Fighting for Hailey, page 4
“No shit.”
“So she bear-sprayed some guy?” Cash asked after a few beats, his mouth curving up slightly at the corners.
The ice casing around Jesse’s heart cracked as he half smiled. “Yeah, even had goggles to protect her face. The woman was prepared.”
“So it’s definitely not her first time bear-spraying someone,” Cash said around a laugh, even if his expression went right back to that worried one. “I’ve missed her, man.”
“Yeah, your hug sure made that clear.” Irrationally annoyed, Jesse pulled out the laptop Hailey had found and decided to try breaking the password. He knew Easton well and figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot. To do something.
“Jesus, I forgot what you were like with her,” Cash murmured.
“I’m not like anything. You were just mauling her, and it was revolting.” Aaaaand he had to stop thinking about that hug, or he’d try to take off the head of his best friend. His brother in everything but blood.
“So…did she hug you?” Cash shot him a mischievous look.
“Get bent.”
“I’ll take that as a no.”
Jesse ignored him as he got to work.
Cash just sniffed imperiously because of course he did. Handsome bastard.
Chapter 5
—Don’t fake being okay.—
“You’re being awfully quiet,” Reese murmured, her pink-streaked, otherwise jet-black hair pulled back into a high ponytail.
“Just researching,” Hailey murmured, her eyes glued to her laptop as Reese drove Cash’s Audi like a demon escaping from the bowels of hell. “And we’re going to get a ticket if you’re not careful.”
And probably get arrested or detained because this vehicle certainly wasn’t under either of their names. But she was still glad her friend and coworker—aka partner in crime—was driving, because as a rule, Hailey hated it.
“Bullshit, you’re the queen of multitasking.” Reese took a sharp turn as she sped through a yellow(ish) light.
“Jesus, Reese, I’m gonna hurl if you don’t slow down,” Elijah grumbled from the back seat.
Hailey wasn’t even sure how he fit back there comfortably given his size, but he’d insisted that she sit up front. Because of course he did. Their team was larger than the three of them, but they’d decided to come to Virginia alone since the others were all working on cases. If they needed backup in the form of their actual security team, Hailey knew all she had to do was reach out to the rest of her crew, men she’d served with in Afghanistan and South America and trusted with her life.
“Just setting up an online board of all we have and don’t have so I can quickly lay it out for Cash and Jesse.” Jesse’s name stuck in her throat, but she moved past it. She could admit that she was shaken to her core at seeing him again. Being so near she could reach out and touch him, taste him. Over the years, she’d convinced herself that she’d made up his attractiveness in her head. But if anything, he was more gorgeous than she remembered. Not that it was the reason she’d fallen for him.
Though her fifteen-year-old hormones at the time had certainly enjoyed his looks. But no, it was the way he was a protector, had always looked out for her right from the start. And not just her, but everyone. It was like he had this compulsion to take care of people, to root for the underdog. Cash was the exact same way, though his personality was a lot more relaxed than Jesse’s.
“So, I’m not downplaying your missing friend, but are your other friends hot?” Reese’s voice was light and teasing as she took another turn, practically tipping them over.
Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but there were horns honked, and Hailey had to grab the “oh shit” handle so she didn’t fall over into the console. “They’re good-looking.” She paused, glanced at her gorgeous friend, felt an unfamiliar spike of jealousy stab into her middle, sink in deep, take hold like tree roots. “But if you make a move on Jesse, you’ll wake up one morning without all that pretty hair.”
Reese gave her a startled look, then sputtered out a surprised laugh. “Savage. And I believe you, so duly noted. Besides, I wouldn’t want to hook up with some asshole billionaire anyway. But no shade if you do.”
“Look at the road!” Elijah shouted from the back.
“It’s out there,” Reese grumbled as she slowed down for the neighborhood turnoff. Then she let out a low whistle. “Might be worth losing my hair—”
“I swear to all that is holy, Reese!”
