The look on Porter’s face was priceless. The normally serious expression he wore was shocked beyond description. For all his asshole behavior to her, it was rewarding enough to witness this.
“You broke the encryption?” he rasped.
“Yes.” Caitlin grinned cheekily.
“When?”
“Last night. Just when Travis came home.”
“He didn’t mention this to me.”
“He didn’t want you to ruin our evening.”
“You seemed to have done a fine job of that yourself,” the admiral replied dryly.
Arggh!She could never get in the last word with him.
“The password on one of the files sounded oddly familiar.”
Porter leaned in curiously. “Which one?”
“Hephaestus.”
“What about it?”
“I feel like it’s connected with another file.”
“Not the ones holding the Russian bank accounts?”
Caitlin shook her head. “Not sure.”
Porter handed her a flash drive. “This is your second assignment. You can load it on your laptop.”
“You’re such a slave driver.”
The admiral stood up and smiled. “You’re a smart girl, Ms. Kincaid. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
As it turned out,the brain spectrometer technician didn’t show up for work that day, so Caitlin was saved from an hour of what she called brainwash torture. She was happy to go home early and excited to see Travis. Her session with Dr. Lester went smoothly. Caitlin admitted that the little tidbit that Porter had told her about Travis’s willingness to pay the hundred million himself was huge and erased any doubt in her mind about his motives with her. And she finally came to terms with something about herself: she was indeed a pain in the ass.
Sam was waiting for her in the reception area, surprised to see her leave early.
“All done?”
“Yup. Can you take me to the grocery?”
“No problem.”
They got into the elevator. Sam looked at her with a sly smile. “Not planning to burn another roast, are you?”
Caitlin laughed and gave Sam a playful punch. “Your confidence in my cooking skills is gratifying.”
The young man chuckled. “Don’t worry, Caitlin. I won’t tell Mr. Blake.”
Their car was once again parked near the elevator banks. She felt Sam stiffen beside her when they approached their car. Four men were walking toward them. Their eyes intensely concentrated on her and Sam.
“Sam—” she started nervously, adrenalin started to pump into her system.
“Tamp it down, Caitlin.” So Travis had warned him.
