her evil stepmom and Mr. Sex God.”

“Who?”

“That’s what Matteo calls himself.” Ella focused on her accounting records, skipping straight to the adjusting journal entries. These were the manual entries performed to tidy up the books or close out accounts at the end of the reporting period. But if someone had access to the system, they could manipulate the accounts as they saw fit.

And someone had.

One after another, she looked over entries from an override account. Only two people had the privilege of overwriting: Ella and Teddy.

“I hate Julia,” she muttered.

Damon leaned over her shoulder, looking at the screen. “What did she do?”

“All of these. Some of them make no sense. She’s moving shit around in the system. Oh well, never mind.” She pointed at one on the screen. “Yesterday she moved $40,000 out of the bank account and put it into the owner’s draw account before routing the money to herself. I can only assume that’s her bank account number.” She looked over her shoulder at Ryker. “Can you track that account number?”

“Yes, but that would take more effort than asking an old friend for a favor.”

Ella laughed. “That was more of a threat than a favor.”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“Absolutely. And if you don’t want to pay him back when he comes to collect, send him to me. I’ll pay.” She continued going through, noting draw after draw of money to the bank account, keeping a mental count. And then there was one that was different. An entry that didn’t get put in the draw account but charged as a consulting fee on Tuesday. Two hundred thousand dollars in one transaction. They rarely hired consultants, let alone one that would charge that much. Maybe they hired one with her absent to help run Cassin Systems.

She tapped her finger on the screen. “I wonder…” She flipped to the supporting notes for the entry. Even with the override, Julia couldn’t have entered that account without the person being paid documented in the system.

She followed the trail back to the vendors they had entered, locating the assigned vendor number. A cold sweat broke out immediately as it started to click. “Unbelievable.”

“What is?” Damon asked, his hand never leaving her shoulder.

Ella shook off the question, her mind too busy rushing through the system and locating additional payments. Because she recognized the corporation they’d paid. And there wasn’t anything that the company could do for her business.

She ran her hand through her hair. “At this rate, I won’t have a company to come back to.”

If she ever made it back.

What if she never returned?

What if everything she’d worked her entire life for was gone?

Her father’s legacy eliminated?

What if Julia won?

“Ella?” Ryker said. “Damon, she doesn’t look so good.”

Damon kissed her temple, but she couldn’t move. Because, so far from what she’d found, Julia had paid herself $1.2 million.

And the total payments to Matteo’s company sat on the screen, mocking her.

$1.5 million.

“I’m going to be sick.” And she was. She pushed back from the computer desk and ran the short distance to the bathroom in the hallway, grabbing onto the toilet just in time.

She’d trusted him.

Slept with him.

And what was between Julia and Matteo?

None of this made any sense. Ella cleaned up and left the bathroom.

Damon held out a bottle of water. “Better?”

“Not really. So far, Matteo’s company has been paid $1.5 million from mine. Julia took close to $1.2 million. That’s in a month . It’s not even my money they’re taking. They’re stealing from Cassin Systems’ profits. If this keeps up another month, I won’t have a company to go home to.” She leaned against Damon’s chest, not hugging him but wanting the support. “If I ever get back home.”

“You will.” He kissed the top of her head. “Come on.” Damon led her back to the computer room. “Ryker said you were interested in some relationship between Matteo and Julia. What makes you think that?”

“That last time I saw Matteo I was at his place?—”

A deep rumble came from Damon’s chest.

“Stop it.” She nudged him in the ribs. “I overheard him on the phone with Julia.”

Damon frowned with confusion. “Why would they talk?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“They did seem friendly at the meeting,” Ryker chimed in. “Matteo sat down and patted her hand, leaving it there for five seconds.”

“And she touched his bicep at one point, leaning into him,” Damon added. “She defaulted to him. Laughed with him. Seemed like they shared inside jokes. They have a relationship.”

“I got the same vibe,” Ryker confirmed, closing out the accounting system and pulling up the call logs. “Just looking at the last three months, he made multiple calls to her. Daily.”

“Daily?” Ella moved closer to the screen, Damon moving with her, a hand always touching her.

“Looks like your…I don’t know what to call him without setting off the big guy or insulting you.”

Ella sighed. “My mistake?”

“Sure. It looks like Mr. Not Eight Inches and your stepmom were close. If I were a betting man?—”

“They were sleeping together,” Damon finished. “It makes sense.”

“No.” She shook her head. “That makes zero sense. And it is so gross if I was sharing a man with Julia.” She closed her eyes. “Ew. I think I’m going to be sick again.”

“No, you won’t. You’re stronger than that.”

“What if it started before my dad died, so like, if Matteo slept with Julia and she’d slept with my dad, then…”

Both men made a face along with her.

“I’m never going to get past this.” She buried her face in Damon’s chest.

He rubbed her back. “Yes, you will. If you can get past being nationally accused of murder, sharing Matteo with your stepmom will be easy.”

“I’d rather be accused of murder,” she mumbled into his chest.

His chest vibrated with a small laugh. “Now we need to figure out what to do with this information.”

“I’m going to search more into Matteo’s background. I haven’t dug deep into that yet.” Ryker swiveled around to face his computer. “Give me another day.”

“Thank you.” Damon stepped to the side and held out his hand.

Ryker shook it. “No problem. I’d expect you to do the same for me.”

“Hopefully, I’ll get the chance someday. Right now, I plan on taking Ella home. Again. ”

She tried to stifle her yawn. “Please tell me I won’t have to expend energy to convince you to let me spend the night.”

“You’re going to expend energy, but it won’t be to convince me of that.” He held on to her waist and led her to the door. “See you tomorrow night at Cager, Ryker.”

“What are we going to do with the information now?” She stopped outside his car.

“We’ll see if we can link Matteo or Julia to Davies. I need to talk to Slater about surveillance and when to bring in the police. I told you from the beginning that building the case is the side of this we don’t normally do. We’ll meet with the guys and figure out our next step. But tonight, we go home”—he smirked—“sleep, and tomorrow morning I hand you the records to Cager and say have fun.”

She did a small victory dance. “It feels like Christmas Eve.”

“Glad I can make you happy.”

She tipped her face up to his. “You do make me happy.” And with the breakthrough tonight, they could see how far this relationship could go.