Her friend cackled manically as she slowed to a decent speed. “I’m just playing around, but you definitely downplayed whatever happened with you and Mr. Billionaire.”
“No shit,” Elijah murmured from the back.
“For the record,” Reese continued, “I really was kidding. I wouldn’t do anything to lose you as a friend.”
“I know. You’re just a dick sometimes.”
Reese snickered. “True enough. So, my parents have money, but this is like next-level.” She let out another whistle as she eyed the historic neighborhood that housed actual former presidents.
Even Elijah, who was never impressed by anything, made a sort of grunt as Reese steered down the long driveway to Jesse’s brick monstrosity. The gate had been left open, but she had a feeling Jesse kept it closed normally.
“What’s up with the security?” Reese asked.
Hailey eyed the two men in dark suits on the front porch and knew there were more people they couldn’t see. Not to mention all the cameras she’d seen and more she knew she hadn’t. “I think it might have something to do with Easton’s kidnapping, but I’m not sure.” She was going to find out, however. “Also, I found something strange, but we’ll talk about it once we’re inside.” She shut her laptop, ignored Reese’s curious look as her friend jerked the vehicle to a halt.
“Let me out before I actually do hurl,” Elijah groaned.
Hailey moved quickly, jumping out and moving the seat forward in seconds. Elijah tumbled out even before Reese was out of the driver’s seat.
Cash and Jesse strode out of the palatial home, Cash frowning at Reese as he approached. “Are you the lunatic who was driving my car? I got an alert on my phone that you got up to a hundred.”
“Jesus, I knew I wasn’t crazy,” Elijah muttered before he went to the trunk, grabbed his small duffel.
“What’s the point in having a car like this if you don’t drive it like it’s stolen?” Reese tossed him the keys then turned to Jesse, effectively dismissing Cash. “I’m Reese, Hailey’s bestie. And I’m sorry about your friend. We’re going to find him.”
Jesse blinked, then murmured his thanks before he moved to the trunk and started grabbing their bags—which weren’t many. They all packed light for the most part, except Reese, who had a small bag just for her hair products.
“I’ve cleared out some extra room in my office for your gear. I work from home a lot and have a big space and likely all the tech you’ll need,” he said as he lifted Hailey’s bag.
She went to take it from him, but he simply sidestepped her.
So Hailey let it go and tried not to admit that she liked him carrying her things. It almost felt like he was making a statement, but she was probably projecting. “I might have found something,” she said as she followed after him, the others not far behind. “Not sure yet, but I’ll know soon.”
“I managed to get past the password on Easton’s laptop, but all the files are encrypted.” Frustration practically vibrated from Jesse as they headed down a long hallway.
She noticed that none of the security had looked twice at any of them since they’d parked, so he must have told them that her people were fine too. He was putting a lot of trust in her, considering they hadn’t seen each other in almost a decade. That knowledge did something to her she didn’t want to acknowledge—and it wormed its way into a little crack in her heart. “I’m impressed you got through his encryption at all.”
“I didn’t, actually. Not in the way you do it. I just figured out his password. It was a combination of the address we all lived in when we were kids and the street name.”
Oh. Oooooh. Hailey’s throat went tight as she tried to shove aside all her emotions. But the lid had popped off, and all those feelings she’d been effectively—ish—ignoring for years bubbled over the side.
Unable to speak, she simply followed him, half listening to the other three behind them. Cash was apparently annoyed by Reese’s driving and wasn’t letting it go, which was fair. As Hailey stepped into the office with Jesse, she forgot about everything for a moment as she took in the space.
There were two huge screens on one wall, and on another, built-in bookshelves encased two huge windows overlooking his lush backyard. A desk that was clearly his sat near the window, but there were a couple others strategically placed near the wall screens she guessed his employees used when they were here working. There was also a coffee bar and a separate seating area next to an electric fireplace. The man had certainly made a killing through work, so it made sense that his home office reflected it, but she was still impressed. Especially since it didn’t feel cold, but actually lived in. And the art was… well, it was sort of weird and beautiful at the same time. Various animals in shades of gray had a bright rainbow of paint dripping down on them in each painting.
“Holy shit,” Reese murmured, looking around. “This is as good as our office.”
“Maybe better.” Elijah moved up next to Hailey, and she didn’t miss the way Jesse’s eyebrows drew together.
As if he was annoyed that she was standing so close to another man. He’d been protective and, okay, possessive, when they’d been younger. But he couldn’t still be that way about her anymore. Right? Oh, no. And she shouldn’t like that he was. She was here for one reason and one reason only.
“Oh, shit,” Cash muttered, right before she heard a thud then a muted breaking sound. “Sorry.”
Hailey turned to find that he’d knocked her backpack off one of the desks. “It’s fine.” She hurried over to pick it up, but he was faster. “I’ve got it,” she said, but he waved her away as he opened up the back zipper.
“Hope what I broke wasn’t important.”
“It’s nothing, I swear.” She tried to tug her pack from him, but Cash was annoyingly large and refused to budge as he started pulling out the broken pieces of the frame she’d stolen.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t pull out the frame or picture—okay, too late. He’d discovered her thievery. “Where’d you get this?” He dropped the busted frame into a nearby wastebasket, but held the photograph up by two fingers.
Thankfully Elijah and Reese were setting up their laptops and oohing and ahhing over Jesse’s sleek wall screens.
She grabbed it out of Cash’s hand and held it to her chest as both he and Jesse stared down at her. “I stole it from Easton’s place,” she muttered, ignoring their gazes—or trying to.
But she felt the heat of Jesse’s eyes on her even as she turned away and pulled her own laptop out of its protective sleeve. She wanted to start digging into what she’d just found before they’d arrived here, see if it warranted further investigation. Not talk about a picture that meant nothing. Nothing.
“Klepto Hailey is back,” Cash snorted, delight in his voice.
“Whatever,” she muttered. “That was one time, and it was a freaking Mars bar. I’m not a klepto. And I didn’t have a picture of all of us, and I took it on impulse. Don’t be a butthead.”
Cash snorted again, but it morphed into a disbelieving laugh. “Pretty sure you’re the only person ever to call me a butthead.”
“Then people are calling you that behind your back,” Reese said without turning around from where she’d settled next to Elijah.
Cash turned a speculative look in her direction before he moved to the other side of the huge space, leaving Hailey with Jesse as she turned her computer back on. “Can I hook into that screen?” she asked, nodding at the wall screen similar to one they used for jobs back at their office.
His expression was unreadable, but he nodded before he told her how to log in and sync up with his system.
For the next ten minutes, the three of them set up their laptops, each claiming one of the wall screens. Jesse, for his part, sat next to her quietly, still working on the laptop she’d found at Easton’s. He might not be as expert at her at hacking, but he had more than decent skills when it came to breaking into things. Still, he was more of a creator, always had been. It was why his apps had done so well. Or part of the reason. He had vision, but also follow-through and an understanding of what people wanted.
“Okay, so this is what I found on the way over here,” Hailey said into the quiet, only glancing at Reese’s and Elijah’s screens momentarily. Reese was doing a deep dive into Easton’s social medias, and Elijah was helping her.
Hailey pulled up the bank accounts she’d stumbled across because of a very messy trail. Almost as if the person who’d set it up wanted it to be found.
“That’s not where Easton banks.” Jesse frowned as he looked at the screen.
“I know, and I don’t think this is his account. It was just set up in the past fifteen hours. Right before or during his kidnapping. It’s weird. Now look at this.” A few other tabs popped up, and she clicked on them so that they were side by side. “This random account pops up under his name after being funded from who knows where—I’ll figure it out though, mark my word. And now deposits are going out to overseas accounts.” Her fingers moved over her keyboard quickly. “Two of these accounts are flagged by Interpol for suspected terrorism. Someone wants it to look like Easton is dumb enough to fund terrorism. And they might have gotten away with it if there hadn’t been video of him being kidnapped.”
“Whoever this is could still try that angle,” Jesse murmured.
She nodded, biting back her frustration. “Yeah, anything is possible at this point.” And they didn’t know enough, aka they knew jack shit, about who’d taken him.
“That won’t stand up to a deep inspection.” Reese had swiveled in her chair as she eyed the accounts Hailey had shared directly with her.
“Maybe not, but I doubt anyone expected you to find this so quickly,” Jesse said.
“Or maybe they’re doing this to throw suspicion on his kidnapping,” Cash added. “Maybe they’re assuming the FBI will find the account and question the authenticity of his abduction.”
Hailey’s gut tightened at the thought. Not that she had much faith in the Feds anyway, but she still wanted them focused on figuring out who’d taken Easton. They had vast resources, and when they weren’t bogged down by bureaucracy, they could get shit done.
“We could shut down the account and follow the money,” Hailey murmured. She was going to follow the money no matter what, but they could also basically erase the account and erase any link to Easton. He wasn’t around to defend himself, and it pissed her off that someone was trying to make him look dirty.
She looked at Jesse, then Cash. “What do you guys think?” She didn’t want to screw up the FBI investigation, but if they found this, she worried it would divert their resources.
“Shut it down, or at least make it so the Feds can’t find it. I don’t want to muddy the waters when they’re trying to locate him.” Jesse’s voice was icy, his thought process clearly the same as hers.
Cash nodded in agreement.
Okay, then.
As they got to work, Jesse pulled up his own laptop. “What can I do to help?”
“Tell me about Easton’s current work. I know you’ve gone over this with the Feds, but tell me about his coworkers.”
“I’ve already got a file on all that. I can send it to you.”
“Okay, yeah, send me info on everyone he works with personally.”
“I’ll do one better. I’ll send you a file on everyone who works in the building with him. Everyone is thoroughly vetted and then their financials are randomly checked a couple times during the year—they all know this when they’re employed—but I know that nothing is foolproof. I’ve already reached out to the company I use to vet potential hires to do deeper dives on current employees.”
“We’ll still look into them, but thanks. This is gold.” She didn’t look up from her computer except to give him a small smile.
As she started working on shutting down the bank account, she lost track of time and only blinked when Jesse set a mug of hot peppermint tea in front of her.
She looked up at him. “What’s this?”
“Tea. And Cash cooked earlier. You all need to eat. Take ten or fifteen minutes to recharge.” He looked at the three of them, but his gaze lingered on her the longest.
“He’s right, we should eat,” Reese said as she stretched. “I don’t think you even ate breakfast. And I know you didn’t eat lunch.”
Oh, right. “I got a latte at that coffee shop,” Hailey grumbled, feeling defensive.
“Well, I cooked chicken and eggplant parm,” Cash said, throwing an arm around her.
“Eggplant parm!” Reese practically sprinted past them on her way to the kitchen, making Hailey laugh.
Hailey hugged Cash back. “My girl loves food.”
“Noted.” There was a glint in his eyes, taking her by surprise as he looked in the direction Reese had gone.
“No way.” She pinched his side. “Don’t even think about it.”
He gave her a cheeky grin, but it was overshadowed by the worry in his dark eyes. “No promises.”
Even though Hailey hated to stop working, she understood that they needed to recharge. And she had multiple programs running simultaneously doing financial and social media searches on Easton’s coworkers. If they could at least narrow down a reason for his kidnapping, it would be the starting point they needed.
As she stepped into the kitchen, she realized that either Cash or Jesse had already set up plates and food family-style at the island. And the rich scents had her stomach rumbling as she approached.
“Sit, I’ll plate your food,” Jesse murmured to her, sending warmth curling through her.
